Saint Andrew's Swimming and Diving Blog

Day Two - A Beautiful Success

2012-01-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

What an awesome weekend underway and a flawless meet put on by a GREAT TEAM OF SAS VOLUNTEERS!

For Saturday Morning Results Click Here:

For Saturday Afternoon Results Click Here:

5th Annual Scotty Invite

2012-01-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

The three day Scotty Invite meet got underway today the the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex and meet results and splits for the 500 (12 & Unders) and 1000 (Open) are available Here
Lots of good swimming and a great group of volunteers look like it will be an awesome weekend ... stay tuned.

Women's 200yd Medley Relay Heat 2 - 2011 SPEEDO Short Course Junior Nati...

2012-01-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

SAS Women Win Junior National Title

2011-12-14T14:17:00.001-05:00

With a small but powerful swim team of four athletes, Saint Andrew’s Swimming managed to earn their first ever National Title at the 2011 Speedo Short Course Junior National Championships at University of Texas in Austin, Texas December 8-11. Tasija Karosas,Megan Moroney, Brenna Ruth and Lindsey McKnight led the club team to the unprecedented result ahead of swimming powerhouse teams from across the nation.

Head Coach Sid Cassidy said: “This is truly an amazing feat that to my knowledge has not occurred at the national level of swimming since the 1950’s. We were extremely fortunate to have four young ladies buy into the belief that they could swim multiple events and still perform at the highest level in five different relay events. It was an honor to coach them. “

Highlights include winning two of those five relays, the 200-yard Medley and the 800-yard Freestyle. The former was performed in record-breaking fashion as Tasija split 25.42 backstroke, Lindsey a spectacular 27.14 breaststroke, Megan a 25.44 fly and Brenna 23.63 in the freestyle. The same evening the girls came back to win an incredibly exciting 4 x 200-yard freestyle relay in 7:20.35, just four tenths ahead of the Dynamo Swim Club out of Atlanta, GA. The strategy of front loading the three fastest swimmers paid off as Tasija, Lindsey and Megan built a lead for anchor leg Brenna who blasted out her first 100 and held for the victory improving her personal best time by three seconds!

Lindsey McKnight, who is a club swimmer from American Heritage Plantation, won two individual events, the 100 free in 49.30 and the 200 free in 1:45.37, good enough for another meet record. The senior headed for U of Florida next year also came out with the MVP award and provided great leadership for the AquaScots.

SAS Junior Tasija Karosas scored in four individual events and won the silver medal in the 100-yard backstroke (53.45). Her tireless efforts did not go unnoticed as dozens if college coaches in attendance literally stood in line to speak with her coach to express interest in her attending their school.

Frosh Megan Moroney and Sophomore Brenna Ruth provided critical legs on all five relays – all finishing in the top five!

The girls were joined by senior Wali Toulson and Junior Quinn Cassidy who both posted career personal best times over the weekend. Quinn also bettered the existing 200-yard Individual Medley school record. His time of 1:51.35 bettered the 1:52.40 mark set nearly twenty years ago in 1992 by Jeff Maki. That swim ranked him 28^th out of the 121 best eighteen and under athletes in attendance at the prestigious gathering.

It was a historic week of swimming for Saint Andrew’s that took the swimming world by surprise and set many blog sites and internet pages abuzz with the news. Complete results, videos and related stories can be found at http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2146&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en-US

SAINT ANDREW'S GIRLS WIN JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM TITLE!

2011-12-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

A team of four determined young ladies come home today with the overall team title at the 2011 Junior National Swimming Championships in Austin, Texas. Stay tuned for more comment and photos - complete results and video from USA Swimming here: http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

Scots making a splash in Austin

2011-12-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

Saint Andrew's Swimming is off to a strong start at the 2011 USA Swimming Junior National Championships at the University of Texas in Austin. You can follow all the action via video (live or replays) and all results posted in Real Time here:

http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2146&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

GO SCOTS!

Scots Turn Heads at State Championship Meet

2011-11-13T23:32:00.000-05:00

Eleven/Eleven/Eleven will go down in the memory of many a young AquaScot as the day the rest of the state really took notice of the resurgence of the Saint Andrew's Swimming and Diving Program as a power to be reckoned with in Florida Scholastic Swimming. With a small boys team scrapping to a fifth place finish and a young powerful girls team surging to their second third place performance in three years the Scots have firmly entrenched themselves among the top teams in the Sunshine State.

It was not so much the final team rankings as the dynamic achievements of some top performers that got the I-Drive Y crowd buzzing about the young team from Boca Raton. Freshman Megan Moroney captured the 100 fly with a very impressive 55.29 and Junior Tasija Karosas grabbed the gold (and nearly a new State Record) in the 100 back by crushing the field in the back half to post a 53.97.

Perhaps the most exciting event was the ladies 200-yard Freestyle Relay that boiled down to a two team affair between the heralded Bolles Bulldogs and our sprint quartet. Reversing the order of finish from last year's duel and for the first time since 1989 our girls won a State Championship relay event! Tasija Karosas (JR-23.92), Brenna Ruth (SO-23.98), Hannah Coombs (JR-24.33) and Megan Moroney (FR-23.38) earned All-American status and a new team record in the 200 Free Relay with a 1:35.61.Old-timers might note the similarities to the 1989 girls team that also won two individual events and a relay, but that was at the end of the mid-eighties era when Boca was the epicenter of elite aquatics and the Mission Bay experiment was beginning to fail. This girls team of young student athletes has anything but failure on their minds.

In addition to the sprint relay record we claimed the silver and surpassed All-American status again (with an even younger team) in the 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay of Tasija Karosas (JR-51.49), Brenna Ruth (SO-53.21), Jessica Conway (SO-53.14) and Megan Moroney (FR-51.55) with a 3:29.39. Only American Heritage Plantation (buoyed by SAS club team member Lindsey McKnight) was able to better the Scots foursome. It was the first time in history that both of our freestyle relays finished ahead of well-known rivals Bolles and Pine Crest... and we are getting all of those back next year!

Another young Scot who narrowly missed getting her first State title was sophomore diving sensation Blaire Mulka. Blaire capped an outstanding season with a bronze medal podium performance score of 487.15 (just 3.10 points behind the winner) to catapult the Scots towards their highest team finish in twenty two years. Having her return for two more years is another reason for great optimism on the girls side. As a matter of fact, our girls will return 184 of our 187 points next year but still must respect the fact that the Bolles School won their 21st consecutive State Title by scoring more than 360 points, a formidable challenge to aspire to no doubt!
Our small but scrappy boys team moved up the ladder to finish in the top five courtesy some great relays and some top individual efforts from Senior Wali Toulson - 4th in the 50 Free (20.97) & 5th in the 100 free (46.29) - and from Junior Quinn Cassidy - 5th in the 200IM 1:52.83. The top boys relay proved to be the 200 Medley where the boys nosed out rival Pine Crest for the silver medal and an All-American performance turned in by Freshman Dionisio Carey (50 back- 24.82), Junior Quinn Cassidy (50 breast-26.05), Junior Shawn Warner (fly-23.90) & Senior Wali Toulson (50 free-20.60).
Certainly our Saint Andrew's community is thrilled with the efforts of these and all of our swimmers and divers this season. A special thanks goes out to all the parents who contributed support this weekend and all year as our children pursued their dreams. We are extremely grateful for the excitement and good luck to all as we continue through the club seasons with renewed enthusiasm.

Scots Rock Palm Beach County Championship Meet

2011-10-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

The Aqua Scots rocked the house at Lake Lytal Park Saturday night and dominated the 2011 Palm Beach County Championships in historic fashion. When the water finally settled, Saint Andrew's athletes accounted for nine victories (out of 24 events), five Championship Meet Records and Team Championship Trophies in both the Girls and Overall Divisions. The final point tally reflected the largest margin of victory by any Palm Beach County Team in recent memory as the Scots disposed of crosstown Rival Boca High 735 to 647.5. Jupiter finished third (530.5), Suncoast (438.5) and Wellington (260.5) rounded out the top five in the combined standings.
Stepping up to the challenge set forth by the coaching staff, the Scots relay teams answered the call winning four of six titles, three in record-setting fashion and scoring a total of 206 points. The boys 200 Medley Team of Dionisio Carey (FR 25.00 back), Quinn Cassidy (JR 26.99 breast), Shawn Warner (JR 24.05 fly) and Wali Toulson (SR 21.22 free) crushed the five year old record by nearly two seconds to set the tone right out of the gate. The ladies took charge and captured gold midway through the meet in the 200-yard freestyle relay with Megan Moroney (FR 24.65), CJ McCartin (8th 25.62), Hannah Coombs (JR 25.54) and Chelsea Scuderi (FR 25.78) getting ahead early and never leaving any doubt with their 1:41.59 triumph.
As our beloved Scots have so often done in the past, they clearly saved the best for last closing out the meet with two outstanding 400-yard freestyle relay victories. Tasija Karosas (JR 53.25), Jessica Conway (8th 54.43), Brenna Ruth (SO 54.24) & Megan Moroney (FR 52.81) pulled away from a strong Suncoast quartet on the final leg to snap a four year old Park Vista mark posting a 3:34.73.
To conclude the meet in fabled fashion our foursome of young men stepped to the blocks knowing the meet's final event would mark the ultimate occasion that senior Wali Toulson would ever face the boys from Boca - a consensus favorite having bettered this same Scots team ten days earlier in dual meet competition. To add intrigue to this showdown, the top two Boca boys had spent their formative years with Wali and Quinn as club swimmers and shared a relay record-breaking history as teammates on the SAS age group team. The stage was set and at the starter's signal senior sprinter Wali Toulson exploded to an immediate lead. Without taper, shave or special suit Toulson mustered all of his strength to post a career-best 46.80 and give his team a 3.32 second lead. Earning the right to represent the Scots as a frosh, much in the same way Wali did three years ago, second swimmer Nick Conrad amazed all but his coaches with a cool 50.36 - more than two seconds faster that his previous personal best - that left the Scots 2.09 seconds ahead of their rivals at he halfway mark. Junior Shawn Warner, in the midst of a roller coaster week battling health issues that nearly left him out of this competition completely faced a furious challenge from the Bobcats fastest relay member. With an incredibly gutsy personal best 49.11 split, Shawn held on to give his anchor leg a lead of .37 seconds. Facing one of his good friends and the man who had swept both the 50 and 100 freestyle events already, junior Quinn Cassidy found himself in familiar territory. Nailing the racing dive and stroking his first 50 at break neck speed (21.93 on his feet) Quinn not only held his advantage, but widened the margin with a stellar 46.74 to complete the feat in 3:13.00 - 1.55 seconds ahead of the Bobcat boys. This was truly a special one ... take a look at the pictures and you'll get the idea ... the County Champs just won't be the same without you Wali.
In addition to the substantial successes our relay teams enjoyed, the tremendous individual accomplishments by so many of our Scots clearly set the base for one of the finest County Championships our school has ever put together. The winning trend began on Friday afternoon in the friendly confines of the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex when sophomore diving sensation Blaire Mulka continued her undefeated season by winning the girls 1-meter title with a score of 488.60, more than 60 points ahead of her closest competitor. At Lake Lytal two of her amphibian teammates became double winners - one grabbing the Outstanding Female Competitor award as the girls team rolled to another County Team Title 454 points to runner-up Jupiter's 304. Junior Tasija Karosas earned the meet's top swimmer award winning the 200IM in 2:06.45 and coming back to break her own County Meet mark with a 56.34 in the 100 backstroke. Not to be outdone, freshman Megan Moroney dominated the field in the 200 and 500 freestyle races with very respectable times of 1:52.10 and 5:00.63.
In between swimming legs on two boys relays that set County Meet Records, Quinn Cassidy broke one of the oldest Meet Records on the books by nearly a full second with an impressive 1:55.68 in the 200 Individual Medley. The record that stood for two decades was originally set by Ryan Berube who went on to become the NCAA Swimmer of the Year for SMU in 1996 and the following summer won Olympic Gold Medal winner and world record holder as part of the 800 Freestyle Relay in the Atlanta Olympic Games. In fact I had the pleasure to Coach Ryan in the 1991 US Olympic Festival where he served as my team captain and anchored the winning relay to close the meet and give us the team title. Not a bad act to follow!
Congratulations again to all our great young athletes - complete SAS Results here:
Our Scots will close out our dual meet season on Tuesday, October 16th at 5:30PM at home vs. Spanish River.

Another Exciting Dual with the Panthers

2011-09-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

Even though Mother Nature did her best to thwart our efforts to finish the meet, we withstood four separate lightning delays Tuesday night to complete a most competitive contest our District rivals Pine Crest. In the end the Panthers came out on top 94-91 in the girls meet and 127-59 in the boys, but the score tells little of the drama that unfolded.
The boys enjoyed a convincing victory in the opening relay as Dionosio Carey (FR/Back - 25.55), Quinn Cassidy (JR/Breast28.12), Shawn Warner (JR/Fly - 24.21) & Wali Toulson (SR/Free 21.24) served notice that they expect to be one of the State's top teams in the medley quartet event. Wali Toulson led the men with a pair of victories in the 50 (21.66) and 100 freestyles (49.09). Quinn Cassidy topped a tough field in the 200IM with a respectable September swim of 1:58.44.
Our young ladies truly dominated the winner's circle by claiming six of the nine individual events and grabbing two of the three relay wins. Freshman Megan Moroney perfectly paced her 500 to capture her second freestyle victory of the night (5:00.68/500 + 1:53.56/200). Junior Tasija Karosas was also a double winner taking the 200IM (2:07.09) and the 100 back (57.90). The other two Scots to win included Junior Hannah Coombs (50 Free / 25.43) and Sophomore Blaire Mulka (1-meter diving / 250.65). Our girls also mastered the freestyle relays, winning the 200 in 1:39.88: Tasija Karosas-(JR/24.70), Hannah Coombs-(JR/25.54), Chelsea Scuderi (FR/25.51) & Megan Moroney (FR/24.13). Our Scots actually swept to a 1-2 finish in the 400 - the "A" team won in 3:41.65 - Brenna Ruth (SO/54.88), Chelsea Scuderi (FR/56.32), CJ McCartin (8th grade/56.27) & Megan Moroney (FR/54.18). The "B" team finished a strong second in 3:43.07, Amanda King (SR/57.79), Jessica Conway (8th grade/54.68), Amanda Ford (SR/58.97) & Tasija Karosas (JR/51.63).
The Aqua Scots now step into a most challenging month of October and will have the honor of competing Wednesday night in the 48th Annual Woodson Invitational Swim Meet at Pine Crest Wednesday afternoon/evening. At 7:00pm Thursday night under the lights the Scots face cross town rival Boca High at 7pm in the Palm Beach County School Board's new pool located adjacent to I-95 and the Bobcats football stadium. Let the fun begin!

Scots Topple Coral Shores

2011-09-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

On Saturday September 25^th the Saint Andrew’s Swimmers and Divers took their talents to the Florida Keys where they bettered Regional foe Coral Shores High School 87-14 (girls) and 64-29 (boys). The morning meet was held in the beautiful confines of Islamorada’s Founder’s Park as a prelude to that facility’s ten year anniversary celebration. The beautiful weather was a welcome sight after the team waited more than three hours the previous evening on site at Gulliver's pool before that competition was cancelled due to a lightning storm that refused to leave the area.

In the meet against the Hurricanes, our Scots won sixteen of the eighteen individual events and swept all six relays. Tasija Karosas, Megan Moroney, Wali Toulson and Quinn Cassidy led the team by winning two individual events each. Rounding out the list of individual victors were underclassmen Brenna Shipman (Freshman - 100 breast), Chelsea Scuderi (Freshman - 100 fly), Dionosio Carey (Freshman 100 back), Brenna Ruth (Sophomore - 200 Free) and Blaire Mulka (Sophomore - 1 meter diving). Upperclassmen with individual wins included Hannah Coombs (Junior - 50 Free), Shawn Warner (Junior - 100 fly) and Senior Diver David Lundberg captured the boys diving event in his first-ever scholastic dual meet.

The Aqua-Scots followed the big team win with a great team trip to Pennekamp State Park where a chartered boat took us to the famous Key Largo Dry Rocks Reef. We enjoyed an awesome day of snorkeling and bonding. A special thanks to Chaperone Kerri Shipman for joining the staff on this trip and taking some special photos!

