Thursday, Jul. 26, 2012

Four Hydrocats at Junior Olympic meet

Four members of the Los Banos Hydrocats have their biggest meet of the long-course season this weekend in the 2012 Central California Swimming Long Course Junior Olympics, which started Thursday and goes through Saturday at Central High in Fresno.

Paige Roseman and Emily Trejo, both 8, join Gabriel Andrade, 17, and Olivia Andrade, 15, for the competition.

Roseman and Trejo are both swimming the 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter breaststroke, 50-meter backstroke and 50-meter butterfly. (USA swimming uses meters instead of yards.)

Roseman is also slated to swim the 100-meter individual medley. Olivia Andrade will swim the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle, while Gabriel Andrade will swim the 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter breaststroke, 100-meter backstroke and 100-meter freestyle.

Technically, the Hydrocats swimmers enter the meets as unattached swimmers. This year is a transition year for the Hydrocats as they move from recreation swimming (Merced County Swim League) to a USA Swim club.

Under the technique coaching of Terrence Coughran, the swimmers have each earned qualifying times at meets over the last few weeks -- most recently Gabriel Andrade, who swam a 58.24 in the 100-meter freestyle and 1:22.33 in the 100-meter breaststroke at a meet in Moraga.

His 50-meter freestyle time, though, was too fast for the Fresno meet.

"USA swimming has a hierarchy of these meets," Hydrocats president Jennifer Andrade said. "The faster you get, the more events you qualify for."

Gabriel Andrade qualified instead for the Western Zone in the 50 free, but Jennifer Andrade said she missed the deadline to sign up for the meet. If he swims fast this weekend, though, Gabriel can still qualify for the upcoming Far Western meet in San Jose.

The time will still stand for the short-course season, and Jennifer Andrade said she is paying closer attention to those deadlines.

"There's two times of the year where they have competition. This is a big competition time, then short-course season starts," Jennifer Andrade said. "Competition for short-course is in December."

Come December though, the Hydrocats (which number about 24 swimmers total) will need a new coach -- technique and stroke coach Coughran is headed back to Erie, Pa. for his junior year at Gannon University, where he is a member of the swim team. For details about the opening, e-mail the Hydrocats at hydrocats.swim.team@gmail.com.

Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com

Enterprise reporter David Witte can be reached by phone at 388-6565 or by e-mail at sports@losbanosenterprise.com