FINA releases 2009 List of Approved Suits

While at this point, USA Swimming, and NFHS have not taken any action regarding this, FINA has determined the suits which will be considered eligible in the year 2009, and missing from that list are any blueseventy suits. According to Swimming World Magazine, the blueseventy company has 30 days to fix the suits to fall in accordance with the FINA regulations. I'm sure that out of season, not many have been watching this blog, but this should prove interesting for next year's swim season, depending on the rulings made here in the USA, also considering FINA's list "expires" on December 31, 2009, in the middle of the high school season.

A Few More Thoughts

Having seen all of the discussion generated over the Swimmer of the Year choice, as well as some of the other comments, I thought I would add something to the discussion. First of all, keep in mind that a similar situation arose a few years ago between Chris Brady (who recently broke one of Mark Spitz's final collegiate records, without the aid of a new technical suit - article) and Grady Carter, with Carter winning the 50 and 100 Freestyle, and Brady taking 2nd in the 50 Free and winning the 100 Fly. Chris Brady came away swimmer of the year that year, due to the closeness of the 50 Free and his power point score in the 100 Fly. Is the system flawed? Probably. Now, many people have offered some suggestions, and I think that one of the best ideas is to somehow incorporate times from the rest of the season, or points scored at dual meets, or some other way to make it truly the Swimmer of the Year, not just of the State Meet. If they want to recognize both, I would see no issue, but basing the year's award on two days of a meet seems unjust at times (and the same goes for the rest of the All-State selections, but they tend to be pretty logical as it is). By all means, continue talking about this, maybe somehow a better idea can evolve from enough different people putting their thoughts together. A few notes though...try to keep comments on topic, and don't sign in as someone who you are not, it makes people sound bad who aren't trying to act the way you portray them. Also, one other comment about one of the more recent posts, regarding Curtis Ramsey's not swimming against Tanner or some others. He did in fact go home sick the day of the Brandywine meet, however, McKee swam the IM and Back, 2 events that Curtis most likely would not have swam. And he asked to go to practice on the day of the DMA meet, although he most likely wouldn't have raced Tanner, because he would have been in the 50 and 100 Free. And over the summer, Curtis swam the 50 and 100 Free, those are his two events, Tanner swam other events (Fly and IM) so Curtis was certainly not shying away from the competition in that respect either.
As for the future of this blog, I have certainly enjoyed writing the posts that I have, and watching it grow from me writing the first post to a home to discuss Delaware Swimming. I will be graduating from Charter in May, and I think no matter where I go to college, I will try to maintain the blog next year, getting what information that I can from the Internet as well as everyone who I will still know in Delaware Swimming. So unless something really interesting comes up, or I see a comment that sparks my attention, this will probably be the last post for the year. For those who still have meets for other teams left this year, good luck, and I hope everyone has a safe end of the school year and summer.

States Wrap-Up

Another year of high school swimming has ended, and the state meet was very fast and very exciting. We saw three records fall, two in the morning, one at night, and countless others close calls with records that may be broken in the next few years. In the days to come, we will learn of the official all-state selections, as well as the swimmers of the year. Nicole Vernon is the obvious choice for the girls, but the boys decision is not as easy. Based purely on the NISCA power points, Tanner Kurz should be the Swimmer of the Year, but he only won one event, while Clifton Gordon won both of his events, including a win over Tanner. Looking at the tables, it seems to me like the breaststroke power points are a little "higher" than some of the other events, and the 500 seems a little lower. Now, it is hard to judge, and is based a lot on perception, but I agree with one of the comments on the last post that it is tough to determine the all-state swimmers based only on two races at the state meet. I think if they were to use the power points as a "guide" but still took into account some sort of vote by the coaches that it would lead to a better choice of swimmers. Also, I still think they should take into account somehow the swimmers in the Consolation Finals. They can score points for the team, so why not for themselves in the all-state race? Even if they were counted at something like 3/4 value, it would still give them an opportunity to earn some more points, and give the advantage on who makes those last few spots on second team to whoever scores the most points in their second event.
On another note, I wanted to throw in a comment regarding the new controversy over the latest "technical" racing suits. The two most advanced suits these days are the LZR Racer by Speedo and the Nero by blueseventy. The LZR has been shown to set many records at the Olympics and throughout other top level competitions, and costs $290 for the jammer, $350 for the legskin, and $550 for the full body at speedousa.com (women's suits range from $425-$550). The blueseventy suits look like they cost something like $395 for the full suit. For those swimmers and teams who can afford to buy these suits, they certainly are given an edge over those who cannot. Blueseventy is a wetsuit company, meaning their suits are going to be more buoyant (one rumor I have heard is that it takes 50 lbs. to submerge one of those suits), giving wearers extra buoyancy and the ability to float on top of the water. There has been talk of disallowing them by FINA, but for the time being they are perfectly legal. From what I have read though, by next year, some tighter restrictions may be in place, and swimmers may lose the advantage of the latest technologies.

Boys Finals - Sals Win, 200 Free Relay Record Falls

Salesianum won its fourth straight swimming and diving title, with AI finishing second, 14 points ahead of Charter. Seems to me that was one of the faster overall state meets in my memory, definitely in the last 4 years. Results to come soon, along with final all state predictions.