The Scots next meet will be at home this TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 - 5PM VS. PINECREST

Saint Andrew's Winners

Girls 200 Yard IM

Moroney, Megan FR Saint Andrew's School 2:17.75

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

Coombs, Hannah JR Saint Andrew's School 25.88

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

Toulson, Wali SR Saint Andrew's School 22.36

Girls 1 meter Diving

Mulka, Blaire SO Saint Andrew's School 274.20

Boys 1 meter Diving

Lundberg, David SR Saint Andrew's School 174.00

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

Scuderi, Chelsea FR Saint Andrew's School 1:04.78

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

Warner, Shawn JR Saint Andrew's School 56.41

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

Moroney, Megan FR Saint Andrew's School 56.52

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

Toulson, Wali SR Saint Andrew's School 49.08

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

Karosas, Tasija JR Saint Andrew's School 5:07.08

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

Karosas, Tasija JR Saint Andrew's School 57.42

Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

Carey, Dionisio FR Saint Andrew's School 57.37

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

Shipman, Brenna FR Saint Andrew's School 1:17.39

Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

Cassidy, Quinn JR Saint Andrew's School 1:04.88

Saint Andrew’s Relay Team Wins

Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay - Saint Andrew's School A 1:57.99

Karosas, Tasija JR 2) Shipman, Brenna FR 3) Scuderi, Chelsea FR 4) Van Olden, Annabelle SO

Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay - Saint Andrew's School A 1:41.05

Carey, Dionisio FR 2) Cassidy, Quinn JR 3) Warner, Shawn JR 4) Toulson, Wali SR

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay - Saint Andrew's School B 1:46.33

Anderson, Sarah SR 2) Ford, Amanda SR 3) Conway, Jessica 8 4) Coombs, Hannah JR

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay - Saint Andrew's School A 1:34.62

Conrad, Nicholas FR 2) Lopez, Landy JR 3) Needleman, Josh SR 4) Toulson, Wali SR

Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - Saint Andrew's School B 3:59.53

Bober, Courtney 8 2) Carbone, Julianna 8 3) Coombs, Brinton 8 4) Conway, Jessica 8

Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay - Saint Andrew's School A 3:31.47

Warner, Shawn JR 2) Conrad, Nicholas FR 3) Carey, Dionisio FR 4) Cassidy, Quinn JR

September Splash Wrap Up

2011-09-12T00:44:00.000-04:00

So very proud of all of our SAS AquaScots this weekend at the season opening 5th Annual September Splash. Our girls finished as runners-up to Pinecrest School and the boys captured the Bronze plaque out of 17 teams and nearly 500 athletes. We also owe a great deal of thanks to the many parents, siblings and volunteers who made it possible to host this major event.
The Scots grabbed three relay victories all in meet record time. The boys 200 Medley team of Freshman Dionisio Carey (back - 25.30), Junior Quinn Cassidy (breast- 27.66), Junior Shawn Warner (fly-24.23) & Senior Wali Toulson (free 21.13) posted a very respectable 1:38.32. The girls team notched a pair of of record setting relays: The 200 Freestyle Relay team sprinted to a 1:41.53 and was comprised of a Junior, a Sophomore and two Freshman - Tasija Karosas (JR-25.09), Brenna Ruth (SO-25.48), Chelsea Scuderi (FR-25.84) & Megan Moroney (FR-25.12). An even younger team broke the meet mark in the 400 Freestyle event as the Scots quartet of 8th-grader Jessica Conway (54.81), Freshman Megan Moroney (53.57), Sophomore Brenna Ruth (54.81) and Junior Tasija Karosas (53.57) posted a team time of 3:36.68. Tasija established a meet mark of her own in the 100 butterfly just ahead of her young teammate Jessica in the 100 butterfly (57.56 & 58.68).
Newcomer Blaire Mulka (Sophomore) proved the class of the one-meter diving contest breaking another meet record scoring 257.40 points in the six-dive event. The Scots also received gold-medal performances from Junior Quinn Cassidy (200 Free - 1:47.39) and Senior Wali Toulson (50 Free- 21.58).
All in all some very fine early season performances marked the day to kick off the 2011 competitive season. Check the link on this page for final scores and complete results. Our swimmers and divers now look forward to next weekend's Jupiter Relay Invitational scheduled for Saturday, September 17th at the North County Aquatic Complex.

Megan Moroney & Shanna Bober Shine on Day 3

2011-06-05T18:20:00.003-04:00

Shanna Bober completed her utter dominance of the girls 10 & Under Division while her 14 year-old teammate Megan Moroney did some dominating of her own in the Open Division to close out the final day of the SAS Summer Fling Invitational.
Shanna added three more gold medals in the 100 Freestyle (1:14.68), 50 butterfly (38.84) and the 100 Breaststroke (1:43.97) to total nine wins for the weekend. Meanwhile Megan managed to post a pair of best times and victories while swimming up in the Open Division. Megan demonstrated her freestyle versatility with a surprise victory over a tough field in the 100-meter (1:01.38) to open the day and closed it with a strong win in the 1500 (18:05.06).
The Scots 13-14 girls were clearly the class of that Division probably best exemplified as seven girls posted seven best times in the 100 Freestyle including a sweep of the top five places in the 100 Free: 1) Chelsea Scuderi (1:06.03); 2) Courtney Bober (1:06.91); 3) Emma Gelb (1:07.13); 4) CJ McCartin (1:07.64) & 5) McKenna Keith (1:08.50). In the same division Gold medals were claimed by Julianna Carbone, 200 Breast (3:16.57); Courtney Bober , 200 Back (2:41.62) and Chelsea Scuderi, 200 fly (1:14.56).
Tasija Karossas completed a good meet with two more wins in the 200 back (2:28.56) and in the 100 butterfly (1:10.25) just ahead of a fine silver medal swim by Amanda Ford (1:10.94). Ramon Walton grabbed the fly event title for the men in a 1:02.40 out dueling teammate Shawn Warner (1:02.86).
Our Sunday results can be found here and the complete meet results are available here. Now that the summer season is officially here .... LET'S GO SCOTS!

Shanna Bober posts three wins on Day Two of Summer Fling

2011-06-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

Day Two of the SAS Summer Fling Invite saw some very good early season swims for the home team. Leading the way was Shanna Bober – 10 & Under girls – tops in the 50 Free (32.91), 100 Back (1:32.03) & the 200 IM (3:10.16). Other winners included double winner Tasija Karosas, Open 200 fly (2:26.55) & 100 back (1:09.13); Shawn Warner Open 200 fly (2:26.55); Brenna Shipman 13-14 100 Breast (1:28.22), Emily Norton Open 100 Breast (1:18.33) & Quinn Cassidy Open 100 Breast (1:11.84). Other Scots with positive performances of note were Christian Ragland’s 10 second drop in the 200 free (2:38.99) good enough for the bronze in the 13-14 boys division. The 200 freestyle race in the girls open division provided some excitement 14-year old Megan Moroney challenged FAU’s top collegiate freestyler and came away with a silver in a very respectable 2:12.22. Other 13-14 girls with impressive swims were Chelsea Scuderi (2^nd 50 free/30.33) and Courtney Bober (4^th 200 free/2:24.18). SAS Saturday results are here. The meet concludes on Sunday morning with a 9am start time.

SAS Summer Fling Long Course Invitational

2011-06-04T02:13:00.001-04:00

Friday Night at the Duff produced some strong long course swims for our Saint Andrew's swimmers. Of particular note was Shanna Bober's come from behind victory in the 11-12 girls 200-meter freestyle (2:38.03). Tasija Karosas and Amanda Ford dueled to a 1-2 finish in the ladies 400 free (4:41.49 / 4:42.55) while Emma Gelb topped all 13-14 girls with a 5:03.65.

In the 200 Individual Medley races Megan Moroney (2:37.96) & Quinn Cassidy (2:19.33) topped the open fields. In the ladies race silver medalist Emily Norton (2:39.87) and bronze medalist Monica Yoo (2:40.13) both turned in good performances and personal best times. Completing the top three places for the men were Shawn Warner (2:27.31) and Daniel Schneiderman (2:28.16), who also posted a career best with his bronze finish.

Friday night results are here. The racing continues Saturday and Sunday mornings at 9am each day.

SAS Developmental Meet - Sunday May 1

2011-04-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

All of our swimmers should make plans to join us in a one day long course Developmental Meet at the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex on Sunday May 1. This will be a great way for swimmers to get some long course competition in any event they have yet to achieve Junior Olympic Time Standards. We will also be looking for parents to volunteer to help us host. This is a one session meet that will warm-up at 9:30AM and races begin at 11am. Complete meet information is here. Please sign up with your coaches no late than Tuesday, April 26.

LIVE YOUR DASH

2011-04-02T11:46:00.002-04:00

Spring Break is almost over and we now resume our regular training sessions. For anyone who has yet to receive your 2011 Team Shirt, see Coach Sid. The motto "Live Your Dash" is our theme and Writer/Poet Linda Ellis penned a great poem I've copied below. Enjoy

HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH

by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth…
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars…the house…the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard…
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile…
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy’s being read
With your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Sectional Meet

2011-03-15T18:15:00.001-04:00

Attention all Sectional Swimmers and Parents:

It's time for a REALLY BIG MEET! .... the Meet referee tells us that more than 900 swimmers are competing in this competition meaning the meet will be "flighted". In essence that means that there will be two preliminary sessions divided according to entry times. The faster entrants will swim early and the rest of the competitors will swim in the early afternoon. The exact time lines will be posted very soon and we will update our blog as well. This is a great opportunity for you all as swimmers and Saint Andrew's Swimming as a club to take a positive step towards the elite levels of USA Swimming competitions. Do not hesitate to contact Coach Sid with questions and Good Luck to All!

Men's 200m Backstroke B Final - 2011 Missouri Grand Prix

2011-02-20T23:30:00.002-05:00

Women's 100m Backstroke B Final - 2011 Missouri Grand Prix

2011-02-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Women's 400m Individual Medley C Final

2011-02-19T16:36:00.002-05:00

4th Annual Scotty Invitational a Big Success

2011-01-27T09:39:00.003-05:00

A very special THANKS to all who took part and ESPECIALLY the many families who supported the 4^th Annual Scotty Invitational with a GREAT deal of your time and effort. We hosted 531 swimmers in our largest meet ever and it was also our smoothest BECAUSE families pitched in the many areas needed all day Saturday and Sunday. We are certainly very grateful to have so many parents/athletes pitching in who did not even have a family member in the session/meet! The results – and some great pictures – are available below.

Emily Norton's 1st ever 200 Breast

2010-12-11T15:24:00.000-05:00

Scots Smash School Marks and Rock State Meet

2010-11-15T02:04:00.002-05:00

What a trip!

Our Scots set up the evening finals with one of the very best preliminary sessions a team could hope for – nearly every swim – and every swimmer and diver – qualified for the finals and scored points for our team. Colin McArthur got the scoring underway mid-day on the one meter with some outstanding diving. He made both cuts and finished 14th with a score of 329.70.

In the big pool our ladies 200 Medley Relay finished a strong third to two of the best teams in the country (American Heritage and Bolles) and smashed a 23-year old school record with a 1:45.49 effort. It should be noted that this time would have easily won both the 2A and 3A State Meet divisions and we expect will ultimately culminate with a lofty national rank at the end of the scholastic year. New school record-holders from that race include: Back - Tasija Karosas (25.90), Breast - Emily Norton (30.02), Fly – Megan Moroney 25.29 & Free - Hannah Coombs 24.28.

Tasija bounced right back to grab a fourth in an outstanding heat of 200 freestylers – she finished with a 1:50.15 to complement her 1:50.03 District Title where she broke the 1987 school record and secured Automatic All-American status. Tas’s teammates Paige Timmerman and Amanda Ford contributed great swims and important team points with a pair of 1:56’s in the consolation final. Amanda King did likewise in the girls 200IM posting a 2:11 to capture the 12th place finish.

Quinn Cassidy stepped up to post an All-American Consideration time by shaving two seconds off his lifetime best in the 200IM (1:53.89 – 5th) to get the boys on the scoreboard. The 50 freestyle followed with Hannah Coombs posting another lifetime best of 24.91 to take 3rd in the Consolation Heat from Lane 1. Wali Toulson turned in the two best 50 times of his life (21.44 prelims & 21.57 finals) and finished 4th in the big heat to help move the boys team up the leader board.

Eighth –grade sensation Megan Moroney continued the best time thread by posting a 56.05 in the 100 butterfly, good enough for a 5th place overall. Shawn Warner posted his best fly in the morning (54.58) and finished in the 1st alternate slot. Wali returned to another big final and scored more valuable points with a 47.50 8th-place effort. In the girls 500 free Consolation dueling Amandas – King and Ford – gave great efforts and continued the scoring parade finishing 12th (Amanda King 5:07.86) and 14th (Amanda Ford 5:09.04).

After coming so close to a State Title in the 200 Medley Relay our young ladies were poised to take their best shot in the sprint freestyle event coming out of lane number 2. Tasija Karosas led off with a 24.26 amidst a heat of top sprinters separated where 1st through 8th places were separated by a mere 4-tenths of a second. As she has done on so many relays for the Scots all year, Paige Timmerman contributed a great swim (24.37) and at the halfway mark six teams all appeared to be in the hunt for the gold medal. Hannah Coombs turned in another great split (24.46) to get our team to the 150-yard mark. At that time Lake Highland Prep continued to lead the field (1:12.30) ahead of Bolles (1:12.39), Pine Crest (1:13.03) and our young Scots (l1:13.09). Anchor leg Megan Moroney made a valiant effort passing two great teams and secured a silver medal for our girls with a blazing 23.45. The total team time of 1:36.54 once again bettered an ancient school record and would have been good enough for gold in either of the other State Championship divisions – not too shabby for a team made up of three sophomores and an eighth-grader!

Our boys put together a very solid sprint free effort of their own as Quinn Cassidy led off with a 22.05 followed by Greg Norton (22.51), Mario Cardenas (22.21) and Wali Toulson brought home the team with a very solid 21.36 to total 1:28.13 and earn the 5th place medals.

That would bring up the backstroke events and our girls who have dominated the dorsal event all season – Megan and Tasija - stepped in for the race. In an incredibly exciting race that came down to a touch too close to call, the big board flashed Tasija at 54.86 (2nd) and Megan 56.47 (4th ). Unfortunately a slight flinch at the start would cause Tasija to become disqualified which then moved Megan up to third place.

With that we shifted our team focus to the final individual event on the program – and one that our Scots have traditionally dominated – the 100-yard breaststroke. True to form our Scots had four finalists set to perform and rack up some more big points for both teams. Mario Cardenas continued his amazing ability to improve and posted a career best 1:01.18 in the morning to earn a spot in the Consolation heat where he scored 14th. Quinn Cassidy broke the minute barrier (59.89) en route to a 7th place finish. Paige Timmerman posted a career best 1:06.32 to get into the big final and notched another 1:06 to finish 6th at night. Yet it was in that very same Championship Final that one of the year’s most memorable performances came to pass. Senior Captain Emily Norton swimming in her final scholastic race scorched a 1:04.59 Junior National Qualifying time and the Bronze medal. In fact, Em’s swim just behind two of the nation’s top schoolgirl breaststrokers, would have been good enough for the gold in either of the other FHSAA Championship divisions. It was truly a remarkable performance from a remarkable young lady who provided us with a high standard of leadership in a season that will be long remembered. Thanks for it all Emily!

The girls 400-yard freestyle relay of Brenna Ruth, Amanda King, Amanda Ford and Paige Timmerman turned in a respectable 3:39 only to learn that we had been called for a false start. While it did allow us to slip from third to fifth in the team rankings we have accepted the results with resolve. A couple of costly mistakes as far as team points go, but it will not erase the successes of the season. Our girls are quite young and determined to continue our growth …we will come back to capture one of those trophies with the marble trim.

Our boys saved the best for last and managed to send Senior Captain Greg Norton off by twice breaking the school record in their 400 free relay event. Greg led us off in the finals with yet another sub- 50 second swim - 49.20 - and capped his career with a lifetime best. Wali Toulson powered his way to a 47.15 and Shawn Warner contributed a strong 49.30 split that landed our boys in 6th position going into the last leg. Quinn Cassidy stroked past Cardinal Gibbons and American Heritage during a stellar 46.40 to complete the quartet’s new SAS mark of 3:12.05. The boys team finished in sixth place to mark the third consecutive top ten finish and like our young ladies, will return a good number of strong athletes for another run next season.

Finally I would like to thank all the parents, siblings and fans who made the trek to Orlando to be a part of this very special meet. We will celebrate the season in Roberts Theater on Friday December 3rd at 6:00PM. See you all there.

Records Fall Amidst District Meet Excitement

2010-11-01T09:39:00.008-04:00

The Class 1A District 10 Swimming and Diving Championship is without question one very exciting meet, and once again lived up to the reputation as the fastest District Meet in the State. Our Scots certainly showed up ready for the challenge and collected runner-up trophies in both the Boys and Girls Competition. The girls team race provided some unique thrills and even though we collected the second-place trophy, our girls actually outscored rival Pine Crest through all of the swimming events 495 - 484 but lost the diving 57 - 13 despite an outstanding effort from Bianca Lorenzo who finished sixth.

