Home sweet home: Madison swimmers shine at State meet
Over a thousand swimmers descended on Madison last weekend for the Alabama Recreation and Parks Department (ARPA) State Swimming and Diving Championships, and it was the home team that might have shone the brightest.
Madison swimmers won 48 individual medals overall - 20 gold medals, 16 silver and 12 bronze. The Dolphins also did well in relay competitions, winning 13 gold medals, five silver and two bronze.
"This is arguably one of the biggest sporting events to ever come to Madison," said Phil Deaton, president of the Madison Dolphins Swim Team.
The official opening ceremony was Friday, July 27, at 9 a.m. and featured a large group of celebrities both local and national.
Madison Mayor Sandy Kirkindall was on hand to welcome the 1,013 swimmers and their families who represented 29 swimming teams from across the state.
"We're looking forward to a great competition," Kirkindall said. "Good luck to everyone and welcome to Madison."
The guest speaker was Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Gaines spoke for several minutes to the swimmers and their families.
"Most of my swimming didn't start until I was in high school," he said. "It is a great thing to see a community like this that is so passionate about swimming, and great to see these young people take advantage of the opportunity."
Gaines has been in the Madison area trying to drum up support for a new YMCA facility being built. Gaines is the chief fundraiser for USA Swimming, the national organization of which the Madison Dolphins Swim Team is a member.
"For the last 24 hours I've seen the passion this community has toward swimming and I'm very proud to be in your presence," Gaines said.
Following Gaines' remarks, Madison City Councilman Steve Haraway read a proclamation from the council declaring July 27 as "Rowdy Gaines Day" in the City.
Each heat of every event was held in the indoor pool at the Dublin Park Aquatic Center, with heats scheduled roughly 30 seconds apart. A brand-new $15,000 scoreboard provided instant results and made it easy for parents to determine when their swimmer was about to compete.
Several teams set up tents on the lawn outside the Center, giving the event a carnival-like atmosphere.
Thirty-five different Maidson swimmers won at least one gold medal in either individual or relay competition. They were Andrew Shea, Derek Sander, Scott VonJouanne, Joe Berry, Jenny VonJouanne, Corey Williams, Ben Fogg, Zach Harting, Mark Johnson, Andrey Tretryakov, Reed Zitting, Kai Pham, Derek Santiago, Mitchell Deaton, Hodari Jacobs-El, Joshua Beck, Brandon Laue, Danielle Sander, Leah Zitting, Teresa Berry, Carissa Davis, Charlie Johnson, Peter Wetzel, Russel Johnson, Michael Armstrong, Katie Fogg, Anna Jenkins, Elysha Lunn, Steffani Butler, Jamie Kennedy, Byron He, Tinia Harris, Eric Lim, Katie Martin and Kaitlin Mayes.
Medalists from the Madison Dolphins were:
Boys 8-under 100-yard IM: Andrew Shea, 1st (1:21.10)
Girls 8-under 100-yard IM: Julia Dergunov, 3rd (1:31.19)
Boys 9-10 100-yard IM: Derek Sander, 1st (1:14.61)
Girls 11-12 100-yard IM: Danielle Sander, 2nd (1:09.15); Carissa Davis, 3rd (1:09.85)
Boys 13-14 100-yard IM: Scott VonJouanne, 1st (1:03.17); Corey Williams, 2nd (1:04.01)
Boys 15-18 100-yard IM: Joe Berry, 1st (56.77)
Girls 15-18 100-yard IM: Jenny VonJouanne, 1st (58.49)
Boys 8-under 25-yard breaststroke: Andrew Shea, 1st (20.56); Andrey Tretyakov, 3rd (21.62)
Girls 8-under 25-yard breaststroke: Julia Dergunov, 2nd (21.58)
Boys 9-10 50-yard breaststroke: Derek Sander, 3rd (40.01)
Girls 11-12 50-yard breaststroke: Leah Zitting, 2nd (35.43)
Boys 13-14 50-yard breaststroke: Corey Williams, 1st (30.15); Nicholas Quinnett, 3rd (32.15)
Boys 15-18 50-yard breaststroke: Ben Fogg, 1st (29.32); Michael Armstrong, 2nd (29.74)
Girls 15-18 50-yard breaststroke: Anna Jenkins, 2nd (31.55)
