NATIONAL SWIMMING

& DIVING

33 YOTA swimmers attended the YMCA National championships in Greensboro during the week of April 3-7. This was the 100th year of YMCA nationals and our team was fortunate to be able to experience everything that the centennial celebration had to offer. Some highlights include Tuesday night’s parade of athletes being amplified by the “Cold Steel” drumline from North Carolina A&T performing on deck and on the high dives, a talk show hosted by Rowdy Gains, and a meet and greet Monday night that included Olympic medalists such as Charlie Houchin, a former YOTA swimmer! YOTA set the tone for the energy level on deck, cheering each teammate on and being each other's number one fan. The support from and for their teammates elevated each swimmer’s performance, resulting in each of them reaching new levels of swimming. YOTA improved in their seeded positions and finished in the top 10 as a team with the women placing 27th, and the men placing 5th! There were also 3 team records broken: Reese Stoner in the men ’ s 15-18 200 backstroke, and the relay team of Reese Stoner, Max Ayres, Benjamin Eischeid and Stamatis Paleocrassas in the men ’ s open

200 and 400 medley relays. Congrats to all YOTA YMCA National swimmers on a historic meet!