Our girls won two of the three relays and captured four of the eight individual swimming events and smashed one school and four pool records in the process. The 200 Medley Relay started the ball rolling demolishing a talented heat, surpassing the Automatic All-American standard, posting the fastest time in the State to date and setting a new Reid Family Pool Record! Our team was comprised of sophomore Tasija Karosas (26.65-back) , senior Emily Norton (30.26-breast), 8th-grader Megan Moroney (25.43-fly) and sophomore Hannah Coombs (24.47-free). Nice opening act :)

It was great that Tasija's mom came to visit because she got to see some pretty awesome swims - "Tasy" swept her individual events, both in new pool record times - the 200 free (1:50.03 - Automatic All-American) and the 100 back (56.15 All-American Consideration) also broke a school record that has stood 23 years! The previous record of 56.40 was set in 1987 by Stephanie Rosenthal who was a was a many time USA National Team member and here's an interesting fact for film buffs or Las Vegas historians: Have you ever seen the movie Casino with Robert De Niro and Sharron Stone? De Niro's character was closely based on real life handicapper Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal... Stephanie is his daughter. (Thanks Casey Barrett!)

Megan Moroney also collected an individual title in a most interesting Championship Final of 100 fly swimmers - Megan's victory (56.23 All-American Consideration) highlighted a heat where the top seven swimmers were all middle school swimmers ... and five of them were ours! Chelsea Scuderi ( 1:04.70-3rd), Courtney Bober (1:06.70-5th), CJ McCartin (1:08.17-6th) and "bonus" swimmer (from our club's Silver Squad) Stephanie Pfeffer (representing North Broward Prep) who finished 7th (1:08.62). We should be in good shape in the fly for awhile ;)

The final individual District title came in the final individual swim at "the Duff" for our star senior and leader Emily Norton and it came in dominating fashion. Even more fitting was that Emily's first SAS aquatic mentor, and our facility's namesake, Coach Duff Tyler, was on hand for the celebration. She powered her way to a 1:06.98 victory in the 100 yard breaststroke and bid farewell to her home swimming career in style. Lucky for us she has her sights set on two more big ones before we write the final swimming chapter in a storied scholastic athletic career.

In addition to our winners many young ladies stepped up and served notice that this young Scots squad is a force to be reckoned with. A full dozen girls have individually qualified for the Region Championships at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool in Ft. Lauderdale this Thursday, November 4th. Those additional athletes include Paige Timmerman (200 free & 100 breast), Amanda King (200 IM & 500 Free), Amanda Ford (200 Free & 500 Free), Hannah Coombs (50 Free & 100 Free), Sarah Anderson (50 Free & 100 Free), Courtney Bober (200 IM & 100 Fly), Brenna Ruth (100 Free), Chelsea Scuderi (100 Fly) and CJ McCartin (100 Fly). It should be noted that we had several outstanding Consolation Final swims that would have easily qualified for any one of the other eleven FHSAA Regional Meets - some of those are Brinton Coombs (9th 100 breast 1:15.82), Annabelle Van Olden (10th 50 Free 26.85), Devin Bober (11th 100 back 1:07 , Nicole Scuderi (500 free & 100 breast) and multi-sport athlete Niki Jasbon (500 free).

The exclamation point in the girls show was certainly the smashing 4 x 100 yard freestyle relay - new pool record, All-American Consideration and another top time for the State to date of 3:32.50 - Tasija got it going with a 52.71, freshman Brenna Ruth held her own with a 55.12,Sophomore Paige Timmerman moved up to take the lead with a very fine 53.44 on the 3rd leg but it was the amazing anchor-leg split by Megan Moroney that truly rocked the house - 51.23! The gauntlet has been laid down ... these young Scots are ready for the next step!

On our boys side there certainly was a fair share of excitement as well. For starters our 200 Medley Relay team of junior Eamon Ashworth (back 26.33), sophomore Quinn Cassidy (breast 27.57), sophomore Shawn Warner (24.52 fly) and junior Wali Toulson (free 21.58) seemed to absorb the momentum from the girls victory and upset the field from Lane 2 amidst wild cheers from the home crowd fans. Alas and alack, that bubble of euphoria was soon deflated with a referee's disqualification notice for a false start. While many experienced observers were stunned by the call we must all learn from the situation it provided. Without question it erased a great unshaved swim and prevented one of the very best medley relays in the state from advancing through the Series, but the distraction we allowed to creep in is something we will all learn to deal better with. The boys freestyle relays performed well and earned slots in the Region competition and now take on even greater importance as we look to continue to move up at the State Championships.

Ten different Scots earned the right to represent our school in individual events at the Region Meet this Thursday and they include Quinn Cassidy (200 IM & 100 Breast), Wali Toulson (50 Free & 100 Free), Shawn Warner (100 Fly & 100 Back), Greg Norton (50 Free & 100 Free), Landy Lopez (200 IM & 100 Breast), Mario Cardenas (100 breast), Jonathan Larsen (200 Free), Tanner Fuller (200 IM), Alec Greenberg (100 fly), Rafi Castillo (100 Free).

Yet one of the top performers for the boys was senior Rob Schramm who just missed the cut to make the trip to the Hall of Fame Pool, but had incredible time drops in his swan song for SAS Swimming. Rob finished a 1-2 sweep in the consolation 200 free final (just behind classmate Rafi Castillo 1:59.67) - grabbing the 10th in 2:00. 15 and he won the 100 fly consolation heat posting a 1:05.52 100 butterfly - a terrific contribution to our team effort and a superb attitude. Other boys to represent the Scots in consolation finals included Josh Needleman doing the meet's toughest double 200IM (10th) and 500 free (10th), Eamon Ashworth (9th 100 breast & 11th 50 Free), Adam Wiegel (11th 500 Free), Scot Wiegel (11th 100 back), Adrian Guindani (15th 100 fly) and Kevin Diener (100 back).

At the East end of the pool on those beautiful new Duraflex boards, the Scots quartet of seniors bid farewell to their home pool in style. Each member of the team qualified to compete at the Region Meet later this week. Colin McArthur led the way scoring 392.10 for third place and was followed by Luke Bennrubi (353.95 5th), Chris O'Brien (339.55 6th) and Thomas Hausammann (294.90 7th). The Region Diving Meet will be held on Wednesday November 3rd at the University School Aquatic Complex on Nova's campus

Perhaps the day's greatest accolades should go the VOLUNTEERS ... there are a strong group of SAS parents willing to give and give and give and this meet provided a keen opportunity to witness them in action. We certainly would like to see 100% of our parents get involved, and the goal for next year will be to educate and recruit those of you who have yet to "take the plunge" but be sure we appreciate all the contributions that went into making this District Championships a most memorable weekend. Thank you all!

Finally I just want to acknowledge that the emotions we have been through over the past week have been a real roller coaster ride and I am thankful to have been around so many who have shared a note, smile or hug. Losing a young man like Fran Crippen puts an awesome responsibility on each and every one of us to live our lives with passion - as Fran did - and to understand each day the beauty of life itself. It was especially meaningful to me to have our family of swimmers pay respect to Fran before we started Saturday morning - thank you.

ON TO THE REGIONS!

Big Weekend at the Duff!

2010-10-28T14:50:00.002-04:00

We have both a club event and a major high school event this weekend at the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex on campus and we are looking forward to seeing you all out at the pool. We are hosting all of our Bronze level swimmers in a very special "Friday Night at the Races" this Friday starting at 5:30pm. it will be a great opportunity for all to come out and watch our youngest athletes have some fun, race a bit and win some ribbons!

The main event is the 2010 FHSAA District Swimming and Diving Championships that will get underway at 9AM Saturday morning. I have posted Meet Psych sheets, Timelines and Basic Information below. Any of you who choose to come as spectators, please know that there is a $5 admission fee .... BUT volunteers are free! :)

See you at the pool.

Tribute to a Young Hero

2010-10-28T14:42:00.002-04:00

Fran Crippen tragically lost his life last Saturday doing what he loved to do - race in marathon open water swimming events. I have run the gamut on emotions remembering him this week and with at least two open investigations continuing I know there is much more information to come. We will have a moment to remember Fran before we begin the District Meet this Saturday and I thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.

Bonnie Ford from ESPN has written an insightful story and you can also watch his sister Maddy and her inspirational appearance on Good Morning America here: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/swimming/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&page=ford_101027

SCOTS REIGN AS TOP TEAM IN PALM BEACH COUNTY

2010-10-18T16:02:00.014-04:00

The weekend proved to be a memorable one for the swimming and Diving Scots as we reclaimed our title as the best team in Palm Beach County. SAS notched 734.5 points to win our second combined County title in 3 years (last year we fell 2.5 points short). Boca High finished second (717) and Jupiter High was third (644.5). Our girls dominated their division notching 424 points to outdistance Jupiter (334) and Suncoast (320). Sophomore Tasija Karosas led the way with two individual victories, including one meet record (57.07 100 back), two relay victories as she was named the 2010 female swimmer of the meet. Our boy's team finished a strong third scoring 305.5 behind Boca (436) and Jupiter (310.5)

FRIDAY’S EVENT

It all started Friday morning when the SAS diving team got the ball rolling - Bianca Lorenzo made the top twenty cut and all four boys - Colin McArthur (4th) , Chris O'Brien (6th), Luke Bennrubi (7th) and Thomas Hausemann (9th) scored in the Top Ten and handed our swimmers nearly fifty points before the first whistle was blown at Lake Lytal Park. Friday afternoon's Division II Meet proved exciting and we were thrilled to be represented by athletes who showed great enthusiasm and sportsmanship in the non-scoring event. A few of the memorable performances were turned in by Senior Captain Steph DeVries (28.79 50 Free/2nd), Junior Zach Fields (1:15.25 100 breast/2nd) and Sophomore Xander Cohen (2:09.34 200 free/3rd)

COUNTY CHAMPIONS

Saturday the scoring version of the prestigious Championship Meet got underway and our young Scots did not disappoint. We ended up with seven County Titles and our powerful girls team swept all three relay events in dominating fashion. The 200 Medley Relay team of Tasija Karosas (27.91), Emily Norton (30.79), Megan Moroney (27.34) and Hannah Coombs (24.99) crushed the field in 1:51.03 to lead off the Finals session. The 200 freestyle relay team followed suit in a season best 1:40.22 [Hannah Coombs (SO - 25.22), Brenna Ruth (FR-25.27), Amanda Y. King (JR-25.38) & Paige C. Timmerman (SO-24.35)]. The 4 x 100 freestyle team completed the trio of victories by posting a 3:39.74 with Amanda Y. King (JR-56.01) Brenna Ruth (FR-55.07) Amanda J. Ford (JR-54.98) & Tasija A. Karosas (SO-53.68). Individual County Titles were captured by Sophomore Tasija Karosas 100 back (57.05-new meet record) & 200 IM (2:09.97); 8^th-grader Megan Moroney 100 butterfly (59.45) and Senior Emily Norton 100 breaststroke (1:06.96).

TOP PERFORMERS

There were so many outstanding swims that it is difficult to mention only a few. Please take the time to look over our SAS results report and take special note of the last column that lists with a minus sign if the swim was a season best and how many seconds an athlete improved. (A positive number denotes how much the time is slower than their season best). Certainly the boys Medley Relay Team of Eamon Ashworth (JR-27.29 back) Quinn Cassidy (SO-27.25 breast) Shawn Warner (SO- 24.85 fly) Wali Toulson (JR-21.76 free) provided some early thrills by finishing third in 1:41.15. It was an incredibly exciting three team race that featured numerous lead changes and was eventually won by Jupiter (1:40.62) followed by Boca (1:40.94).

In the first individual event of the evening, the 200 freestyle, it was a quartet of Lady Scots who inspired the faithful to keep the crowd heavily involved. Freshman Brenna Ruth (2:01.93) and 7^th – grader Courtney Bober (2:06.94) turned in lifetime bests to go 1^st and 3^rd in the consolation final. In the big final, Paige Timmerman (1:56.20) and Amanda Ford (1:57.07- PB) surprised many (but not us!) as they grabbed 3^rdand 4^th - the SAS girls sent an early message that they were on a mission.

Tasija Karosas (2:09.97) and Amanda King (2:12.56) went 1-2 in the girls 200IM. Quinn Cassidy grabbed a silver in the boys event with a heroic back half for an unshaved best of 1:57.66. Hannah Coombs registered a lifetime best 50 (25.05) as she took the silver while teammates Sarah Anderson (26.42 – 7^th) and Annabelle Van Olden (26.91 – 12^th) contributed big points. In the boys Consolation heat Mario Cardenas popped a 22.84 (10^th) before top finalists Wali Toulson (22.27 - 3^rd) and Greg Norton (23.25- 6^th) made their contributions.

Backing up Megan Moroney – the County’s youngest Champion this year – in the 100 fly was another 8^th grade classmate – Chelsea Scuderi - with an incredible 1:03.85 7^th place swim. Shawn Warner (54.96-4^th) and Alec Greenberg (58.70-11^th) chalked up some points for the boys. Best times were again the order of the day in the big final of the 100 free for both Hannah Coombs (55.86-3^rd) and Brenna Ruth (56.25 – 5th). Greg Norton posted a personal best (50.66-7^th) and Wali Toulson touched fourth (49.44) in the boys Championship Final.

The 500 free was a real thriller as all SAS athletes posted season best (if not career bests) across the board. The excitement of Amanda Ford (5:11.44-3^rd) and Amanda King (5:11.88-5^th) in the Championship event was supported by stellar swims from Courtney Bober (5:35.68 – 11^th) and Tanner Fuller (5:33.75-15^th). The breaststroke races have traditionally been the Scot’s domain and Senior Captain Emily Norton completed her County career in a blaze of glory (1:06.96) with teammate Paige Timmerman close behind (1:08.62-3^rd). Sophomore Landy Lopez-Fernandez turned in an almost shocking 1:06.11 to win the consolation heat in the boy’s race. In the last individual event , Quinn Cassidy (1:01.88) and Marion Cardenas (1:02.41) teamed up for a 2-3 finish in another rousing heat of scholastic racing.

Arguably even more exciting was the final event of the evening – the SAS 400 freestyle relay - Gregory Norton (50.70) Wali Toulson (48.42) Shawn Warner (50.03) Quinn Cassidy (47.42) captured the silver behind Boca, nipped by a mere .38 of a second (3:16.19 to 3:16.57). Both teams bettered the 2008 Meet record that was held by our own Scots set the last time we won the overall team title.

Without question we had a marvelous learning experience and to be back on top of the heap in Palm Beach County was just icing on the cake. The tasks do not get any easier as we travel to Pine Crest – traditionally the top team in south Florida - this Wednesday at 4:30pm – Parents should arrive before 3:20pm or after 4:10pm and park in the parking deck. The 50 minutes in between it is most crowded with school pick-up. We hope to see many of you you there ....

GO SCOTS!!!!

Scots surpass Westminster & Coral Springs Charter ... ON TO COUNTY CHAMPS

2010-10-15T12:31:00.002-04:00

Our girls team remains unbeaten in both dual meet and Invitational competition with victories over Westminster and Coral Springs Charter this week. On Friday and Saturday we place that perfect mark on the line at the prestigious Palm Beach County Championship Meet. Our boys team added two more victories to improve to 9-1 on the season and are looking for a big weekend at Lake Lytal pool as well.

Perpetual nemesis Boca High may be the primary obstacle as our Scots place it all on the line for County ragging rights. Know as the only meet of its' kind where girls and boys scores are combined to award and overall Scholastic Champion Team. This year's Aqua-Scots are poised to return the title to SAS. After capturing our first combined crown two years ago, we came within an eyelash of a repeat last season as Boca bettered us by 2.5 points. This year should prove to be much of the same with Boca in addition to having the always dangerous Jupiter high teams in the mix.

Do your best to get out and support our swimmers and divers and follow the Lake Lytal link for the results.

GO SCOTS!!!

Scots Keep Rolling Along

2010-10-11T00:59:00.002-04:00

Wrapping up another exciting week of scholastic swimming where our boys team went 2-1 with victories over Ransom Everglades and Coral Springs Charter, yet bowing to the Boca Bobcats in the exciting "Friday Night Lights Battle of Boca" meet that attracted over 400 people to our pool deck!

Meanwhile our young girls continued on their way towards what may well become an undefeated season by bettering all three of our opponents this week. Beating cross town rival Boca High for the firs time in double digit decades was especially sweet as we head into the Palm Beach County Championship week. Results for all meets are linked below.

We will close out our home dual meet season at the Duff on Tuesday afternoon hosting Westminster and Pope John Paul at 4:30pm. We will recognize our senior class before the meet begins so do your best to join us there.

