Lake Co. YMCA hosts pre-championship swim meet

The novice swimmers on the Northern Lake YMCA Seahorse Swim Team had an outstanding final meet at the 2012 Chicago Classic, Feb. 26, at the Northern Lake YMCA in Waukegan.

Their colleagues – and sometimes competitors – from the Vernon Hills-based Central Lake YMCA Turtles Swim Team … were among the nearly 300 swimmers from nine regional YMCAs that participated in this event.

The Chicago Classic provides a championship meet for younger and less experienced swimmers who do not post a district-qualifying time. While only 14 Seahorses attended the meet, several placed high in their events. Rachel Jenkins earned a 3rd place award for high points in the Girls 9-10 category.

“This was a great way to start off the championship meet season,” Head Coach Mike Hewitt said. “For many of these swimmers, it was the first year on the team and their time drops are outstanding! They all really have a great base to go into the summer season with.”

Next up is the Girls and Boys District 2012 Championships, March 3-4, at the Pleasant Prairie RecPlex in Wisconsin. Fifteen Seahorses qualified for this event.

The Seahorses will start their summer season in May. Visit www.seashorseswimming.org for more details.

The Lake County Family YMCA swim program, which includes the Seahorse and Turtles competitive teams, is well-rounded in that it also includes fund raising, volunteering and social responsibility development.

All Lake County Family YMCA programs are designed to encourage the four core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. For more information, visit www.ymcalakecounty.org.

Seahorse individual finishes at the 2012 Chicago Classic:

Boys 9-10 100-Yard IM

5th place: Harley Yoder

Girls 8 & Under 25-Yard Butterfly

3rd place: Tayler Rouse

Girls 9-10 50-Yard Butterfly

3rd place: Rachel Jenkins

5th place: Clara Robin

Boys 11-12 50-Yard Butterfly

2nd place: Jean Marquez

Girls 9-10 100-Yard Freestyle

2nd place: Rachel Jenkins

Girls 9-10 50-Yard Breaststroke

2nd place: Rachel Jenkins

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. Chartered in 1912 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. To learn more, visit www.ymcalakecounty.org