USA Swimming zones will have a local flavor

  • Brian Questel
  • July 20, 2011
  • 257
                        
072511 zones Promo: Zoned in: 5 local swimmers meet qualifying times for USA Swimming zone meets USA Swimming zones will have a local flavor By Brian Questel The Freedlander Swim meet may be over, but its impact carries on. Five local swimmers who competed in the Freedlander meet met regional zone times and four of those five qualified to compete in the Central Zones Meet at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Ind., on August 5-7. Sisters Fiona and Sophia Davis, as well as Jessica Bonezzi and Madison Whitman, have qualified for the 14-under zones meet in Indianapolis, while Alex McCord also qualified for the 18-over 50-meter freestyle in Noblesville, Ind., August 7-9, although he will not be attending that meet. This will be the third zone competition for Bonezzi and Whitman, but the two had an opportunity to fine-tune their swims during the 13-14 age group USA Swimming Sectionals at Cleveland State this past week (July 21-25). Whitman qualified in four events at sectionals ? the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, 100 free and 200 IM, while she will compete in both breaststroke events at zones. Bonezzi will be competing in the 100 and 200 breast, 100 free and 200 IM at sectionals, and she added a fifth event with the 50 free to go along with the other four swims at zones. ?They have had a great year,? said YMCA coach Carl Shallenberger. ?They?ve made a meet (sectionals) beyond zones. They have progressed exceptionally well and they are ahead of where we thought they?d be. It?s good for them and good for the program.? Sectionals are a bonus to making zones, said Shallenberger. ?That?s the next step up and we have a couple more on the verge of making it,? he said. ?The next level is Junior nationals (18-under) and then Senior nationals (18-over), and then every four years there are the (Olympic) Trials. ?This falls along the developmental track,? he added. ?We?re constantly trying to raise the bar, giving them something to shoot for. It isn?t that the goal is unattainable ? we put it out there ? and great stuff can happen along the way.? Bonezzi is making her third trip to zones and the second to Indianapolis. ?Last year I did three events and this year I added the 50 free and 100 free,? said Bonezzi. ?I?m going to swim all five because I think it would be fun. I like having more events and feel I will get more out of the trip and get more experience.? Bonezzi?s focus will be on the 100 and 200 fly, she said. ?I like the butterfly and because it?s longer (events),? said Bonezzi, who will be an 8th-grader at Norwayne Middle School. ?I like the longer events. ? It feels easy, even though it?s not.? Like Bonezzi, Whitman is excited to try her hand at the sectional/zones double. ?I?m familiar with both the Indianapolis and Cleveland State pools and I?ve been there before,? said Whitman, who will be an 8th-grader at Edgewood Middle School. ?I?m excited to be at sectionals for the first time. At zones, I?m excited to see how I?ll place and how well I can do.? Whitman is excited, too, at being at zones for another reason. ?At zones I?ll be with a lot of friends and we?re going to stay there for a while, she said, noting CSU?s close proximity means driving to-and-from the meet. ?At zones, I get to stay at a hotel with friends and go out to eat. There are other fun activities we get to do.? Wooster Parks and Recreation swim coach Larry Smucker has a pair of swimmers who qualified for zones as well in the Davis sisters. ?They did great,? said Smucker. ?They were in the novice group just 2-3 years ago and now they are in zones. They have progressed rapidly. They are excited about it definitely because an awful lot people didn?t qualify.? Both sisters qualified in the 50-meter breaststroke, with Sophia qualifying in the 11-12 group and Fiona in the 10-u category. ?I?m really pleased with making it,? Sophia said, who set a team record in the 50 at Freedlander. ?I?ve had great coaching and I enjoy my coaches. They work on the tiniest things and the biggest things that have made my strokes much better over time.? Sophia made zones over the winter, but that experience wasn?t what she anticipated. ?(Fiona) didn?t go ? because she quit for gymnastics and I was clueless as to what to do,? she laughed. ?Going with Fiona makes me feel much better.? ?I?m just happy I made it,? said Fiona. ?I don?t care what stroke it is, it?s an honor to go.? Fiona was happier with her time as opposed to making zones, she said, because she is closing in on pool and team records. ?I?m gunning for records at the chalet,? she said. ?I?m trying to go as fast as I can because I want to beat it (the breaststroke record) badly. The record is a half-second (away). I?ve gone faster than the record, but that?s a converted time. I haven?t done it on a short-course.? While the final decision whether to attend zones hasn?t been made in the Davis family, Fiona is happy that if they go her sister will be right beside her. ?That makes it special to go together,? she said. ?It makes it more of a special memory when we can go together.?


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