Friday is Day One of County Champs as our divers head to Calypso Bay early morning and our Division II swimmers compete at Lake Lytal on Friday afternoon. The Championship round on Saturday the 16th will see us make an effort to regain the coveted Combined County Championship Trophy. In the only recognized event of the year where girls and boys points are combined to award an overall Team Champion, our Scots have been most competitive over the past few years. We won the title in 2008 only to relinquish it by 2.5 points to Boca High last year. This year should produce another barn burner so mark your calendars to be on deck for Saturday evening's Finals Session.

Remember that Varsity training on Monday will be early due to the school holiday (9am-11:30am) and that the early dismissal on Wednesday means we will train from 1-3pm that day.

I want to also thank and applaud all volunteers who helped make our club team Developmental Meet such a success last Saturday. It was especially rewarding to see so many Varsity athletes serving as volunteers for our youngest competitors.

GO SCOTS!

Scots Dominate Tampa Bay Classic

2010-10-03T01:27:00.004-04:00

Our trip to Tampa and St. Pete proved memorable as we brought home the top team award in the girls division besting Orlando rival Trinity Prep 510-458.5 and third place Shorecrest (247). A strong male diving corps and a small but spunky group of boys swimming nearly stole the title from a very deep Berkley Prep squad. The "Dirty Dozen" managed to return each squad member to the evening finals and accounted for 422 points, only 27 behind the winners.

Along the way the Scots won a total of 13 events - 8 in meet record time - to truly dominate the competition. Leading the way with two individual wins in meet record time + strong legs on two SAS relays - each also setting new meet marks was Junior Resident Student Wali Toulson(50/100 free) - Quinn Cassidy matched that feat to account for two more gold medal swims (200 IM & 100 breast) - setting one of the meet records in the 100 breast. Tasija Karosas did the same for ladies, despite swimming some off events, and posted victories in the 200IM and 500 free. Other individual winners included Hannah Coombs (50 free). Shawn Warner (100 fly) and Emily Norton with a dynamic come from behind victory in the 100 breast.

The Scots roll into October with another exciting week. Ransom Evergladsa and Coral Springs Charter come to town Tuesday evening - NOTE NEW START TIME 5:30PM TUESDAY - and we square off with cross- town rival Boca High under the Friday night lights at 7pm on October 8th.

Complete results are available here:

Scots Remain Undefeated through Busy Week

2010-09-25T07:16:00.002-04:00

What a week it was! First of all many thanks to our outstanding coaching staff, administrative staff and especially all you swimmers for the great support, compassion and understanding while I was attending to family matters in Delaware - it really shows how much of a family we have all become! THANK YOU!

Next it was a wild week - Our girls team record now stands at 5-0 after convincing wins over Carrollton and Gulliver Tuesday and a surprising 100 - 83 victory over American Heritage Plantation on Friday. This is a team with some of the very best girls in the nation and one that is talked about possible successors to a state title so surpassing them in a dual meet is a great accomplishment.

Our boys team tied Gulliver for the second time in three years without the benefit of our strong diving squad (Gulliver's new pool does not accommodate diving) on Tuesday and bounced back to beat an American Heritage team that finished second in the State last year by a 99-84 point margin. It is true that our stellar diving team outscored our opponents 15-0 yet our swimmers managed to outscore the Pats by two points as well! Congratulations to all and special thanks to our volunteers for great work.

Next week brings John I Leonard and Wellington to our house on Tuesday and our travel squad to Tampa will be announced this weekend. This will be our first trip to the Tampa Bay Classic - traditionally one of the best Invitational Meets for private schools in the State - and we will be leaving at 8am Friday to return late Saturday night. GO SCOTS!

September Splashing!

2010-09-12T20:47:00.004-04:00

The 2010 Saint Andrew's Scots achieved a new level of success by capturing the Girls' Team Title in the 4th Annual September Splash Invitational Swimming and Diving Meet. Our girls scored 301 points to runner-up Pine Crest's 280. Crosstown rival Boca High finished a distant third with 209 points. Our boys team grabbed the third place team award totaling 206.5 behind Pine Crest (282.5) and Boca (260.5) .

Newcomer Tasija Karosas led the ladies with stellar performance winning the 200 free (1:55.54) and the 10 backstroke (57.11) - the latter in a new personal best and a new Meet Record. She also had key legs on two winning relays - the 200 Medley - whee the Scots team set a new Meet Record of 1:52.60 - Tasija split 27.12 on the lead-off backstroke leg and was followed by Emily Norton (32.52 breast) Megan Moroney (27.27 fly) and Paige Timmerman (25.69 free). In the meet's final event, the 400-yard free relay, Tasija and the Lady Scots emerged victorious posting a 3:40.56 (Megan Moroney 55.90/Amanda Ford 56.63/Amanda King 54.93/ Tasija Karosas 53.10). To enable the unprecedented relay sweep, our 200 freestyle relay team of Hannah Coombs (25.67), Brenna Ruth (26.25), Amanda King (25.58) and Paige Timmerman (25.57) bettered all others with a team time of 1:43.07. In addition to her relay wins, Junior Amanda King won the girls 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:14.49.

Two of our recently elected team captains each captured a pair of victories in the boys' meet. Wali Toulson finished on top of the 50 freestyle ( 21.97) and 100 freestyle (48.65). Sophomore Quinn Cassidy dominate his events - the 200IM (2:00.96) and the 100 breaststroke (1:02.70).

In all it was a great opportunity for our swimmers and divers to gain some Invitational experience early in the season. The team will focus on training this week and resume competition on the road Wednesday September 22 vs. Gulliver of Miami. Check the links below for complete results and more information.

Scots kick off high school season with double victories

2010-09-08T13:43:00.002-04:00

Both our girls and boys teams picked up a couple of wins yesterday over North Broward Prep and Grandview Prep. The powerful 2010 edition of the Aqua-Scots swept every individual event and every relay en-route to dominating team victories.

Freshman Brenna Ruth was a double winner for the girls and veterans Greg Norton and Quinn Cassidy each posted two wins for the boys as thirteen different Scots captured individual event victories (see below). Complete meet results and team scores are also available through the links below:

Up next for both swimmers and divers is the Annual September Splash Invitational this Saturday at the Duff. Swimmers are to report at 7:15am and the meet will commence at 9am. Divers warm-up at 10:30am and will begin their contest at 11:30am. There is a $2.00 charge for spectators that is waived for parents and supporters who assist with the meet.

SAS INDIVIDUAL EVENT WINNERS

Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

1 Brenna Ruth 2:05.97

Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

1 Gregory Norton 2:07.04

Girls 200 Yard IM

1 Megan Moroney 2:16.42

Boys 200 Yard IM

1 Quinn Cassidy 2:04.16

Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

1 Hannah Coombs 26.34

Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

1 Scott Weigel 24.32

Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

1 Courtney Bober 1:10.49

Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

1 Alec Greenberg 1:02.32

Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

1 Sarah Anderson 58.58

Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

1 Gregory Norton 52.91

Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

1 Amanda Ford 5:17.77

Event 16 Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

1 Tanner Fuller 5:47.90

Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

1 Brenna Ruth 1:07.59

Event 20 Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

1 Quinn Cassidy 56.73

Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

1 Brinton Coombs 1:20.27

Event 22 Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

1 Zach Fields 1:19.85

SAS Age Groupers steal the limelight at JO's

2010-07-22T00:17:00.012-04:00

It was an awesome trio of days ... the heat was on and so were our best 14 and under age group swimmers. Led by 12-year old Courtney Bober - who contributed 32 individual team points and a victory in the girls 11-12 200 backstroke, our youngsters certainly closed out their long course season in style. Quinn Cassidy and Megan Moroney, both swimming abbreviated schedules with the impending Southern Zone Meet in Atlanta next week , contributed some big points as well. Quinn captured two events - the 100 meter free in impressive fashion - 55.24 - and he also defended his 50-meter breaststroke title.

Daniel Schneiderman and Kyle Tatton made repeated trips to the Championship Final Heat for our boys team and both served notice that they are for real. Breaking out on the girls side were three Silver Group swimmers who all stepped up to swim in the Big Finals for the first time at a meet of this caliber. Brenna Shipman, Brinton Coombs (twice) and Julianna Carbone (three times) joined Courtney as finalists and truly delivered some inspirational performances.

Perhaps most thrilling were our young relay swimmers who abounded with enthusiasm and pulled off some inspiring acts of their own. It was wonderful to hear the crowd of SAS parents cheering as a group clad in team colors. Every one of our young athletes felt that love and support and there can be no question what direction this team is headed in.

Links to results are below, but make sure you take the time to peruse some of the great photos as well .... and let me Congratulate all of our swimmers with a special nod to our Silver group and the leadership of Coach John Shipman. It was an honor to be on hand for such a barrage of best times but even more rewarding was sitting next to Coach John and listening to him impart his words of wisdom to his charges .... a whole lotta learning going on! Thanks Coach - Enjoy some fun days and I know we will gear up those Silver swimmers again in August!

Coach Sid

Division Championships Recap

2010-07-13T19:10:00.002-04:00

The weather was hot and so were the swims! Congratulations to all of our swimmers on a very successful weekend of racing. Drops in time were as thick as the humidity. We were well represented at finals on all three nights. Kudos to our first place finishers: Courtney in the 1500 FR, Shanna in the 400 FR, Julianna in the 400 IM, Chelsea in the 200 BR and Brenna in the 50 BR. 20 new JO cuts were obtained as well as a multitude of best times. Smiles were abundant which is just what we like to see. Great racing!

CORAL SPRINGS JUNE INVITATIONAL

2010-06-29T20:53:00.005-04:00

Saint Andrew’s finishes as runner-ups in Coral Springs Invitational

With a great team performance, Saint Andrew’s Swimming scored 362 points and captured the runner-up team award in the 2010 Coral Springs International Invitational Swim Meet. Our young athletes scored in every age division and surprised many of the larger teams to finish second behind the new super power combined team of South Florida AC (formerly Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines Comets). Coach Sid Cassidy said: “We had a very balanced effort and I should note that I was particularly impressed by some great drops by many of our Silver swimmers. Coach John Shipman had those young guns ready to fire and it made for a really fun meet”

The Scots were paced by rising sophomore Quinn Cassidy who set a Florida Gold Coast Record for the 13-14 year-old boys 100 meter breaststroke 1:08.76. Quinn, posted six victories, led all SAS scorers with 61 points, and turned in an impressive 1:03.92 in winning the 100 backstroke. Megan Moroney dominated the 13-14 girls events, winning five events, and notched some outstanding swims including the 200IM (2:26.07), 100 back (1:07.34) and 100 fly (1:04.73). Other notable performances of the weekend included: Brinton Coombs, who posted a victory in the 11-12 girls 50-meter breaststroke (38.52); Daniel Schneiderman, who had a bevy of personal bests and contributed thirty-eight points on the way to a runner-up high point award; Kyle Tatton, who had some big drops and finaled in four events to earn twenty points for his efforts; and the 15-18 200 Medley Relay Team of Genevieve Aube, Holli Pisarski, Amanda King and Hannah Coombs who won that event in 2:09.72.

Complete results are available here.

Results for SAS swimmers available here.

Team Scores:

1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1506.5

2. Saint Andrew's Swimming 362

3. Pine Crest Swimming 343.5

4. Davie Nadadores 342

5. Plantation Swim Team 271

6. Lauderhill Swim Team 229

7. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden 220

8. Bermuda 126

9. Heritage Aquatic Team 100.5

10. Lake Lytal Lightning 99

11. AK Sharks 89

12. Bulado Swimming Club 53

13. Wahoos of Wellington 50

14. Hialeah Swim Club 45

15. Miami Beach Seahawks 37

16. SwimFast 30

17. Equipo de Bayamon 23

18. YMCA of Broward County 21

19. Midtown Weston Aquatics 19

20. Martin County Aquatics 14

21. Lighthouse Point Aquatic Club 4

Long Course Kick Off

2010-05-04T12:47:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to All the athletes and parents who made the weekend trek to Islamorada to kick off the ling course season. A special thanks to the coaches for handling my duties there as I attended to my Aquatic Director role supervising our water polo teams at the FHSAA State Championships - a memorable weekend that saw the Scots bring home the boys title - and we now hope to see a few of those aquatic athletes returning to club swimming as we continue into the long course season.

I also want to thank Kerry Shipman for the great pictures! Check out the Gallery... outstanding!

Some key dates upcoming:

May 14-16 IMX Invitational Meet - Plantation

May 23rd Team Banquet at Roberts Theater - 4:30pm

May 29 - Lake Lytal Developmental Meet (Short Course)

June 5/6 - Long Course Invitational at Pompano Beach

2010-03-17T14:32:00.003-04:00

SAS finishes Fourth in 2010 Junior Olympics

Megan Moroney sets 6 records in 4 events

and finishes with seven gold medals

At the 2010 Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympic Championships held last weekend in Coral Springs, Saint Andrew’s finished in fourth place overall for the teams’ highest rank ever. The Scots were led by 7^th-grader Megan Moroney who went a perfect seven for seven in the gold medal department and managed to break six records in four events. Megan accomplished this by setting two records in her 50-yard backstroke win and two records in the 100-yard IM. Her 26.86 backstroke bettered the Florida Gold Coast record (best time ever accomplished by an FGC swimmer in any competition) and equaled the FGC Open record (best time ever accomplished by any swimmer while competing in an FGC event). She snapped both records in the 100 Individual Medley as well posting a stellar 59.27. In addition, she set a Florida Gold Coast record winning the 100 yard butterfly in 56.24, which in turn qualified her for the USA Swimming Summer Junior National Meet scheduled next August in Irvine, California. Her 50-yard fly victory (26.22) surpassed the FGC Open record in that event. Just for good measure, Megan added victories in the 200 free (1:56.22); 100 back (57.84); 100 IM (59.27) and 200 fly (2:07.82). Megan teamed with Courtney Bober, Chelsea Scuderi, Brinton Coombs and Julianna Carbone to sweep the 11-12 girls relay events in commanding fashion as the same five girls combined to capture the team high point award for that division. Of special note, one week earlier in USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Meet at the University of Texas Megan began her most recent assault on the LSC record book by bettering Lauren Driscoll’s mark in the 200-yard backstroke with an outstanding 2:04.56.

Leading the way for the boys’ team was freshman Quinn Cassidy who completed his effort with five golds and two silvers and some outstanding performances of his own. Quinn grabbed gold medals in the 13-14 boys 200 back (1:55.97); 50 free (21.88); 100 back (53.92); 50 breast (27.74) and the 400IM (4:08.23). Sixth-grade student Tanner Fuller scored a bevy of points for the Scots and brought home the gold in the 11-12 boys 400-yard IM with a fine 4:54.34 performance. There were a multitude of best times and so many swimmers contributed with points, positive attitudes and a true team atmosphere. It was great to see so many SAS smiling faces at Finals to cheer on teammates!

Attached you can view a file with all swimmers results, splits, places and improvements. I want to extend congratulations to all athletes and especially to Coach John Shipman for his outstanding tutelage of the Silver group that comprised the bulk of our Junior Olympians at this great Championship event. Thanks to all and on to the All-Star Meet! Coach Sid

2010 Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympic Final Standings

1. Lake Lytal Lighting 692

2. Pine Crest Swimming 679.5

3. Fort Lauderdale Aquatics 540

4. Saint Andrew's Swimming 492

5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 469

6. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden 424.5

7. Miami Dade County Aquatic Club 380

8. Rockway Swimming Team 363

9. Plantation Swim Team 354

10. Jupiter Dragons Swim Team 299

11. Broward Aquatics 273

12. Heritage Aquatic Team 219.5

13. AK Sharks 171

14. City Of Hialeah Swim Team 158

15. North Palm Beach Swim Club 116

16. Miami Swimming 110.5

17. Florida Keys Swim Club 92

18. Lauderhill Swim Team 86

19. Atlantis Swimming Club 55

20. Miami Beach Seahawks 46

21. SwimFast 43

22. North Miami Swim Team 42.5

23. Midtown Weston Aquatics 40

24. Devilray's Swim Club 36

25. YMCA of South Palm Beach 21

26. Davie Nadadores Swim Team 13

27. Swim Gym Swim Team 10

28. Flying Fish Swim Club 9

29. Big Gator 4

30. Lighthouse Point Aquatic Club 3

31. Martin County Aquatics 2

2010 Junior Olympic Championships

2010-03-14T23:59:00.008-04:00

GREAT MEET FOR SAS ..... Finished 4th overall (see Top 15 below) - highest ever! Great job by ALL! Congrats to Lake Lytal ....
Full report coming out soon including ALL-STAR ANNOUNCEMENT.

