Lake County Family YMCA Swim Team Qualifies Five for Finals in Opening Meet
The Lake County Family YMCA Central Lake youth swim team kicked off its winter season in the Metro Chicago District of YMCA swimming and diving competition by qualifying five members for next year's championship meet – three of them in two events. The Turtles, who are based in Vernon Hills, swam a double dual meet against the Foglia YMCA of Lake Zurich and the Lattof YMCA at the Lattof pool in Des Plaines Oct. 1.
Team members who qualified for the YMCA District Championship next March in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. within their age/gender group are: Stephanie Diao, 13, Buffalo Grove, with a time of 2:37.06 in 200-meter freestyle; Sasha Levin, 13, Mundelein, with a time of 6:23.66 in 500-meter freestyle; Nathan McAdams, 14, Libertyville, with times of 1:10.39 in 100-meter backstroke and 1:01.06 in 100-meter freestyle; Lauren Roth, 10, Libertyville, with times of :31.97 in 50-meter freestyle and 1:11.67 in 100-meter freestyle; and Hannah Yan, 12, Buffalo Grove, with times of 2:37.04 in 200-meter freestyle and :33.66 in 50-meter backstroke.
Needless to say the team's coach, Lake County Family YMCA Director of Competitive Swimming Maureen Rancourt, is quite pleased. “We got the winter season off to a
very successful start with five qualifiers for the district championship meet and significant time improvements by most participants,” she said.
Noteworthy individual improvements were achieved by Sam Holloway, 12, of Libertyville and Omar Fathallah, 8, of Mundelein, according to Rancourt. Holloway reduced his times in two events – by :17.67 in 100-meter freestyle and by 11.67 in 50-meter freestyle – while Fathalla reduced his time by :10.91 in 50-meter freestyle.
This season's Turtles team comprises 83 members ranging in age from 6 to 18 who live in several Lake County communities. “It's all about working together as a team. We promote team bonding,” Rancourt said. The older kids each get a swim buddy and help the younger ones by getting them to their starting blocks and helping coach them how to avoid being disqualified, for example.
The YMCA swim program is well-rounded in that it also includes fundraising, volunteering and social responsibility development. A fundraising bake sale benefitting the Turtles takes place Saturday, Oct. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Central Lake YMCA, 700 Lakeview Parkway in Vernon Hills.
For more information about YMCA swimming, contact Rancourt at (847) 367-6797 or mrancourt@ymcalakecounty.org
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The Lake County Family YMCA is a cause-driven nonprofit that strengthens the community through programs and services that foster youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Founded in 1892 as a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit, our association is comprised of the Central Lake YMCA in Vernon Hills, Northern Lake YMCA in Waukegan and Early Head Start in Waukegan.