Otters swim to success in first dual meet of season

By LAUREL PUREWAL
Special to the Tribune

On Wednesday, June 15, the Martinez Community Swim Team (MCST) Otters swam in their first dual meet of the swim season against the Las Trampas Seahorses. The meet was at the Las Trampas Pool on a chilly Wednesday evening. Despite the cold, the Otters persevered and put up some impressive swims.

Top scorers for the women were Lizzy Atencio (17), who took first place in both the 100 butterfly and 100 IM, putting up 10 points, and Casey Concepcion (12), who placed first in the 50 butterfly and second in the 100 IM, putting up 9 points. Other top women included Briar Cue (7) and Jaida Chellew (14), who both scored 8 points, as well as Hayley London (15), Ava Hansen (6) and Emily Watkins (6), scoring 6 points each.

Top scorers for the men were Nick Wright (14) and Ryan Fowler (18), who put up 10 points each. Wright finished first in the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly, and Fowler finished first in the 100 butterfly and 100 IM for their respective age groups. Other top scorers included Max Schulze (7) and Ryan Bromley (12), who each put up 8 points, and Ronin Osmond (6), Jackson Barnacal (11) and Shawn Keifer (8), scoring 6 points each.

Just days later, on Saturday, June 18, the Otters swam in their first dual home meet of the season, against the AHI Swim Team of American Canyon. The Otters once again showed their tenacity and hard work by achieving over 100 “pop times” in their individual races (MCST refers to every personal best time as a “pop” time).
The greatest improvement was shown by Matilda Davoren (5), who took a combined 26 seconds off of her two swims, and Gracie Belle Klein (5), who improved her 25 freestyle by over a minute!

Top scorers for the girls were Ava Hansen (6), Lizzy Attencio (17) and Layna Panaguiton (11), who each scored 10 points or more for MCST.

There were eight boys who scored 10 or more points, leading the MCST men to a victory over the American Canyon men. The excellent eight were: Hunter Burns (6), Josh Deilke (18), Ronin Osmond (6), Nick Lucido (18), Ryan Fowler (18), Max Schulze (7), Jackson Barnacal (11) and Louie Cevasco (12).

The Otters’ next swim meet was at Rankin Aquatic Park against the Hercules Piranhas, on Saturday, June 25. (Look for results in the next edition of the Tribune.)

These events are open to the public; admission is free and there’s a snack shack and raffles with proceeds supporting MCST.