BLAST EXPLODES INTO SIXTH PLACE IN THE LOUISIANA SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The BLAST, swimming in its first ever Short Course State Championship, soared into a surprising sixth place finish in the meet. The meet was held March 16 – 19 at the Sulphur Parks and Recreation Natatorium in Sulphur, La with 25 teams participating.
The meet was won by Crawfish Aquatics, with Crescent City Swim Club second, City of
Shreveport third, Bengal Tiger Aquatics fourth and the Hurricane Swim Club of Slidell fifth. Other St. Tammany teams participating were: Franco Fins finishing tenth and Pelican Athletic Club finishing 12th.
The BLAST were paced by a 10 & under team that won the Boys and Combined 10 &
under Team Championship at the meet. In addition, the team had eight individual and
one relay state champion.
Winning individual state championships were:
Kara Kopcso, 10 & under girls 100 free, 200 free and 200 IM. Kara was also runner up for 10 & under girls individual high point honors.
Andrew Knudsen, 10 & under boys 50 fly and 100 fly. Andrew also was runner up for 10 & under boys individual high point honors.
Jesi Kopcso, 13-14 girls 100 & 200 breaststrokes, Jesi was fourth in the 13 – 14 girls individual high point scoring.
Kat Snitzer, 18 & under 200 breaststroke, Kat tied for tenth in 15-16 girls individual
scoring.
The 10 & under boys medley relay won with Harrison Prieto [7], Andrew Knudsen [9],
Will Warwick [9] and Grant Gallaspy [8].
All of these swimmers were selected to the All-State Swim Team.
Others who placed in the top three and were selected to the team for individual events are: Griffin Guzan, 10 & under boys 50 & 100 fly, Kristen Jennings, 10 & under girls 50 & 100 back, and Alex Knudsen, 11 – 12 boys 50 & 100 breaststroke.
Relays who made the All-State Team were:
10 & under girls free relay: Kara Kopcso, Jennings, Caroline Gallaspy and Carley Boyce – third place.
10 & under girls medley relay: Kopcso, Jennings, Alex Cloutet and Jessica Sloan – third place.
10 & under boys free relay: Andrew Knudsen, Gianni Scramuzza, Will Warwick and Grant Gallaspy – third place.
Swimmers on the boys 10 & under State Championship Team were: Knudsen,
Scramuzza, Guzan, Gallaspy, Warwick, Harrison Prieto, Matt Snitzer and Zachary
Charles.
The runner- up 10 & under girls team who combined with the boys to win the overall 10
& under team title were: Kopcso, Jennings, Sloan, Cloutet, Boyce, Caroline Gallaspy,
Emily Prieto, Brooke Vinturella and relay alternates Grace Tucker and Macie Breaux.
Also scoring in individual events for BLAST were: Colin Babcock, Aimee Miltenberger,
Zack Knudsen, Katie Fearn, Zachary Boudreaux.
All 19 BLAST relays scored; swimmers who participated in these relays are: Lauren
Salles, Sarah Keating, Allison Warwick, Claire Battle, Rachel Strain, Emmie Salles,
Callie Tucker, Bonnie Skinner, Alissa Winkler, Robert Klazynski, Sam Jones, Gavin
Breaux, James Miltenberger and Walter Miltenberger.
Kristen Jennings, Allison Warwick and Sam Jones made new state qualifying times
leading off their freestyle relays.
Five swimmers achieving 100% best times in the meet were: Griffin Guzan, Andrew
Knudsen, Zack Knudsen, Kara Kopcso and Brooke Vinturella,
The team will take a brief break from training and resume training for the long course season by the end of March.
MARCH 17TH
BLAST KICKED IT HOME TONIGHT IN FINALS!
"Our Feet Didn't Fail Us Tonight"
-BLAST EXPLODES AT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP-
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 5 STATE CHAMPIONS! * KARA KOPCSO-200 IM-100 FREE*
*JESSI KOPCSO-200 BREAST*
*KAT SNITZER-200 BREAST*
*ANDREW KNUDSEN-100 FLY*
*2 All State Swimmers*
8 year old Griffin Guzan-3rd 100 Fly
Alex Knudsen-3rd 50 Breast
We had 15 finalist everyone swam outstanding
Will Warwick, Brooke Vinturella, Alex Cloutet,
Caroline Gallaspy & Zach Knudsen great swims
7:30 warmups-Relays need to be at the pool by 10:30AM. Looking forward to another awesome day tomorrow.
See ya pool side
BB
BLAST FANS
State predictions: We feel we are a real shot for sixth place. CCSC, Crawfish, COSST, BTAC and Hurricanes will compete for the top five. After that it's wide open. All of our age groups will do very well, but our 10 & unders have the opportunity to do something very special. We can win the overall team championship for 10 & unders, the 10 & under boys team championship and the 10 & under girls team championship.
Our 10 & under boys are the only team that has a B medley and free relay. In most events, we have more swimmers seeded in the top 16 than any other team. We don't have to win a single event, but just swim well as a team and we will win the boys championship going away. The big difference here is the B relay. Swimming this relay will give us a huge edge over the other teams. If you are in the B and can't attend, please let us know ASAP, and we can exercise our options.
Our 10 & under girls are going to be in a real "cat fight" with CCSC. Both team have A & B relays, we have a little more depth than they do although the Gator girls have some very good quality swimmers. This wil be a terrific team battle to watch and participate in. Again we don't necessarily have to win an event, it's more important that all eight girls perform up to and a little beyond their capabilities.
In our 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 18 & unders, we have individuals who can score well and relays that also will score.
But our biggest advantage over every other team in the state is that we have each other. In the short time since we've started up we've become the closest, most synergistic team in the state. We saw that at Districts, we experienced it again at the 8 & under regionals and we will be there for each other at Short Course State. Our sense of unity and team is an irresistible force that can dominate a swim meet.
This is our first state meet as the BLAST. Many of you state meet veterans [both swimmers and parents] will be called upon for additional leadership during the meet. How you handle success and adversity during the meet will be a role model for the rest of the team.
In this meet, not every swim can be a best time, but every swim IS a valuable learning experience. Take a positive approach towards everything you do in the meet. This meet is a wonderful reward for a season of accomplishment. Enjoy and savor every moment.
See ya poolside,
GEAUX BLAST!!!
BB