 1. Lake Lytal Lighting       692

 2. Pine Crest Swimming       679.5

 3. Fort Lauderdale Aquatics     540

 4. SAINT ANDREW'S SWIMMING       492

 5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami    469

 6. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden     424.5

 7. Miami Dade County Aquatics      380

 8. Rockway Swimming Team      363

 10. Plantation Swim Team               354

 9. Jupiter Dragons Swim Team           299

 10. Broward Aquatics                   273

 11. Heritage Aquatic Team            219.5

 12. AK Sharks                          171

 13. City Of Hialeah Storm Swim Tea     158

 14. North Palm Beach Swim Club         116

 15. Miami Swimming                   110.5

Link to results: http://www.fgcswim.org/

THANKSGIVING

2009-11-26T12:00:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to wish all of our swimmers and families a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving holiday! Gold swimmers will train at the pool from 8-11am Friday and Saturday and resume Monday with our special Gold team meeting at 4pm in Schmidt 110.

Also of note our SAS School Swimming and Diving Awards have been re-scheduled and will now be in the Seigel Room on campus this Wednesday, December 2 at 5:30pm.

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."

~ W. T. Purkiser

WINTER CHAMPS 2009

2009-11-18T14:25:00.011-05:00

The 2009 Florida Gold Coast Winter Champs once again put a cap on our fall season and our SAS swimmers turned in some great performances. Special Congratulations to our high point winners - Megan Moroney (11&12 girls) and Quinn Cassidy (13&14 boys).

A remarkable first heat 10 & Under Girls 200 Medley Relay victory was one of the more memorable moments ... pictured above (courtesy Gen Aube) is the winning team: Shanna Bober, Grace Coombs, Kate Cassidy & Rachel Singleton.

Way to go girls!

Meet Results are posted here.

GIRLS TAKE 3RD PLACE AT STATES - BOYS FINISH 7TH

2009-11-15T07:16:00.005-05:00

It was an awesome experience .... one that these young athletes will remember long after they forget their splits they will remember the "good, good night" that saw our girls surge to a third place finish at an incredibly fast FHSAA Class 1A State Championship. It was the highest for a Saint Andrew's girls' team since the 1989 squad finished as runners-up to Pine Crest. Back in that day, the Scots trailed the school from Lauderdale by 150 points, last night that gap was a mere 32 points. The Scots were led by by the lone senior girl qualifier Genevieve Aube who brought home four medals. Individually Gen grabbed a fourth in the 100 free (52.37) and a sixth in the 100 back (58.40) - both times earning All-American Consideration status. However, it was the strength of the Scots' relay teams that Gen was a part of that got us started ... and finished up with the big finish.
Our girls were seeded third in the heat, sixth overall in the 200 Medley Relay. It was the very first event of the day and as coaches we all knew that this swim would set the tone for the long day to come. The quartet from Jog Road did not disappoint. In classic fashion they exploded onto to the scene with a decisive victory and served notice that this girls team had arrived. It was the first of two swims in this event that each earned Automatic All-American status and ultimately the bronze medal. Gen swam the back stroke (27.13 in the morning/27.32 at night), Junior Emily Norton the breast (30.39/29.64!), 7th grader Megan Moroney the fly (26.25/26.10) and freshman Hannah Coombs the freestyle (25.18/25.11). The relay that closed the night and confirmed the team's best finish in two decades was the 400 freestyle relay that surpassed the All-American Consideration time standard and also captured bronze medals. The foursome of Megan Moroney (53.50), Amanda King (54.21), Amanda Ford (55.52) and Gen Aube (52.44) did the honors in a team time of 3:35.67. I also want to note that middle school sensation Megan Moroney earned an individual medal in the 100 fly going 57.28 in the morning and 57.44 at night in the big finals for the eighth-place points. Even more impressive to me was her dominance of the consolation final of the 100 backstroke - grabbing the top spot in that heat with a 58.44.
Our boys team turned in a good team effort as well with their second consecutive Top Ten finish. The seventh place team effort, despite losing a preponderance of points to graduation last year is a testament to the resilience of a young up and coming squad. All three of our relays earned medals by gaining entry into the all-important "big eight". Sophomore Wali Toulson led the way on these relays and also grabbed a medal for his 100 freestyle effort (47.38/8th place). Senior Stephen Norton put a stamp on his swan song performance by scoring in the 50 freestyle (13th/22.19) and played a important part in all three relay efforts. Freshman Quinn Cassidy twice scored important consolation points individually and also served as a relay component. Senior Filippo Sella was an inspiration not only at this meet, but at our Regionals, with his unexpected relay performances and positive team leadership.
Even though we will miss these seniors, and I will blog more on them in the future, both of our state championship squads are packed with young, evolving athletes who spent the last 36 hours earning valuable experience that no doubt will continue to benefit us in our quest to the top of the mountain. It's time to pack up the vans and head back to Boca .... more thoughts will follow on this exciting chapter of Scots Swimming and complete results can be found at the FHSAA website here.

Senior Captain Genevieve Aube came into the meet seeded 17th in the 100 free - she tied for 8th in the morning dropping over a second (52.97) to set up the swim off (video below - her 5th swim of the morning) with a girl from Bolles ...

Gen crushed the swim off (52.65) and at night grabbed 4th place with a 52.37!

Team Itinerary

2009-11-10T10:04:00.003-05:00

We are looking forward to a great weekend in Orlando at the FHSA State Championships! We wll be leaving at 8:00am on Friday and you can access our team itinerary here.
GO SCOTS!

Region IV - Success - One Step Closer

2009-11-06T08:01:00.003-05:00

The 1-A Region 4 is without question the most competitive Region Meet not only in Class 1A, but in any class throughout the entire state. It is arguably a tougher competition than forty of the fifty State Championship meets throughout the country! Yet I must assert that our Scots Swimmers and Divers were definitely up to the challenge. Challenged not only by the formidable competition, but by ever changing weather patterns that brought buckets of mid-day rain and technical difficulties that slowed the preliminary schedule, our athletes saw fit to keep cool and save focus for the task at hand. Since other Regions in our division will not conclude until Saturday night, we will have to wait until then to officially note how many of our finalists actually qualify for the big show - the State Championships next Saturday the 14th in Orlando.
I feel fairly confident that we will indeed achieve our goal of qualifying all six relays for States - something we have not accomplished since the 1980's - and a key to finishing amongst the State's elite teams at the end of the road. We had some outstanding relay splits as you can see for yourself below and I very much believe we can swim even faster next week.
In all it was truly a great team effort as twenty different Scots scored individually and sixteen different athletes contributed legs on the various relays throughout the day. Below you can see how we collected 227 girls team points and 227 points in the boys to finish in fourth in both meets. WAY TO GO SCOTS...ON TO ORLANDO!!!

RELAYS
Event # 1 Girls 200 Medley
1:52.05 3rd 32 points
Genevieve Aube (SR) Emily A. Norton (JR) Megan Moroney (7) Hannah Coombs (FR)
28.72 (28.72) 59.99 (31.27) 1:26.42 (26.43) 1:52.05 (25.63)

Event # 2 Boys 200 Medley
1:43.88 6th 26 points
Shawn Warner (FR) Mario Cardenas (JR) Alec K. Greenberg (JR) Stephen G. Norton (SR)
(27.43) (28.42) (26.10) (21.93)

Event # 17 Girls 200 Free
1:41.05 7th 24 points
Amanda Y. King (SO) Hannah Coombs (FR) Amanda J. Ford (SO) Megan Moroney (7)
(25.31) (25.86) (25.23) (24.65)

Event # 18 Boys 200 Free
1:28.87 3rd 32 points
Stephen G. Norton (SR) Wali K. Toulson (SO) Filippo Sella (SR) Quinn Cassidy (FR)
(22.61) (21.49) (22.76) (22.01)

Event # 23 Girls 400 Free
3:42.45 7th 24 points
Amanda Y. King (SO) Genevieve Aube (SR) Sarah Anderson (SO) Amanda J. Ford (SO)
(26.90/55.01) (26.23/54.09) (27.42/58.09) (26.55/55.26)

Event # 24 Boys 400 Free
3:16.77 3rd 32points
Stephen G. Norton (SR) Quinn Cassidy (FR) Filippo Sella (SR) Wali K. Toulson (SO)
(23.78/49.89) (23.54/49.33) (23.22/49.71) (22.65/47.84)

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
Genevieve Aube (SR)
54.30 Girls 100 Free 8th 11 points (53.64 prelims)
1:01.01 Girls 100 Back 4th 15 points

Madelynn Camp (JR)
5:18.66 Girls 500 Free 8th 11 points
1:10.21n Girls 100 Breast 5th 14 points (1:09.83 prelims)

Mario Cardenas (JR)
1:03.67 Boys 100 Breast 7th 12 points
2:18.75 Boys 200 IM 20th

Quinn Cassidy (FR)
1:57.79 Boys 200 IM 5th 14 points
1:01.82 Boys 100 Breast 3rd 16 points

Rafael Castillo (JR)
1:03.41 Boys 100 Back 14th 3 points
1:59.15 Boys 200 Free 20th

Amanda Ford (SO)
2:00.72 Girls 200 Free 9th 9 points
5:13.79 Girls 500 Free 7th 12 points

Tanner Fuller (7th)
5:39.23 Boys 500 Free 21st

Alec Greenberg (JR)
57.20 Boys 100 Fly 13th 4 points

Amanda King (SO)
2:12.43 Girls 200 IM 7th 12 points
5:09.37 Girls 500 Free 5th 14 points

Jonathan Larsen (SO)
1:05.68 Boys 100 Back 19th

Owen Long (SO)
2:13.02 Boys 200 IM 15th 2 points

Colin McArthur (JR)
362.75 Boys 1 Meter Diving 8th 11 points

Megan Moroney (7th)
58.11 Girls 100 Fly 4th 15 points
59.25 Girls 100 Back 2nd 17 points

Emily Norton (JR)
1:07.01 Girls 100 Breast 2nd 17 points

Gregory Norton (16) B (JR)
50.95 Boys 100 Free 11th 6 points

Stephen Norton (SR)
22.23 Boys 50 Free 7th 12 points

Chris O'Brien (JR)
333.95 Boys 1 Meter Diving 11th 6 points

Rob Schramm (SO)
5:50.25 Boys 500 Free 23rd

Nicole Scuderi (FR)
2:27.54 Girls 200 IM 21st

Filippo Sella (SR)
23.31 Boys 50 Free 13th 4 points (22.88 prelims)

Wali Toulson (SO)
23.84 Boys 50 Free 8th 11 points (22.27 prelims)
48.15 Boys 100 Free 6th 13 points(47.68 prelims)

Shawn Warner (FR)
56.13 Boys 100 Fly 11th 6 points
58.53 Boys 100 Back 9th 9 points

Scott Weigel (16) B (JR)
1:56.72 Boys 200 Free 16th 1 point

GIRLS TEAM SCORES
PINE CREST 361, CARDINAL GIBBONS 256, AMERICAN HERITAGE (PLANTATION) 235, SAINT ANDREW'S 227, RANSOM EVERGLADES 207, DORAL 151, GULLIVER PREP 136, WESTMINSTER 128.5, CS CHARTER 116.5, CARROLLTON 72, C. SHORES 59, HIALEAH GARDENS 55, MAST ACADEMY 48, MIAMI PACE 45, LASALLE 27, POSNACK 26, UNIVERSITY 19, ST. BRENDAN 17, MIAMI COUNTRY DAY 15, KEY WEST 8, POPE 6, A. MCCARTHY 4, KING'S 2, POMPANO 2

BOYS TEAM SCORES
PINE CREST 397, A. HERITAGE 304, GULLIVER PREP 243, SAINT ANDREW'S 220, CARDINAL GIBBONS 214, WESTMINSTER 141, RANSOM EVERGLADES 106, POMPANO 100, UNIVERSITY 82, WESTMINSTER CHR. 71, A. MCCARTHY 61, C. SHORES 58, LASALLE 54, AH-DELRAY 50, HIALEAH GARDENS 45, DORAL 26, MIAMI COUNTRY DAY 23, ST. BRENDAN 23, DOCTOR'S CHARTER 20, KEY WEST 16, MIAMI PACE 14, MAST ACADEMY 12, CS CHARTER 12, ZION 9, N. BROWARD PREP 5, KING'S 5, POPE 4

Region Meet on Thursday November 5

2009-11-03T19:06:00.005-05:00

The travel details for the region meet have been finalized and our SAS itinerary is available here. Be sure you are ready early ... SWIM FAST IN THE MORNING! Complete psych sheets are available here and meet information here.
GO SCOTS!

Scots Take Two District Trophies - 23 Athletes Qualify For Region Meet

2009-11-01T03:51:00.008-05:00

Our Scots swimmers and divers performed at a high level on Halloween Eve - as did our parent volunteers - as we captured runner-up trophies in both the boys' and girls' divisions of the 2009 District Championship Meet. It was an incredibly well-run meet at the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex thanks to outstanding participation by a corps of SAS parent volunteers. Pine Crest won the girls competition with 588 points while our young girls posted 410 to better all others. Our boys notched 485 as PC matched an identical 588 total in the boys' meet.

Truly we must extend major kudos to our parents and staff - including Athletic Director Dave Ahern and Information Technology guru Joe Uriarte (who performed yeoman duties on both Friday and Saturday) - for what was acclaimed by all visitors as another outstanding Scots production. It takes a lot to put on this type of meet and it did not go unnoticed - to all who pitched in - THANK YOU!

Saint Andrew's qualified a record 23 individual athletes and all six of our relay teams to move on to the Regional Championships slated for this Thursday November 5 at Nova Southeastern University. The list posted below will show the full list of our individual qualifiers and the relay teams selected for the prestigious competition. In addition, you can see the full selection sheet here and peruse complete District results here.

Needless to say I am extremely proud of the efforts of all of our athletes through the season and excited to be taking such a large number to the next level. It was inspiring to watch our students come together as a team and grow in their athletic and social maturity. We will soon post more information about the entire States Series final events and look forward to the continued great support from our families and friends.

Saint Andrew's School Regional Qualifiers listed with qualifying position and time:

Event 1 Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

3 Saint Andrew's School 1:52.95

 Event 2  Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay

  5  Saint  Andrew's School                                     1:45.13

 Event 3  Girls 200 Yard Freestyle

  8  Ford, Amanda                  SO Saint Andrew's            2:01.12

 Event 4  Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

 15  Weigel, Scott                 JR Saint Andrew's            1:58.38

 19  Castillo, Rafi                JR Saint Andrew's            2:00.84

Event 5  Girls 200 Yard IM

  7  King, Amanda                  SO Saint Andrew's            2:14.72

 22  Scuderi, Nicole               FR Saint Andrew's            2:29.39

Event 6  Boys 200 Yard IM

  4  Cassidy, Quinn                FR Saint Andrew's            1:59.19

 16  Cardenas, Mario               JR Saint Andrew's            2:14.24

 17  Long, Owen                    SO Saint Andrew's            2:14.29

Event 7  Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

 23  Norton, Emily                 JR Saint Andrew's              27.27

Event 8  Boys 50 Yard Freestyle

  6  Norton, Stephen               SR Saint Andrew's              22.53

  7  Toulson, Wali                 SO Saint Andrew's              22.60

 13  Sella, Filippo                SR Saint Andrew's              23.25

Event 10  Boys 1 mtr Diving

 11  O'Brien, Chris                JR Saint Andrew's             333.20

 12  McArthur, Colin               JR Saint Andrew's             326.55

Event 11  Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

  3  Moroney, Megan                 7 Saint Andrew's              58.37

Event 12  Boys 100 Yard Butterfly

 10  Warner, Shawn                 FR Saint Andrew's              56.78

 17  Greenberg, Alec               JR Saint Andrew's              58.35

Event 13  Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

  5  Aube, Genevieve               SR Saint Andrew's              53.82

Event 14  Boys 100 Yard Freestyle

  6  Toulson, Wali                 SO Saint Andrew's              49.66

 10  Norton, Gregory               JR Saint Andrew's              51.28

Event 15  Girls 500 Yard Freestyle

  4  King, Amanda                  SO Saint Andrew's            5:14.89

  7  Ford, Amanda                  SO Saint Andrew's            5:17.71

  8  Camp, Madelynn                JR Saint Andrew's            5:23.51

Event 16  Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

 20  Fuller, Tanner                 6 Saint Andrew's            5:33.63

 22  Schramm, Rob                  SO Saint Andrew's            5:51.01

Event 17  Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

  8  Saint  Andrew's School                                     1:44.74

Event 18  Boys 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

  1  Saint  Andrew's School                                     1:29.90

Event 19  Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

  2  Aube, Genevieve               SR Saint Andrew's              59.19

  3  Moroney, Megan                 7 Saint Andrew's              59.44

Event 20  Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

  8  Warner, Shawn                 FR Saint Andrew's              58.73

 21  Castillo, Rafi                JR Saint Andrew's            1:06.30

 22  Larsen, Jonathan              SO Saint Andrew's            1:07.14

Event 21  Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

  2  Norton, Emily                 JR Saint Andrew's            1:07.77

  8  Camp, Madelynn                JR Saint Andrew's            1:10.64

 19  Shipman, Riley                SR Saint Andrew's            1:14:96

Event 22  Boys 100 Yard Breaststroke

  3  Cassidy, Quinn                FR Saint Andrew's            1:02.43

  8  Cardenas, Mario               JR Saint Andrew's            1:05.87

Event 23  Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

  7  Saint  Andrew's School                                     3:46.60

Event 24  Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

  3  Saint  Andrew's School                                     3:20.12

Scots Bid Adieu To Seniors & Complete Dual Meet Season

2009-10-24T14:27:00.005-04:00

On a beautiful and blustery Friday afternoon, our Saint Andrew's aquatic family recognized the efforts of six seniors at the final dual meet of the 2009 season. Divers Tali Frankfort and Mike Davis joined swimmers Genevieve Aube, Riley Shipman, Filippo Sella and Stephen Norton in a short ceremony to acclaim the class of 2010 before the meet's first event. Both our girls and boys' teams ended the season bowing to perennial powerhouse Pine Crest School to finish 9-2 on the season. The girls scored 80 points to visiting PC's 106 while our boys posted 74 against the 112 that the Panthers tallied.

We did have some strong performances including the girls 200 Medley Relay team that opened the meet with a victory - Gen Aube, Maddie Camp, Amanda King and Megan Moroney did the honors. Amanda King went on to win two individual events (200 IM 2:13.03 & 500 free 5:19.06) and become the Scots top point getter for the day. Genevieve captured the 100 backstroke in 1:00.19 and Madelynn Camp posted a 1:09.64 in her victorious 100 breaststroke effort.

In the boys meet individual winners included Stephen Norton in the 50 free (22.48); Luke Bennrubi on the 1-meter board (182.17 points); Wali Toulson in the 100 free (49.12); and Quinn Cassidy in the 100 backstroke (56.90). Yet perhaps the swim of the day came from the only Middle School boy to make this year's roster - 6th grader Tanner Fuller stepped up and contributed an outstanding 5:35.77 en route to a 3rd place finish in the meet's longest event - the 500-yard freestyle.

Upcoming is a most important week for the Scots as we prepare to host the District Championships on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. Stay tuned for complete details and be sure to sign up to assist in what will be our last home meet of the season.

Boca Battle

2009-10-21T21:21:00.001-04:00

The 2009 edition of what has become a great aquatic rivalry saw our young boys team bowing to Boca for the first time in four meetings this season and our girls making strides towards closing the gap on the team that won the 2-A State Championship title two years running. As expected, the boys meet came down to the wire and there was plenty of excitement surrounding the final relay that ultimately decided our fate. As easy as it is to point to one race and name winners and losers, we all know there were many opportunities to position ourselves toward victory and the reality is that we did not seize enough of them to accomplish that task. Even though it’s a worn-out cliché, the team that wanted it more won … and we will use that to strengthen our resolve.

Clearly, there were several exciting performances to laud and numerous opportunities where we gained valuable experience in racing under challenging conditions. Without making excuses, it was difficult for athletes on both teams to bounce back from the emotional highs of Saturday’s County Championship Meet and be prepped to race again on a brisk Tuesday evening were water and air temps bordered on the uncomfortable. Memorable performances included 7^th grader Megan Moroney winning the 200 free and her 6^th grade teammate Courtney Bober’s valiant effort and personal best in the 500, Another 6^th grader, Rachel Warren was inspiring on the board and credit should be noted for Niki Jasbon’s debut as a diver gaining points for her team. Mario Cardenas earned a hard-fought victory in the 100 breast and the Norton boys continue to amaze many with their sprint free performances.

Regardless of the past, we forge into the future and prep for Pine Crest on Friday to close out the dual meet season. The action is slated to get underway at 4pm – GO SCOTS!

( Boca High Dual meet results and splits posted in our results column)

Coming Home for Homecoming - 2009 County Champs

2009-10-18T13:19:00.009-04:00

Last night I was driving a bus full of athletes home - to the Homecoming Dance as a matter of fact – from an incredibly emotional Palm Beach County Swimming and Diving Championship Meet. I had placed Bob Dylan into the CD player and found my mind drifting to tangents far and wide. As many coaches do, I was reliving the various places I thought we might have done a little better when it hit me “like a freight train, moving with a simple twist of fate”. Instead of the gnawing hollow feeling that would ordinarily eat a hole right through my stomach coming within an eyelash of achieving an unlikely, but highly desired victory, I literally started laughing out loud at myself. How incredibly lucky am I? We had just been the only team in the county to capture trophies in all three divisions and we defended our title as Boys Champions despite graduating more than 50% of our points from last year. Ah…but the rub of finishing a mere two and a half points behind cross-town rival Boca High in the only scholastic meet that combines boys and girls scores certainly would be something that would vex me for days, even weeks to come. When teams score more than seven hundred points in a meet and less than three points separates them at the conclusion, it is very easy to play the “what if?” game. I know, I have been the master at it. Yet this night was different … perhaps I am gaining wisdom with my years. In fact, I found myself amazingly calm with our result – and I continued to laugh and to experience again some extremely special moments that could never be measured by any amount of points.
With life’s great experiences we all live and learn and this particular meet gave us great opportunity for both. Our young divers managed to get us off to a great start Friday scoring nearly fifty points behind top four finishes by Colin McArthur and Chris O’Brien. (Complete Swimming and Diving Results here). The preliminary swimming session served as an arousing dress rehearsal for the big show to follow. There is a certain energy that accompanies this meet that is tough to describe to those never associated with it, but suffice it to say the Scots brought their “A game” Saturday night. Our 200 Medley Relays stepped up to the plate and turned in great scoring performances. The 200 freestyle event finalists Amanda Ford, Megan Moroney and Wali Toulson all placed good points in the plus column but it is the performance of Scott Weigel in the consolation final that remains most memorable. Scott had the misfortune to miss his streamline on the dive and his goggles became trapped beneath the bridge of his nose, yet he refused to concede defeat and mightily stroked to a sub two-minute performance that stirred his teammates. Up next, the 200 yard Individual Medley, quickly becoming a signature Scots event. Emily Norton dropped five seconds from her preliminary effort to get the ball rolling. Amanda King took center stage and dominated the girl’s Championship final grabbing the gold with a 2:12.09. What happened next was perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening, to all except Mario Cardenas who made the commitment with his first stroke of butterfly. Swimming in lane 8, the determined Scots junior stunned the consolation field with an impressive 2:13.91 lopping nearly ten seconds off his prelim performance. Taking the baton in the boys’ final, freshman Quinn Cassidy did not disappoint staking his claim as the county’s top all-around scholastic swimmer with an imposing 1:57.92 victory, nearly four seconds ahead of the field.
The sprint events have long been a stronghold for the Scots and Sarah Anderson and Hannah Coombs served notice that they are ready for prime time swims by scoring solidly with best times in the 50 free. Senior Filippo Sella continued the winning tradition by capturing the top spot in the consolation in 23.98. Brothers Norton took over and notched big points with a 3rd (Stephen 22.61) and 5th (23.69). The 100 fly followed and four finalists scored big. For the ladies, young Megan Moroney nearly stole the event from a stellar field finishing second (59.39) and Amanda King posted a personal best (1:00.38) good for 6th place. Shawn Warner (56.95-5th) and Alec Greenberg (58.25-7th) followed suit in the boys’ big final. Sophomore Sarah Anderson started the 100 free heats in fine fashion breaking the minute barrier for the first time in her young career and senior captain Genevieve Aube secured the bronze in the big heat with a fine 53.92. Our male sprinters placed three in the big - Greg Norton captured 8th (52.08) as big brother Steve broke 50 for the first time (49.42 – 5th) and Wali Toulson earned runer-up honors with a 48.61.
The 500-yard freestyle consolation final was exciting as two young ones, frosh Nicole Scuderi and 6th-grader Courtney Bober, turned in personal bests rallied to move up the ranks contributing valuable points. Maddie Camp and Amanda Ford took 4th and 6th places respectively in the championship final. Then came “Relay-Time” - long a forte of the Scots aquatic program. Our girls grabbed the silver with outstanding contributions from a most youthful quartet – Freshman Hannah Coombs (26.83 lead-off), sophomore Sarah Anderson (26.87), fellow sophomore Amanda Ford (25.50) and 7th-grade sensation Megan Moroney (25.64) did the honors. The boys took it one step further finishing two body lengths ahead of their nearest challengers in a ninety second event and smashing the meet record in the process with a most dominant performance (1:28.94). Wali Toulson’s lead-off leg of 22.07 was followed by Steve Norton (22.14), Greg Norton (22.71) and Quinn Cassidy (21.92) to etch their names into the county record books. Six backstrokers scored in the next four heats for the Scots and all made big contributions knowing that moving up from seeded positions was the order of the day as every one of them either held position or improved their lot – Gen Aube scored silver points (1:00.38) while Hannah Coombs (1:06.89) and Devin Bober (1:09.78) left their mark for the girls. Rafi Castillo (1:03.85) and Scott Weigel (1:07.86) dropped notably and with astounding passion to contribute in the consolations while teammate Shawn Warner (1:00.39-6th) made big waves in the final.
The breaststroke races close out the individual events in every scholastic meet and those who recall the thrills from the ’08 County Champs may have had an inkling of what was coming last night. Senior captain Riley Shipman set the tone in the consolations dropping three seconds and moving up the all-important point ladder. What happened next was something few in the house – except for a couple of Scots athletes and coaches – could have imagined. Seizing the moment from the outside lanes – Juniors Madelynn Camp (Lane 1) and Emily Norton (Lane 7) – erupted for a 1-2 finish and fueled the flames keeping the overall title hopes alive. It was especially moving for this old coach hearing Emily congratulate Maddie for keeping the title “in-house” following her dramatic surprise victory of a year ago – truly these are the moments that make it all worthwhile. Not to be outdone, Quinn Cassidy (1:01.86) and Mario Cardenas (1:05.63) finished 1-3 in a thrilling final for the boys. Moving right into the final relay – the 4 x 100 freestyle, we again saw our young girls make an impressive charge in finishing second – Amanda King (55.14), Megan Moroney (54.16), Amanda Ford (56.51) and Gen Aube (53.43) turned in a valiant effort to cap our girls performances. The final stage was set as the announcer proclaimed that to win the boys meet, a team would need to win the final relay … and our charges proved up to the task with remarkable spirit. Stephen Norton (49.97), Wali Toulson (48.43), Greg Norton (51.55) and Quinn Cassidy (48.26 – 3:18.23) prevailed in exhilarating fashion and to put the icing on the proverbial cake of the 2009 Championships. All that was left was the awards ceremony and the bus ride home.
One of my favorite Dylan ballads, “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” resonates through the bus as we exit I-95 and draw closer to home – Bob is speaking of “My Love” and because he is such a great poet, I know he is speaking directly to me. “My Love” this night is my blessed career as a coach and mentor to these fantastic young people – and I hear the line “… there’s no success like failure, and failure is no success at all”. I muse that perhaps coming three points short could prove a better lesson to all of us than if we had indeed captured the big trophy …. then I ponder the paradox that “failure is no success at all” and I refuse to accept the notion that we have achieved some sort of “moral victory” – we have more to do and let’s get after it! I pull into the parking lot and say a silent prayer that these youngsters enjoy their night at the dance … and in their quests well beyond.

County Championships Begin

2009-10-15T21:40:00.004-04:00

Our SAS divers will commence today and our swimmers will follow suit tomorrow in our quest to defend our Palm Beach County Championship title. It will certainly be a challenge with great teams at Jupiter, Boca and Suncoast looking to knock us out of our seat at the top. Having graduated a good number of scoring members, it will be up to a our young swimmers and divers to find a way to get the job done. A team itinerary is posted here and general meet information is available at the host team web site here.

LET'S GO SCOTS!

Scots roll on .... record now 9-0 for both teams

2009-10-13T23:49:00.006-04:00

Another fine outing for our swimmers and divers as we managed to better both Westminster and Pope John Paul this evening. We swam some different events and found some ways to succeed a bit out of the box. To see our team results from this one, click here.

County Champs around the corner ..... GO SCOTS!

The week ahead

2009-10-11T01:56:00.004-04:00

After a most successful week of training AND a very exciting double victory against American Heritage Plantation, we are now coming down the stretch run of our season sporting identical 7-0 records for both teams. We will travel to Lauderdale on Tuesday to double dual Westminster and Pope John Paul. That will be a meet for all swimmers and divers in good standing. Then the big meet of the week will be the Palm Beach County Championships on Friday (diving) and Saturday (swimming).

The 2009 County Championship Meet limits participation to swimmers who have attained a certain time standard. Divers will complete a full 11-dive list and need to be excused from school early on Friday. General meet information on diving is here and for swimming here. The list of Saint Andrew's athletes and the events entered is here. Please direct any questions to me personally and I will release an itinerary later this week. Let's Go Scots!

Scots Continue to Roll

2009-10-08T08:16:00.004-04:00

Our Scots continued to roll through the dual meet season yesterday at "the Duff" by winning both meets vs. American Heritage.
Both teams are now 7-0 on the season and our next meets are at Westminster with Pope John Paul next Tuesday.
Results are available here.

Girls - Team Scores
Saint Andrew's School - 96
American Heritage School-Plant - 87

Boys - Team Scores
Saint Andrew's School - 118
American Heritage School-Plant - 67

Congratulations Coach Sid

2009-10-07T20:04:00.009-04:00

Coach Sid receives USA Swimming's most prestigious annual honor!

The USA Swimming Award, USA Swimming's most prestigious annual honor,was presented to Coach Sid Cassidy. Coach Sid serves as chairman of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, and has served on the committee since 1996. Coach Sid, who is recognized as a major contributor to the addition of the Open Water 10K to the Olympic program, also served as USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Team head coach for five years from 1991-1996. This award was presented to Coach Sid on Saturday September 19th in Chicago at the USAS convention. The Saint Andrews Swimming community is very proud of your achievement.

For Coach Sid's acceptance speech click here.

Weekend Highlights

2009-10-04T21:18:00.006-04:00

SATURDAY - It was a weekend full of swimming, diving and open water swimming amidst great sunny weather and lots of challenges for the young and old alike. Saturday's Woodson Meet at Pine Crest Ft. Lauderdale was a great opportunity for growth and I was certainly proud of our young Scots for finishing 5th in what no doubt is the toughest Invitational Meet in the state this year. Results are here: Prelims, Finals, Final Team Scores

SUNDAY - Nearly 180 swimmers took part in the Inaugural Boca Ocean Open at Spanish River Park with 160 of them racing in a very competitive ocean mile. Amanda Ford and Quinn Cassidy emerged victorious and dozens of SAS swimmers took advantage of perfect aquatic conditions to mark a great day. Yet the lasting impression I have is of the dozen SAS parents eagerly volunteering their time on this beautiful Sunday morn to pitch in and accept any role to help us run this outstanding event. Thanks to all for a great morning! - Complete results are posted on the Florida Gold Coast web site:

Woodson Information

2009-10-02T15:04:00.003-04:00

Swimmers/Parents –
I just got off the phone with Pine Crest (2:45pm Friday)– they have NOT mailed out a time line for Saturday's meet, BUT I was able to get one verbally and get some more important meet information. The meet will begin at 9am (our busses are scheduled to leave campus at 7am). All of our relays will swim in finals only – FINALS are scheduled for 4pm in an effort to complete the meet and have everyone off campus no later than 6:30pm. The reason is that there is a Memorial Service for the Barber family members who tragically died in a plane crash on September 20th.
Any swimmers who want to come on the bus or arrive at the pool at 7:30am are welcome to join us at those times. Swimmers who are participating in any of the following swimming events: 200 free, 200 IM, 50 free MUST be in that first group and be ready to warm-up at 7:30am. Swimmers in the 100 fly and 100 free may choose to arrive at 9:30am and warm up together in the 50-meter pool (see Coach Sid for the warm-up). All of our entered 500 swimmers will compete in finals only. Swimmers in the 100 back and 100 breast may choose to arrive at 11:00am and warm up together in the 50-meter pool (see Coach Sid for the warm-up). Swimmers may be excused to travel with their parents – or drive on their own with a parental note – and swimmers will be dismissed once they have completed their preliminary races. Prelims will likely finish around 1pm – we will get lunch and briefly return to campus where students may rest until 3pm when we return to finals. Students should bring money for lunch if they are planning to remain with us between sessions.
Do not hesitate to e-mail, text or call me (609-432-4896) with any questions or concerns. Go Scots!
Coach Sid

Sunday Beach Swim! - The Boca Ocean Open

2009-10-01T15:34:00.004-04:00

Don't forget the special opportunity for all this Sunday morning at Spanish River Park Beach - sign up with Coach Sid through Saturday for the special team discount - click the link for race details!

Scots close out September undefeated

2009-10-01T06:03:00.005-04:00

Both our girls' and boys' teams handled business last night by downing the Gulliver Raiders 185-113 (Girls) and 168-141 (Boys). Considering that Gulliver is traditionally one of the top teams in the State (last year 6th in boys and 7th in girls) and that we have a healthy rivalry with them, I was happy with the results. I was especially pleased to see both our swimming teams outscore their swimming teams since they do not offer diving to their students. Adding the diving points in was icing on the cake last night and we will not have that luxury when we meet in their new pool next year in south Dade.

Usually we notice the winners and top finishers as major contributors to our wins, yet I was very happy at the way many of our "second line" swimmers stepped up and raced knowing that seven out of eight contestants in each event were scoring critical points. Of note: Mario Cardenas, Scott Wiegel and Owen Long stepping up big early to set the tone in the 200IM and all coming back with major contributions later in the meet; Jonathan Larsen and Rafi Castillo going 5-6 in the 200 free; Sophomore Eamon Ashworth taking third in the 50 free and 2nd in the 100 breast; the sprint girls sweeping the 50 free 1-2-3-4 - Meagan Moroney, Hannah Coombs, Riley Shipman and Sarah Anderson; Devin Bober and Alana McQuilkin finishing 3-4 in the 100 fly; Andrew Taylor's 6th place in the 100 free knocking nearly three seconds off his previous best; and finally a pair of 6th graders were most impressive racing the 500 free - Courtney Bober placed 4th despite slamming her heel on a turn that swelled up like a ping-pong ball (she never slowed or complained) and Tanner Fuller grabbed the 5th with a solid swim and a very strong finish serving notice that he will be a front liner in this league very soon. As a team we performed quite well on our relay efforts and of course our headliners set a great pace for us all by winning the events noted further below.

It was a fun match-up for me to square off against my former U of Miami assistant coach, James Sweeney, now in his first year of scholastic coaching at Gulliver. James assumed the U's Head Coach position when I left to return to age group coaching in New Jersey in 1998. As an interesting tid-bit of information, the man who succeeded James at Miami, Mariusz Podkoscielny, will be on deck with both of us Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale, in his role as assistant coach with the Pine Crest.

Complete results and relay splits will be available here. Great job Scots - on to the Woodson!

SCOTS EVENT WINNERS

Event 1 Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay

Saint Andrew's School

1:55.17

1) Aube, Genevieve SR

2) Norton, Emily A JR

3) Moroney, Megan J 7

4) King, Amanda Y SO

Event 4 Boys 200 Yard Freestyle

Toulson, Wali K

1:51.81

Event 5 Girls 200 Yard IM

King, Amanda

2:15.33

Event 7 Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

Moroney, Megan J

26.16

Event 9 Girls 1 mtr Diving

Warren, Rachel E

61.75

Event 10 Boys 1 mtr Diving

McArthur, Colin

100.50

Event 11 Girls 100 Yard Butterfly

King, Amanda

1:02.02

Event 13 Girls 100 Yard Freestyle

Aube, Genevieve

54.78

Event 16 Boys 500 Yard Freestyle

Cassidy, Quinn

5:11.62

Event 19 Girls 100 Yard Backstroke

Aube, Genevieve

1:01.41

Event 20 Boys 100 Yard Backstroke

Cassidy, Quinn A

56.68

Event 21 Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke

Norton, Emily A

1:12.72

Event 24 Boys 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

Saint Andrew's School

3:25.20

1) Toulson, Wali K SO

2) Norton, Stephen G SR

3) Norton, Gregory S JR

4) Cassidy, Quinn A FR

Busy Week Ahead

2009-09-28T11:24:00.005-04:00

I trust all the Scots have used the extra day off school to rest up for a very busy week ahead:

Wednesday 4pm - Gulliver dual meet at "The Duff"
Saturday 7:30am - Woodson Invitational (Trials and Finals) at Pine Crest
Sunday 8:00am - The Inaugural Boca Ocean Open Sunday at Spanish River Park

Most of you remember Gulliver prep - a very tough team from Dade County that our boys ended up tied with last year in a lightning-suspended dual last year ... our girls did win that contest, but be sure both of their squads are back and look to be as tough as ever.

The Woodson Invite stacks up to be likely the fastest meet we will see all year. The perpetual State Champions from Bolles are travelling down from Jacksonville and many of the region's other top teams will be attending. It is a full Championship meet - prelims start at 8:00am and finals will begin at 4:30pm. The top 18 swimmers will return in an A-B-C finals format. There will be only one relay per team. Divers will compete in a full 11-dive meet.

The fun continues early Sunday morning as our Saint Andrew's club team is hosting the Inaugural Boca Ocean Open in conjunction with the Boca Raton Ocean Rescue Squad. We are offering a half-mile fun swim and a one mile competitive ocean race for all. Parents and fitness swimmers may participate in either race and be sure to check with Coach Sid for the special discount for SAS families. Complete details are available here and please plan to join us for what we expect will become an annual event.

September Splash - Kudos to All / The Blog is Back!

2009-09-27T12:17:00.005-04:00

The Third Annual Saint Andrew's School September Splash was a great testament to resilience - fittingly our school theme for the year. Alternating between waves of rain and scorching heat/humidity, all of our timers, officials and admin personnel were well challenged without even stepping on a block. Grand kudos are due all who helped stage an incredible meet that finished ahead of an aggressive timeline and provided our young swimmers and divers with a great early season opportunity to grow. 584 athletes participated in the largest single session event in the history of the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex and our coaching staff extends great thanks to a wonderful group of volunteer parents who pulled it off!

The quality of the meet itself continues to escalate with new teams like Pine Crest and Martin County joining traditional Palm Beach County powerhouse teams like Jupiter, Suncoast and Boca. When the last wave had quelled in the pool, our SAS girls found themselves ranked 4th (out of 18 schools participating) and our boys team earned the third place team plaque.

The Aqua-Scots accounted for three new meet records amidst a day full of exciting races and top caliber diving. Our boys 200-yard freestyle relay of Wali Toulson (22.12), Filippo Sella (23.42), Greg Norton (23.08) and Quinn Cassidy (23.18) shaved more than three seconds off the old record posting a 1:31.80. Quinn also topped the field and notched a new meet record in the 200-yard Individual Medley (2:00.68). 7th-grade sensation Megan Moroney served notice that she is ready to do some winning this year with a meet record-breaking victory in the 100-yard butterfly (59.68). Top ten team scores are listed below and complete meet results from the Splash are available here.

The Scots will put their undefeated dual meet records on the line against the always tough Gulliver Prep squad at "the Duff" on Wednesday afternoon (9/30) at 4pm

Girls - Top Ten Team Scores

Place School Points

1 Pine Crest School PCS 308

2 Boca Raton High School BRTN 214

3 Jupiter High School JUPT 194

4 Saint Andrew's School STAD-FG 181

5 Suncoast SUNC 137

6 Martin County High School MART 112 . 50

7 Spanish River High School SPRI 31

8 Atlantic Community High ATDB 9

9 Lake Worth High School LWOR-FL 6 . 50

10 Olympic Heights High School OHHS-FG 5

Boys - Top Ten Team Scores

Place School Points

1 Pine Crest School PCS 299

2 Jupiter High School JUPT 197

3 Saint Andrew's School STAD-FG 184

4 Boca Raton High School BRTN 181

5 Martin County High School MART 93

6 Spanish River High School SPRI 64

7 Dreyfoos School of the Arts DREY-FL 53

8 Suncoast SUNC 44

9 Atlantic Community High ATDB 27

10 American Heritage School Boca AHS-FG 25

JO Meet Summary

2009-07-29T10:29:00.009-04:00

Our Junior Olympic Meet proved to be a successful one with several swimmers scoring points and a large number posting personal best times.

Thursday we kicked the meet off with the 400 Freestyle which was by highlighted by Carson's 14 second time drop!

Friday Prelims saw several personal best times, especially in the 200 Freestyle. Congratulations to Tristan who had an incredible 13 second drop. Advancing on to Finals were Nick (50 BR) and Chelsea (200 Fr) who placed 4th and 8th respectively. Our evening was highlighted by the girl's 200 Medley Relay Team of Megan, Emma, Chelsea and Courtney battling to a first-place finish to get our first points on the board.. They also took 3rd in the 200 Freestyle Relay.

Saturday's weather was a challenge for swimmers and spectators alike. As a result many of the events were swum as timed finals in the evening. Nick continued his fine meet by making finals in his 3 events and capturing first place in the 50 Backstroke. The evening was capped off with the 200 Breaststroke and Connor dropping 10 seconds from his seed time to finish 6th.

Chelsea started us off on Sunday morning by advancing to finals in the 200 Fly where she dropped 5 seconds and finished 5th. Nick advanced in the 100 Breaststroke and 100 Backstroke where he finished 4th and 3rd.

Congratulations to all who represented Saint Andrews and posted numerous personal best times including: Kyle, Hunter, Emma, Shanna, Courtney, Brenna and Ricardo. Have a great break; eat healthy and get plenty of rest as Short Course Season is just around the corner! For meet results click here. For individual results click here.

Division II Championships Wrap-Up

2009-07-13T19:59:00.006-04:00

For the first time this Long Course Season, the weather was in full cooperation. We literally got off to a running start! Due to a last minute time change in the girls 11-12 200 Backstroke, Courtney Bober raced to the pool, put her bag down and ran to the blocks at the very moment the referee signaled the heat into the water. Courtney went on to win the event, obtain her JO cut and in the process redefine the term 'warm up'.

Congratulations go out to first-time JO qualifiers Stephanie Pfeffer, McKenna Keith and Michael Carbone. High fives to all!

We had a great mix of best times in prelims and finals led by Ricardo Martinez with 5 new qualifying times. Chelsea Scuderi continued her assault with 4 new qualifying times as did Nick Conrad with 4 of his own.

Saint Andrew's Swimming was well represented in finals and we enjoyed some great races: Emma Gelb winning the 200 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke and 50 Freestyle. Kayline Cullinane and Devin Bober placed 1st and 3rd in the 100 Butterfly that was exciting right until the finish. McKenna Keith finished 2nd in the 50 Backstroke in her first event final. Josh Schoenbrun had a great 1500 Freestyle that went down to the last 5 meters and awarded him a 2nd place finish.

I was very pleased with the overall effort we gave at this meet and encourage all swimmmers to keep up the hard work as we prepare for the JO meet.

For individual results, click here. For overall meet results, click here.

Coral Springs "A" Invite Results

2009-06-29T10:24:00.008-04:00

What a GREAT weekend of racing!

Despite dodging thunderstorms and dealing with lots of "down" time, our SAS swimmers were certainly "up" most of the time and managed to rewrite the book on personal best times for long course meters. Of particular note are two new FGC records:
Megan Moroney 50 fly 11-12 girls - 29.80
&
Quinn Cassidy 50 breast 13-14 boys - 30.79
Megan served notice that a few more LSC records are in jeopardy this season with her victories in both backstrokes (31.68 & 1:08.14) and the 100 fly (1:05.49). She also took top honors in the 50 free (28.84), 100 free (1:01.57) and the 200 free (2:14.15).
Quinn swept the breastrokes with PB's of 1:10.74 & 2:40.58.
Nick Conrad had a great meet and made nearly every final for the 11-12 boys. He surprised the field from lane 7 to win the 50 back in 34.51 and like most every Silver Squad member saw time drops in every single event!

Shout outs are due for Julianna Carbone and Tristan Predmore as they joined our ever-growing list of Junior Olympic qualifiers - Congrats!

Also Coach John was very pleased to announce that Chelsea Scuderi went 10 for 10 in the best time department as she turned in a series of fine swims.
The Sunday evening session gave way to an impromptu pizza party at the Bobers that turned into a fun time for swimmers and parents alike. Great job SAS .... on to July Championship meets!
To see a team results report that details personal time drops click here. For complete meet results posted on the Coral Springs site check here.

Coral Springs "A" Invite

2009-06-25T10:43:00.005-04:00

This afternoon will find us kicking off Day One of Coral Springs "A" Invitational and we are all looking forward to some great long course racing. Having the opportunity to swim in a trials/finals type of meet at this point in our season is something that should prove valuable.
We have seen some strong training over the past few weeks - it has been especially fun to swim with Elmbrook, Coach Fred Russell's team from Milwaukee all week! Even without backing off, I expect some of you may well surprise yourselves this weekend ...
Stay hydrated - get your rest - let's race.

SAS Intersquad Meet

2009-06-18T20:28:00.004-04:00

What a fun evening for our Bronze and Silver swimmers! The meet proved to be a great chance to step up and race and lots of good times were posted (See results here). A special thanks to all who participated and the Gold swimmers who helped time. I am especially appreciative of our table ladies - Karen Bober and Kara Cassidy who made the results possible and of course to our esteemed photographer and blogging administrator Kerry Shipman.

Remember that this Saturday, June 20 is our special OCEAN AWARENESS DAY at Palmetto Park Beach. Make plans to join us - Gold and Silver II at 8am ... Silver I and Bronze at 10:00am

Pompano Recap

2009-06-16T09:26:00.007-04:00

Congratulations to our Silver II swimmers who had a great meet in Pompano despite the rapidly-changing weather conditions. We didn't get many swims in on Saturday and our Sunday races were cut short as well. There were several memorable races including the girls 11-12 200 IM in which Courtney battled to a 2nd place finish and the boys 11-12 50 Bk, in which Nick came just shy of 1st place. We had 2 swimmers break through and achieve their first JO cuts; Shanna and Brenna. Shanna got her cuts in the 100 Fr and the 200 Fr, while Brenna got her cuts in the 50 Br and the 100 Br. Many other swimmers achieved personal best times which is always great to see. Congratulations to: Erin, Shanna, Kyle, Tristan, Grace, Carson, Brinton, Julianna, Connor, Nick, Gabrielle, Emily, Michael, Emma, Brenna, Courtney, Stephanie, Carlos and Chelsea. Our next big long-course meet is in Coral Springs next week and the kids have been training hard. Keep up the good work!!

Texas Trip

2009-03-09T14:59:00.013-04:00

Eleven of our Saint Andrew's Swimmers traveled to the University of Texas for a long weekend of learning ... and along the way managed to step up and race quite well on many occasions at the 2009 Austin Grand Prix. A team of eleven senior level swimmers totaled 71 points to finish in 25th place in our first venture to the circuit of elite competitions that USA Swimming annually conducts as a stepping stone to national and international competition.

Complete results are posted at USA Swimming's website - http://www.usaswimming.org/ - click on Events then Grand Prix. Of special note is that this meet was conducted in both short course yards (preliminaries) and long course meters (finals).

SCOTS SCORE BIG AT STATES!

2008-11-17T01:24:00.009-05:00

What a GREAT weekend! Our Swimming and Diving team certainly stepped it up this year as our very young girls team (2 juniors, 2 sophomores, 3 freshmen and a sixth-grader!) jumped into 11th place - following a 33rd-place finish in '07 - and really turned some heads at the State Championship Meet. Meanwhile, our boys team - 18th a year ago - leapfrogged fifteen teams to finish #3 in the State! Along the way we earned a number of All-American accolades and even notched the first team record since the turn of the century.

Boys Team Rocks
Five senior boys - three with previous state championship experience - paced the Scots with some outstanding relay swims. Seth Weil scored a bronze in the 50-yard freestyle with a 21.07 and earned himself an automatic All-American standard. He also anchored the Scots 200-yard freestyle relay (20.85) following Bert Posess (22.23). Wali Toulson (21.70) and Wyatt Pechter (21.88). The Scots earned their second relay bronze with that performance and the time of 1:26.66 was under the automatic standard for All-American status AND broke the school record - the first school record of any kind in many years ... but by the looks of things it certainly won't be the last.

The first set of Bronze medals were earned in the 200 Medley Relay and were draped around the Scots foursome of Ramon Walton (back 24.88), Quinn Cassidy (breast 27.10), Wali Toulson (fly 24.96) and Seth Weil (free 20.57). That final time of 1:37.51 was within three tenths of a second of being guaranteed status as All-Americans so those young boys will have to wait until late spring to see if they earn their certificates. Ramon Walton and Quinn Cassidy each scored in two events - Ramon posted a 52.66 in the 100 fly and finished 13th there to go along with an 11th place 100 back (54.86). Quinn notched a 1:58.56 200IM and scored 13th before coming back to win the Consolation Final in the 100 breast (9th place) with a 1:00.13. Young Dylan Richman (7th grade) contributed a pair of points with a dynamic fifteenth place performance in the 1-meter diving. The event that sealed the top three team finish for our Scots was a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay at the end of the evening. Wali Toulson (49.15), Seth Weil (47.11), Ramon Walton (49.17) and Sebastien Aube (50.08) did the honors before heading off to a fine team dinner.

Young Girls Serve Notice

Not to be outdone our boys, the young girls turned some heads on their own in Orlando. Six different girls returned for swims in their individual events and some very fine times were posted in many of those swims. Genevieve Aube blasted to a 57.74 100 backstroke, well within the AA consideration standard, as she earned a seventh place finish. Vicki Ho contributed individually in the 200 free (1:56.53). Amanda Ford returned for two swims at night as she scored in both the 200 (1:57.84) and 500 (5:12.15) freestyles. Megan Moroney created a stir as the only 6th grade student in the state to score (59.44 100 fly) and Amanda King produced a 5:10.28 performance in the 500 that also returned points. Emily Norton made her states debut in the consolation finals of the 100 breast (1:08.79) to round out the individual scoring.

However, much as was the story in the boys meet, the relay events allowed our girls to come together as a team and really shine. The preliminary effort of the 200 freestyle relay was noteworthy in that we dropped nearly two and a half seconds off our seed time to qualify fifth in the all-important Championship Final heat. Vicky Ho (24.86), Genevieve Aube (24.19), Riley Shipman (25.70) and Amanda King (24.96) surprised the field from an outside lane as an exciting preview to the evening's finale. It was the girls in the 400 freestyle relay - out in lane 8 at night - the last team to sneak into the heat with the big points in the last event of the night - that we will long remember as we plan for future Championship Meets. With a revised strategy that sent our accomplished sprinters out in the front half, our girls electrified the SAS faithful by dropping more than four seconds off their preliminary effort. Vicki Ho led off with a personal best of 54.10 to Genevieve Aube - usually accustomed to the anchor leg, Gen's 53.61 earned us some clean water in a battle with Lake Highland and the Episcopal Eagles from Jacksonville. Amanda King turned a 55.24 before handing the duties over to our youngest member, Megan Moroney. Facing experienced senior sprinters in the next two lanes seemed only to energize Megan as she rose to the challenge and refused to allow either team to pass as she scorched a 53.85 split- nearly three seconds under her previous personal best. Our girls earned sixth place points and with all members returning next year, we have already begun planning for the 2009 assault.

What Next?

The beautiful thing about our sport is that you can enjoy it all year round ... and many of our Scots are planning to join our Saint Andrew's Swimming club team for the Winter Championships (this weekend in Plantation) and the Palm Beach County Club Championships (December 13-14). In addition to that we are looking to celebrate the entire season with all swimmers, divers, parents, fans and friends as we hand out our awards. We are looking at December 5 or 6 and have been considering the Siegel Room on campus for a meal and some camaraderie. We can consider alternatives and either way will announce the plans this week.

Thanks again to all the support we received from parents, friends, and the Administration at Saint Andrew's. We are truly building something special here and 2008 will go down as a memorable year in advancing our growth.

Scots Moving On to Orlando!

2008-11-09T14:02:00.004-05:00

A strong Friday showing at the Region Meet allowed our Aqua Scots to come home with third place (boys) and fourth place (girls) finishes at this wekend's Region 4A Championships at the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Lots of Scots will move on to the Orlando FHSAA Class A Championship Meet this Friday, November 14th. We are still awaiting the posting of the selection sheet and on Monday we will release an itinerary and relay plan. For now, feel free to peruse the FHSAA site http://www.fhsaa.org/sw/ to compare the various regions. The top 24 in individual events and top 16 relays are selected.
Stay tuned for more soon! :)

Region Week!

2008-11-03T14:21:00.014-05:00

I do apologize for the lack of blogs (or blobs as my office mate Mr. Ashley might call them) over the past 10 days .... no excuses ... just a crazy time.

So now we are facing the final step on our way to the FHSAA State Championships - the Class A Region 4 Meet at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Pool in Ft. Lauderdale - this Friday November 7.... but how did we get here?

BRIEFLY ... the past weekend was a great effort by all who took part -
THANK YOU first to the unselfish parents who gave of their time to help us run the meet! Words can not express our gratitude but I trust the extraordinary efforts of those wonderful youngsters was worth it to you all. I also want to thank all of you who brought in donations for the Concessions and Hospitality.

In addition I am very thankful to our outstanding SAS Staff -from the top - Dave Ahern sets the tone and it is his leadership again proved invaluable this weekend ... I want to especially note that our Assistant Coaches - Ziggy, Jen, Laura and Kate did a great job as well.
THE SWIMMERS / DIVERS were awesome .... we earned two runner-up team trophies and I promise you those folks just in front of us are taking some serious looks over their shoulders. We won two events - the Boys's 200 Free relay - Bert Posess (22.80), Stephen Norton (23.18), Sebastien Aube (23.37), & Wyatt Pechter (22.43) - claimed their victory with a 1:31.78 - good enough to rank #2 in the state. The boys 400 freestyle relay of Wali Toulson (49.36), Ramon Walton (49.35), Sebastien Aube (50.29) & Seth Weil (46.75) were victorious and currently rank as the top team in the State! We should all realize that there is no more competitive District Meet in the state and many of these schools are still swimming "tired" and have yet to even break out their fastskin suits.
There were scores of great individual performances and overall results are posted on our Varsity page, however, there is one swim that does need to be brought to light - Senior Seth Weil finished in the runner-up position in the boys 50 freestyle and became the first SAS swimmer to earn Automatic All-American status in many years (I will have to check with Coach Duff to get the exact number!) with a blazing 21.35! Congratulations are certainly due... AND know that all the Scots will be keeping our eyes on the big prize ... STATES! We do not simply want to participate ... our goal is to be at our best at that meet AND see how much we can improve on our 18th place finish (boys - 44 points) and our 33rd place finish (girls - 6 points) from the 2007 meet. GO SCOTS!

SCOTS TAKE COUNTY TITLE!

2008-10-19T16:55:00.013-04:00

What a weekend!

After taking the hand-off from a stellar diving corps who put 46 points in the bank, our young swimming Scots hit the ground running ... or perhaps more appropriately, hit the water stroking ... and never looked back. Our team won the Palm Beach County Swimming and Diving Overall Team Championship by posting 713 points ahead of Boca Raton (683) and Jupiter High (551). There certainly were many highlights to note, but of greater value to me was the way the entire team gelled and how each individual focused on their personal task with the team goal in mind. This is a great step as we continue our quest to be the best ... at many levels!

The Boys Team scored 400 points and brought home the team title by overpowering Jupiter (362) and Boca (311). Our youthful girls team scored 313 points to finish third behind Boca (372) and Park Vista (337). While many of our swimmers contributed at every level, I should note some exceptional performances from last night's Finals. We came out of the gate with two outstanding 200 Medley Relay performances only to come up just short of the gold in both efforts. The girls nearly knocked off the defending 2-A State champs as the team of Genevieve Aube (back-28.24), Emily Norton (breast-30.64) Megan Moroney (fly-27.45) and Vicky Ho (free-24.49) notched a 1:50.82 time and earned themselves an All-American Consideration standard just .73 behind their cross-town rivals. In the follow-up, the first three boys all split personal bests; Ramon Walton (back- 25.82), Quinn Cassidy (breast-28.29) and Wali Toulson (25.07) set the stage for a dramatic final leg showdown. Senior Seth Weil quickly disposed of the Jupiter anchorman and closed the gap substantially on the Bobcat boy with an incredible 20.77 split - just .02 off the win. Now this sort of finish could have demoralized a team with less resolve, but not our Aqua-Scots, and for that I am most proud.

Our youngsters stood up and found a multitude of ways to make up for those points we had hoped for in the relays. Starting with the 200 yard events - both Freestyle and IM - we made up some ground. More than one observer noted three young Scots a sophomore (Maddie Camp), a freshman (Amanda King) and a sixth-grader (Megan Moroney) finished in the top five of the girls medley and that two freshmen girls (Vicky Ho and Amanda Ford) were the only two free finalists who did not have JR or SR next to their name. The boys in those events all posted personal bests and set the table for our first victory of the evening. Junior Stephen Norton claimed that privilege as he chopped nearly six-tenths off his prelim time to win the consolation final of the 50 free in 23.50. In the championship final that followed a trio of senior boys - Wyatt Pechter (23.01), Bert Posess (22.58) and Seth Weil (21.76) racked up big points for the Scots. Amanda King grabbed another consolation victory with a 1:01.88 100 fly while her young teammate Megan Moroney posted a 1:01.63 in the big final. Sophomore Alec Greenberg smashed the minute barrier in winning the boys consolation fly final with a 57.60 and teammate Ramon Walton snagged the silver in 53.05.

The evening continued to build in crescendo fashion as we powered through the 100 and 500-yard freestyle events and matched up with the county's best in the 200 freestyle relays. Some memorable splits from those short relays include: Wyatt Pechter's 22.10, Stephen Norton's 22.90, Amanda King's 25.44 and Amanda Ford's 25.75. Genevieve Aube and Ramon Walton scored big on their backs (1:00.57/55.54) leaving the final four events remaining and the team title up for grabs. The Scots, still win less in a championship final event, had only the breaststrokes and 400 relays left to claim one. Resilient sophomore Emily Norton found herself nestled in the championship final surrounded by no less than five senior athletes all looking to close out their county careers in a big way. Yet what transpired ignited the faithful ...coming off the final turn, Ms. Norton displayed the "refuse to lose" attitude that totally disregards logic - and she willed herself to an exhilarating victory. Em's winning time of 1:06.96 put her within seven-tenths of a second of the standard for All-American consideration. The stage was now set for the encore - and the boys final individual event - a young 8th grader stepped up to lane number two with a fierce look of determination on his focused face. Three seniors to his left had all posted faster preliminary times but that definitely did not phase Quinn Cassidy - his intent was simple - win - nothing else will do. By the 50-yard mark Quinn trailed only one competitor and coming out of that turn he made it quite clear that was soon to change. He crushed the field on the back half (29.0/32.3) on the way to a 1:01.38 and his first county title. The tone was elevated as our girls stepped up for the 400 yard freestyle relay and nearly kept the win streak going in a thrilling three team race - Vicky Ho (54.61), Amanda King (54.08), Amanda Ford (56.62) and Genevieve Aube (53.34) took bronze with a 3:38.65 - the fastest time a Scots team has posted in this millennium.

Oh what a night this had turned into. Unknown to our team and our fans was the reality that Coach Eric Hill from Boca High had already dropped by to concede the team title ... I humbly thanked him and explained that we still needed to finish out the relays .... anything could happen ... but I was feeling pretty good. :) We still had not claimed a team relay title and the boys from Jupiter were none too keen to relinquish the men's crown. A true test of a team's mettle is how they perform at the end of the day in this most challenging of team events ... and the 2008 County Championship race did not disappoint. In an electrifying finale Ramon Walton seized the early lead with a 50.09. Sebastien Aube - coming off personal bests and major points contributions in both his 200 and 500 freestyles - turned in another pb of 50.61 and handed the reins over to relay stalwart Seth Weil. All Seth did was track down and destroy his man by a full body length with a 47.71 split. Wali Toulson brought home the gold - and brought down the house - with a 48.50 leg to cap a 3:16.91 Palm Beach County Meet Record. What a fitting end to an extraordinary evening ... and we are on our way.
Complete results : http://www.lightning-swimming.org

Divers Rock 1st Day at County Champs

2008-10-17T22:56:00.005-04:00

We can certainly be proud of our SAS Divers as they racked up 46 points today - more than any other team - to hand the Scots swimmers a nice little lead going into Day 2 of the 2008 Palm Beach County Swimming and Diving Championships. The Scots were led by Dylan Richman who scored 327 points in the 11-dive meet. The depth of the Scots team proved to be our strength as boys received critical team points from Colin McArthur (5th), Luke Bennrubi (6th) and Mike Davis (14th). Katie Klingel did a great job as our sole female representative by placing 17th overall in the girls competition. I was especially impressed with Katie's determination to learn her reverse dives to become eligible for this event.

Our swimmers will be in for a challenge on Saturday with a chance to bring home some hardware as a team. prelims are at 8am and Finals begin at 6pm at lake Lytal. You can find all meet information - including results - at http://www.lightning-swimming.org/

County Championships This Weekend!

2008-10-16T13:55:00.013-04:00

We are expecting some great fun and fast swims at this weekend's Palm Beach County Swimming and Diving Championship and expect to see many of our parents and fans in attendance. The preliminaries start at 8:00am and the finals begin at 6:00pm at the Lake Lytal Pool. See you there!

The host team has posted a great deal of information including psych sheets and time lines which can be found HERE:

map to lake Lytal Pool for Swimming click HERE:

map to Calypso Bay for Diving click HERE:

Westminster Rescheduled

2008-10-15T18:00:00.003-04:00

Thanks to all for being prepared Monday ... it was too bad that Mother Nature had other ideas. We have rescheduled the final home dual of the season for Monday afternoon, October 22 - again a 3:30pm start. We will plan to honor our seniors at that time.

Girls Dominate Gulliver .... Boys Manage A Tie

2008-10-07T21:15:00.009-04:00

The Aqua - Scots took a big step forward today as our young girls racked up 100 points - 30 more than their counterparts from Dade County - and served notice that we are on a quest to be recognized as one of the finest aquatic programs in the south. We did all that without the benefit of our outstanding diving squad simply because Gulliver has no divers, or the outcome would have been even more one-sided. Our girls team should be recognized for their great determination and youth. This is a squad with more Middle Schoolers than seniors and boasting 18 of 24 swimmers in grades 10 and below. Individual winners in the Gulliver competition included Amanda King (FR) 200 IM 2:14.94; Vicky Ho (FR) 50 Free 25.78; Maddie Camp (SO) 500 Free 5:24.64; Genevieve Aube (JR) 100 back 1:01.73; and Emily Norton (SO) 100 breast 1:09.33. Without question we are excited as we move forward into the rest of this season and the seasons to come.

Our boys team salvaged the dream to be the first undefeated Scots team since 1992 by posting some outstanding swims in a historic 85-85 tie with an extremely tough Gulliver team. It was an appropriate ending to a meet that began nearly three weeks ago under thundering skies in south Miami. Both teams enjoyed some very narrow victories and suffered through some agonizing defeats on the way to the outcome some folks liken to kissing your sister. Considering the obstacles we faced getting through this one, I am thankful enough for a sibling smooch ... and the silver lining is that we have still not been beaten in '08! While I am in the mode of expressing thanks, I'd certainly be remiss if I did not mention the gratitude we all should share every time we walk up the steps and enter the Duff Tyler Aquatic Complex. Simply having access to this state of the art pool and the electronic timing equipment is quite the contrast to the environment we faced in the first half of the meet. The big board at the Duff was much appreciated as opposed to a tank where hand-held stopwatches and the human eye left a few questions unanswered (remember Phelps' 100 fly from Beijing? - imagine that type of finish without electronic timing!). So thanks Saint Andrew's for making sure we have what it takes to be the best.

In dissecting the boys meet, there were some big wins along the way but none larger than 9th grader Kyle Kreunen competing in only the second 100-yard backstroke event of his young aquatic life. At the time we knew only a first place finish would place us within striking distance of a Raider squad that had been winning the meet since the first individual event. All Kyle did was lead the race from start to finish and stick the finish to reach the wall sixteen one-hundredths of a second ahead of Gulliver's best dorsal technician. (100 back 1:03.40). To set up that freshman's heroic scenario, a trio of seniors kicked off the second session of this dual with a very impressive performance in the 100 yard freestyle. Seth Weil (1st-49.15), Wyatt Pechter (3rd - 51.98) and Bert Posess (5th - 52.57) all posted personal bests to serve notice that the Scots came to swim. In the other two individual events of the day, Sebastien Aube (SR 5:04.28) and Wali Toulson (FR 5:04.40) turned in season best performances and grabbed important points in the 500 free, while Quinn Cassidy (8th 1:02.82) and Michael Larsen (SR 1:12.42) did likewise in the 100 breaststroke. That brought up the all-important 400 yard freestyle relay and the good guys looking at a ten point deficit. The only way to make up that point differential was to finish two teams ahead of their best and that is exactly what our Scots did. In evenly split relays our strategy paid off with the following results: 1st - SAS "B" team 3:26.81 - Bert Posess (52.11), Sebastien Aube (52.12), Quinn Cassidy (53.06) & Wali Toulson (49.52); 2nd - SAS "A" team Stephen Norton (53.79); Gavin Kane (53.33); Wyatt Pechter (52.08) & Seth Weil (49.21); 3rd - Gulliver Prep 3:35.22. (Complete meet results are up on our web page).

As an additional note of information, last Friday this same group of Gulliver boys led our District rival Pinecrest through the last relay ... then lost the meet by a mere four points. The Scots will face that Pinecrest team in our last dual of the season on their Ft. Lauderdale campus at 4:00pm on Wednesday, October 22, 2008. But, before we get ahead of ourselves though, we have a bit of other business to attend to. We will host our final home dual meet of the season - and honor our senior swimmers and divers - next Monday October 13th at 3:30pm. We will follow that up with the Palm Beach County Championships on Friday (diving) and Saturday (swimming) October 17 & 18, 2008.
Go Scots!