Luis Bahamon, Amy Dantzler, Errol Graham, and Don Skeoch were joined by WH2O newcomers Adam Davis and Tamara Draper on what happened to be a very HOT August weekend.
Swimming guru Tom Reudy made the trek to Orange County to watch Amy Dantzler easily win the women’s 1,500 meter Free on Friday night. Dantzler, this year’s national champion in the event, beat her nearest competition by over 3 minutes. Tom was also on hand to watch Luis Bahamon cruise to a personal best in the 1,500 meter Free as well.
Saturday morning opened up to be an exceptionally hot day. Errol Graham arrived to score team points in his sprint events. The six of us found shelter from the sun wherever we could while we waited for our events. Newcomers Adam Davis and Tamara Draper swam exceptionally well in their inaugural meet with the WH2O team, scoring team points in the sprint, freestyle and fly events. All six WH2O swimmers scored valuable team points throughout the day.
The day dragged on a bit as the relays took longer than anyone anticipated. Host team Mission Viejo had an “N” relay in one event (yep, Mission Viejo A, Mission Viejo B…Mission Viejo N!) but it just gave us more time to socialize.
Sunday morning turned out to be cool and foggy, however, it cleared by mid-morning and was another toasty day. Nonetheless, everyone was prepared for good swims and a lot of fun.
At the close of the meet, “the little team that could” finished exceptionally well. The Men (a team of four) finished a respectable 8th in the men’s standings…the Women (a team of two) placed 14th in the women’s standings…and WH2O finished in 9th place in the combined team standings. Not so bad in a field of 42 teams! It was a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to a greater showing next year!