Boys 9-10 50-yard freestyle: Zach Harting, 1st (29.89)
Boys 11-12 50-yard freestyle: Brandon Laue, 2nd (26.97)
Girls 11-12 50-yard freestyle: Teresa Berry, 2nd (27.03)
Boys 13-14 50-yard freestyle: Charlie Johnson, 3rd (24.83)
Boys 15-18 50-yard freestyle: Ben Fogg, 1st (22.69)
Girls 15-18 50-yard freestyle: Jenny VonJouanne, 1st (23.54); Kaitlin Mayes, 3rd (26.18)
Boys 8-under 100-yard medley relay: 1st place, Mark Johnson, Andrey Tretyakov, Andrew Shea, Reed Zitting (1:18.28)
Girls 8-under 100-yard medley relay: 3rd place, JoAnne Stevens, Emily Deng, Julia Dergunov, Elora Holland (1:23.78)
Boys 9-10 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Kai Pham, Derek Sander, Zach Harting, Derek Santiago (2:25.07)
Boys 11-12 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Mitchell Deaton, Hodari Jacobs-El, Joshua Beck, Brandon Laue (2:15.25)
Girls 11-12 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Danielle Sander, Leah Zitting, Teresa Berry, Carissa Davis (2:05.86)
Boys 13-14 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Charlie Johnson, Corey Williams, Scott VonJouanne, Peter Wetzel (1:53.47)
Girls 13-14 200-yard medley relay: 2nd place, Steffani Butler, Anna Fogg, Micah Toles, Jamie Kennedy (2:04.63)
Boys 15-18 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Russel Johnson, Michael Armstrong, Joe Berry, Ben Fogg (1:41.70)
Girls 15-18 200-yard medley relay: 1st place, Katie Fogg, Anna Jenkins, Elysha Lunn, Jenny VonJouanne (1:55.44); 2nd place, Nicole Zitting, Katie Martin, Danae Young, Kaitlin Mayes (2:03.95)
Boys 8-under 25-yard butterfly: Andrew Shea, 2nd (16.98); Andrey Tretyakov, 3rd (18.72)
Boys 9-10 50-yard butterfly: Zach Harting, 1st (32.28)
Girls 11-12 50-yard butterfly: Danielle Sander, 2nd (28.96)
Boys 13-14 50-yard butterfly: Charlie Johnson, 2nd (27.71)
Girls 13-14 50-yard butterfly: Steffani Butler 1st (29.63)
Boys 15-18 50-yard butterfly: Joe Berry, 1st (24.02)
Girls 15-18 50-yard butterfly: Jenny VonJouanne, 1st (25.76); Elysha Lunn, 3rd (28.71)
Boys 8-under 25-yard backstroke: Andrey Tetryakov, 3rd (19.29)
Girls 11-12 50-yard backstroke: Danielle Sander, 3rd (32.43)
Boys 13-14 50-yard backstroke: Charlie Johnson, 2nd (28.27)
Girls 13-14 50-yard backstroke: Jamie Kennedy, 1st (30.60)
Boys 15-18 50-yard backstroke: Russel Johnson, 1st (25.42); Joe Berry, 2nd (25.70)
Girls 15-18 50-yard backstroke: Katie Fogg, 1st (29.31)
Boys 9-10 100-yard freestyle: Derek Sander, 1st (1:03.60); Zach Harting, 2nd (1:05.43)
Girls 11-12 100-yard freestyle: Carissa Davis, 2nd (59.60)
Boys 13-14 100-yard freestyle: Scott VonJouanne, 3rd (55.37)
Boys 15-18 100-yard freestyle: Russel Johnson, 1st (49.46); Ben Fogg, 2nd (50.40)
Boys 8-under 100-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Andrey Tetryakov, Byron He, Reed Zitting, Andrew Shea (1:11.76)
Boys 9-10 200-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Derek Sander, Derek Santiago, Kai Pham, Zach Harting (2:04.66)
Boys 11-12 200-yard freestyle relay: 2nd place, Hodari Jacobs-El, Chase Dowling, Mitchell Deaton, Brandon Laue (1:58.93)
Girls 11-12 200-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Danielle Sander, Tinia Harris, Carissa Davis, Teresa Berry (1:52.31)
Boys 13-14 200-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Scott VonJouanne, Peter Wetzel, Corey Williams, Charlie Johnson (1:40.03)
Girls 13-14 200-yard freestyle relay: 2nd place, Steffani Butler, Anna Fogg, Katie Sheibley, Jamie Kennedy (1:50.98)
Boys 15-18 200-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Ben Fogg, Russel Johnson, Eric Lim, Joe Berry (1:30.80)
Girls 15-18 200-yard freestyle relay: 1st place, Katie Martin, Elysha Lunn, Kaitlin Mayes, Katie Fogg (1:45.89); 2nd place, Anna Jenkins, Danae Young, Erin McDaniels, Jenny VonJouanne (1:46.77); 3rd place, Nicole Zitting, Samantha Mayes, Leah Marsh, Mandy Martin (1:52.36)
sWIM pARENT wrote on Aug 6, 2007 11:20 PM: