State Champs!
2011 Long Course State Meet Wrap Up
If the state meet was not scored, if all that we based success on was best times, this state meet would have been one of the best ever. The performance of the majority of our swimmers in all age groups was outstanding. The goal of all teams is to have the best swimming at the season’s championship meet and the Crawfish accomplished that with style. My compliments to our swimmers, Coach Courtney, Coach Lyle, Coach Thomas and our entire staff for a job a well done. Individual highlights will be listed at the end of this wrap up.
It was not long ago that this organization’s goal was to perhaps be a top 8 team at state. Then as we grew the vision was to win the state meet. I would like to say that although we now win with some regularity it should never get old and it should never be taken for granted. Complacency in any team or organization is a good starting point for a downward spiral. Crawfish Aquatics remains committed to providing a positive experience for all our members and it is that commitment that will enable future success.
We have experienced steady growth and this requires Crawfish adapting so that we continue to provide the personal, quality service you expect. We have created new groups, adjusted practice times, and will use the outdoor pool in the winter months. These changes will allow us continued growth and quality service. Please read the website and the e-news for more information on what is ahead. I am excited for the future and gratified that I am allowed to be a part of a forward thinking organization that will always find ways to do things better. I believe that all of our members will be better served by these adjustments and we can continue to enjoy meets as successful as this year’s long course state.
P.S.- Kudos to Coach Lexi for the very cool baby picture banner at state!
Here are a few of the MANY highlights from the meet:
New Sectionals Qualifiers: Colin Bone, John Miller, Mason Hutchinson
Zones Team Selection: Ashlyn Hunt, John Miller, Alex Miller
Age Group High Point: Jolee Liles, Claudia Apsey, John Miller
Team Records:
Rylee Moore (50,100 Fly & 200 IM); Claudia Apsey (1500 Free); 10 & U Girls Medley Relay (Jolee Liles, Carley Foster, Rylee Moore, Nora Scott)
Event Winners:
Colin Bone, John Miller, Claudia Apsey, Cameron Balkom, Gage Alleman, Jolee Liles, Ashlyn Hunt, Carley Foster, Landon Godso.
Girls Relays:
400 Medley (Padial, Balkom, Miller A., Core)
11-12 200 Free (Hunt, Turnley, Frederic, Lee)
10 & U 200 Free (Foster, Webre, Scott, Liles)
15-18 200 Medley (Padial, Balkom, Miller A, Core)
Boys Relays:
800 Free Relay (Moore, Stewart, Kuhlmeier, Rayner)
400 Free Relay (Bergeron, Butler, Redpath, Rayner)
400 Medley Relay (Alleman, Stewart, Rayner, Butler)
Results Team Scores
SC 2011 State Meet Wrap Up- 10 times State Champs!
Crawfish Aquatics has a history of bringing the best of what we are to state meet and this year was no exception. Tenacity in the pool, a raucous cheering section, and a true feeling of family permeated the entire weekend. We put our best foot forward on Thursday night and maintained our focus and effort for the remainder of the meet. In particular I thought Saturday night was one big highlight.
This is not possible without the efforts of many. The dedication of the swimmers and coaches, the unflagging trust and support of our parents, and the motivation that Dr. Ripple provides to all of our athletes are what allows the success we achieve to be more than a possibility. I applaud everyone and hope all understand the importance each have toward the success of our team.
We will highlight some of the many individual achievements below but I would be remiss by not offering a few special kudos. I am very thankful to the parents of our relay only swimmers who undertake the time and expense to bring those swimmers to Sulphur. Relays are an integral part of our success and we are grateful for your support of your team. I am thankful to Coach Lyle for organizing the team meal on Friday and to Tab Core for cooking the jambalya on Saturday. Their efforts save us much time and expense and are a part of what allows us to have a successful meet. I am grateful to Ron Moore who had the thankless position of head meet referee the entire weekend along with all of our parents who volunteered to officiate or time. Also thanks to Chris Frederic for bringing out her inner cheerleader each night during finals.
It takes many parts to be a successful whole. This weekend all parts were in place for Crawfish Aquatics to again be the best team in the state. Congratulations to all!
Coach Billy
Highlights:
High Point Winners: Annalane Lee, Alex Miller, John Michael Moore
Team Record Setters: Annalne Lee, Alex Miller, Claudia Apsey, 13-14 Girls Medley Relay (Alex Miller, Sarah Simar, Kirby Moore, Caroline Beene)
New Sectional Qualifiers: Hannah Core, Sarah Kudijaroff, Zach Redpath
Individual Event Winners:
Gage Alleman, Claudia Apsey, Cameron Balkom, Olivia Huffman, Michael Kuhlmeier, Annalane Lee, Alex Miller, John Miller, MK Miller, JM Moore, Michael Padial, Victoria Padial, Sarah Simar, Paul Stewart
Relay Winners:
10 and Under Girls 200 Free Relay (Nora Scott, Carley Foster, Jolee Liles, Annalane Lee)
10 and Under Girls 200 Medley Relay (Jolee Liles, Carley Foster, Nora Scott, Annalane Lee)
13-14 Girls 200 Medley Relay( Alex Miller, Sarah Simar, Kirby Moore, Caroline Beene)
Individual Top 8:
Dylan Apsey, Sean Apsey, Jacob Bares, Jane Barney, Caroline Beene, Caroline Berlin, Colin Bone, Olivia Bradley, Martin Braun, Chris Cazenave, Gabrielle Core, Hannah Core, Carley Foster, Connor Futch, Landon Godso, Ashlyn Hunt, Mason Hutchinson, Sarah Kudijaroff, Jolee Liles, Madison Mangum, Cameron Miles, Danielle Miles, Kirby Moore, Holt Ragsdale, Zach Redpath,Nora ScottMirana Serio, Gabbie Taylor, Tori Venable, Juliana White
Full Meet Results
Team Scores
2010 Long Course State
Way to go Crawfish!
Long Course State was the perfect culmination to the 2010 swimming season. Fast swimming, the spirit award, fellowship, camaraderie, and as an added bonus, we won! The best example of what we represent as a team is the amount of swimmers and parents that chose to breathe an additional dose of chlorine gas on Sunday night to await the team scores. That is what makes us special! My thanks to all who volunteered to time, organize and help with meals, (good jambalaya on Sunday Tab), and to all who cheered and lent the all important moral support on a daily basis to all of our swimmers.
We will miss our seniors, Eric Thomas (the last original Crawfish), Austin Butler, and Matthieu Assercq, and we wish them all the best in their college endeavors. We also wish all the best to the Foster’s with their move to Cincinnati.
We will especially miss Mr. Bruce Thomas and Mr. Jean Marie Assercq who have so generously donated countless hours of time to officiate the many meets we host in addition to the state championships. I look forward to a new group of officials from Crawfish to follow the examples that were set by these men which have allowed us to run numerous meets at our home pool. They are big shoes to fill.
I applaud the work of our coaching staff in their preparation of our swimmers for the competition in the pool and the many life lessons that they face outside of the pool. My thanks to Coach Courtney for her tireless leadership and education of our excellent staff.
Finally, I applaud our swimmers. The quality of people we are allowed to work with make this job gratifying beyond measure.
WELL DONE!!!!!!
Coach Billy
Below are some of the many highlights of last weekend’s competition:
State Records: Carson Foster 50 fly and 50 free
Junior National Qualifier: John Michael Moore 400IM and 100 Back
Age Group High Point: Hannah Foster, Colin Bone, and John Michael Moore
Zone Team Selections: Austin Butler, John Michael Moore, Hannah Core, Cameron Balkom, John Miller, Gage Alleman, MK Miller, Alex Miller, Victoria Padial, Connor Futch, Colin Bone
Spirit Award: Crawfish Aquatics
Team Records:
Gage Alleman- 200 back
Claudia Apsey- 800 free and 1500 free
Colin Bone- 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free
Hannah Foster- 100 free
Carson Foster- 50 back, 100 fly, 200 IM, 50 free, and 50 fly
Jake Foster- 50 breast and 100 breast
Connor Futch - 100 back
MK Miller- 400 IM, 200 Breast and 200 IM
John Michael Moore- 100 back
10 & U Girls Free Relay- Annalane Lee, Jolee Liles, Jordan Slater, Hannah Foster
11-12 Boys Free Relay- Connor Futch, Jacob Bares, Baker Bradley, Colin Bone
13-14 Girls Medley Relay- Caroline Beene, MK Miller, Alex Miller, Victoria Padial
Full Results
Scores
Short Course State 2010
Crawfish Aquatics closed the 2010 short course season with an outstanding performance at the state championship. Crawfish had the highest number of state qualifiers in the team’s history (90) and enjoyed the team’s largest margin of victory (over 900 points).
Individually we enjoyed the highest percentage of life time best swims in recent memory and had excellent relay results. We also dressed up nicely at night, cheered with enthusiasm, and displayed the class and humility in victory that set this team apart.
Achieving excellence requires hard work, dedication, and desire. Maintaining excellence requires living in the moment. While we rightly enjoy our recent success we will attempt to maintain these results in the future. That is no easy task. However I am confident that we have the ingredients in place that allow continued success to be a possibility.
Of note is the job that Coach Courtney and our stable of 12 and under coaches did this season. As will be apparent from the meet highlights below they did an outstanding job. Also to Coach Thomas in Lafayette and his staff whose swimmers were prepared and performed at their best. They are a welcome addition to the Crawfish family. My thanks to Coach Alex Rayner for his efforts and caring attitude towards the 13 and over swimmers and Crawfish Aquatics. He is truly a team player.
Our thanks go to Dr. Ripple for the team dinners Friday and Saturday night. That convenience allows for extra sleep which certainly leads to enhanced performance. We sometimes overlook how much he cares for each member of this team. His enthusiasm at finals is also inspiring and enjoyable to watch.
Our parents deserve special note for their timing and cheering and the fact that they care for all the Crawfish children as well as the love and support they give their own. We would not be a successful team without you.
Finally it should be noted that this was last short course state meet that Bruce Thomas will officiate. As a coach I will tell that in all my years on deck I have not met an official whose dedication and fairness towards all swimmers compares to Bruce’s. He is someone we have come to depend on and his presence has always allowed coaches a sense of calm in an atmosphere that is quite the opposite of calm. I will enjoy the remaining meets he chooses to officiate and will; without doubt, miss him when he is done.
Coach Billy
Highlights:
Team records:
Gage Alleman 13-14 boys 200 back
Colin Bone 11-12 boys 500 free, 200IM, 100 free, 50 free, 50 fly, 200 free
Carson Foster 8&under boys 100fly, 50breast, 100IM, 50free, 50back, 50fly, 100back
MK Miller 13-14 girls 400IM, 200IM
Claudia Apsey 13-14 girls 1650 free
13-14 girls 200 free relay (Alex Miller, Tiny White, M.K., and Victoria Padial)
Age Group High Point Winners:
Hannah Foster, 9-10 Girls
Colin Bone, 11-12 Boys
State Champions
Gage Allemann, Cameron Balkom, Caroline Beene, Colin Bone, Austin Butler, Joanne Chien, Hannah Foster, Jake Foster, Connor Futch, Michael Kuhlmeier, Alex Miller, MKMiller, J.M.Moore, Victoria Padial, Gabrielle Williams
19&under boys 400 free relay(JMM,Louque,Stewart,Butler)
9-10 boys 200 free relay(C.Foster,G.Dawson,M.Padial,J.Foster)
13-14 girls 200 free relay(A.Miller,M.K.,J.White,V.Padial)
19&under girls 400 medley relay( J.Chien,C.Balkom,M.K.,H.Core)
19&under boys 400 medley(JMM,M.Braun,H.Louque,A .Butler)
11-12 boys 200 medley relay(C.Futch,S.Apsey,C.Bone,D,Holliday)
15-18 girls 200 medley relay(G.Williams,C.Balkom,J.Chien,H.Core)
Finalist
Claudia Apsey, Sean Apsey, Caroline Berlin, Martin Braun, Chris Cazenave, Gabby Core, Hannah Core, Carson Foster, Andrew Frazier, Jeanne Frederic, Alex Goay, Jesse Haltom, Margeaux Hebert, Darren Holliday, Mason Hutchinson, Sara Kudijaroff, Joseph Lacing, Hunter Louque, Dainon Miles, John Miller, Kirby Moore, Paul Stewart, Julianne White
Consolation Finalist
Dylan Apsey, Ian Armentor, Jacob Bares, Cameron Barney, Baker Bradley, Olivia Bradley, Addie Brown, Michael Budetti, Alex Cruz, Jacob Dawson, Will Duhe, Matt Frederic, Rachel Laciny, Drew Landry, Annalane Lee, Sara Lessard, Lilly May, Brielle Miles, Danielle Miles, Amy Miller, Michael Padial, Bryan Primeaux, Zach Redpath, Andrew Rothkmann, Sarah Simar, Eric Thomas
State Meet Wrap Up, Long Course, 2009
In case you have not heard, Crawfish Aquatics is the 2009 Long Course State Champions! The hard work, sacrifice of sleep and free time, and the poking and prodding from coaches paid off in a big way. The victory was made possible because of contributions from every age group, excitable parents, knowledgeable and motivating coaches, and great leadership from our senior class.
15 new team records, 2 runner up and 3 age group high point winners, 8 relay and 32 individual event champions, 6 swimmers named to the LA Allstar/Zones team and point contributions individually or on relays from ALL Crawfish Aquatics swimmer entered are further repudiation of how much this was a TEAM victory.
Class is sometimes an overused and misunderstood qualifier, but this team displays it in so many ways. We will always continue to acknowledge and respect the accomplishments of our opponents whether they beat us in the water or vice versa. We will continue to support every member of our team through the good times and, more importantly, through the tough times. We will continue to strive for improvement in every aspect of our sport in how we practice and compete. It is these qualities that will allow us the opportunity for continued success.
As an organization we will continue to grow through the efforts put forth by all individuals involved in the many parts that make up Crawfish Aquatics. From the patient and attentive swim lesson instructor of a screaming three year old to the effort of our Masters coach to make that 60 year old a better swimmer, the whole is certainly a sum of the parts. Any organization that does not strive to get bigger and better will become the opposite and be left wondering what happened. We have achieved our success through the efforts of many and we will continue that success by traveling the high road, working hard, and being a constantly changing and very large family.
On a very personal note we look forward to the appearance of our newest member, Ms. Riley Roedel, and wish Courtney a very safe and exciting start to the joys of parenthood.
Finally , if it has not been made clear in this wide ranging state meet wrap up , I could not be more proud of what we have done and what we will continue to do.
Coach Billy for CRAWFISH AQUATICS
GOING TO GREATNESS