Just got the results...they are located here. Team Scores are here. More discussion on the results to come tomorrow, but for tonight, I need sleep. Congratulations to everyone involved with the State Meet, from the swimmers to the coaches to the officials, this meet was truly a job well done all around.

Preliminary All-State Lists:

1st Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Tanner Kurz	Del Mil Acad	FR	100 Fly	141	100 Breast	149	290
Clifton Gordon	Salesianum	SO	100 Fly	143	100 Back	136	279
Samson Crawford	Newark	SR	50 Free	133	100 Breast	143	276
Sean Minderlein	Salesianum	JR	200 Free	130	500 Free	138	268
Tyler Gehrs	St. Andrews	SR	50 Free	138	100 Free	130	268
Tommy McKee	Brandywine	SO	200 Free	138	500 Free	128	266
Ricky Agresta	Archmere	JR	50 Free	136	100 Free	129	265
Curtis Ramsey	Charter	SR	50 Free	132	100 Free	131	263
Eric Materniak	Tatnall	JR	200 IM	134	100 Breast	128	262
Ryan MacLeish	Caesar Rodney	SR	50 Free	127	100 Free	128	255
Michael Moore	Mt. Pleasant	SR	100 Fly	129	100 Back	126	255
Dylan Coggin	Archmere	SR	200 Free	125	100 Free	125	250
Wayde Marsh	Salesianum	SR	100 Free	123	100 Back	124	247
Jack Reardon	A.I. duPont	SO	50 Free	126	100 Fly	119	245
Greg Miraglia	Wilmington Frien	JR	1st place diver		No Second Event		N/A

2nd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Luke Minka	A.I. duPont	SO	200 IM	122	100 Breast	122	244
Brad Brooks	Charter	FR	200 Free	121	500 Free	123	244
Joseph Creekmore	Archmere	SO	200 Free	121	500 Free	119	240
Zack Pryor	Salesianum	JR	200 IM	116	100 Fly	119	235
Wills Cooper	St. Andrews	SR	50 Free	119	100 Free	115	234
Jeong Shin	A.I. duPont	SR	50 Free	117	100 Free	114	231
Alex Hampel	Salesianum	SO	200 IM	115	500 Free	111	226
Mike Marando	Middletown	SR	200 Free	113	100 Breast	112	225
Bryan Brown	Dover	JR	100 Fly	103	100 Back	118	221
Alan Panaccione	St. Mark's	SO	200 IM	100	100 Back	119	219
Jeffery Brooks	Charter	SR	200 IM	101	500 Free	107	208
Jordan Lingo	Milford	SO	200 Free	98	500 Free	102	200
Seth Klair	A.I. duPont	FR	100 Breast	123	No Second Event		123
Tim Stradley	A.I. duPont	JR	200 Free	115	No Second Event		115
John Gravatt	Salesianum	SO	2nd place diver		No Second Event		N/A

3rd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Total
Lee Whitney	St. Andrews	SR	100 Breast	113	113
Benjamin Hitchcock	Newark	SR	100 Back	112	112
Adam Stilwell	A.I. duPont	SR	100 Back	112	112
Matt Jennings	A.I. duPont	JR	100 Breast	110	110
Robert Pagan	Charter	JR	100 Fly	107	107
Jon Champagne	Tatnall	SR	100 Fly	107	107
Nicholas Perkucin	Mt. Pleasant	SO	500 Free	106	106
Adam Keup	Del Mil Acad	SO	200 IM	99	99
Eric Wegner	Brandywine	SO	100 Back	98	98
Kyle Fagan	Newark	SR	200 IM	84	84
Kyle McCormick	Charter	SR	3rd place diver		N/A

Girls Finals - CSW Champs, 2 New Records

Charter girls are champions for the second straight year. Team scores are here. Individual results are here. Two new records were set, the Charter girls Medley Relay and Nicole Vernon of Tatnall in the 500 Free. Congratulations to all on a great meet, the boys will compete tonight with some guaranteed close races and maybe at least one new record.
Preliminary All-State selections are as follows (keep in mind these are NOT official):

1st Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Nicole Vernon	Tatnall	SO	200 Free	147	500 Free	157	304
Kaitlyn Jones	Tatnall	8	200 IM	148	100 Back	151	299
Katherine Rechsteiner	Charter	JR	200 IM	129	100 Breast	149	278
Shannon Foreman	Charter	FR	50 Free	134	100 Free	138	272
Nicole Osman	Newark	JR	200 IM	130	100 Fly	138	268
Megan Northshield	Tatnall	JR	100 Fly	134	500 Free	131	265
Calli Marando	Middletown	SO	100 Free	123	100 Breast	134	257
Brittany Rehrig	Charter	SR	50 Free	120	100 Breast	129	249
Kendall Towe	Sanford	JR	200 Free	122	500 Free	123	245
Alexis Coon	Milford	SO	100 Fly	124	100 Breast	121	245
Katie Steeves	St. Mark's	SR	200 IM	123	100 Free	117	240
Molly Willingham	St. Andrews	SO	200 IM	111	100 Fly	129	240
Samantha Shelley	Padua	JR	200 Free	114	100 Breast	126	240
Laura Askin	Caesar Rodney	SO	200 Free	118	100 Free	121	239
Annie Carter	Ursuline	SR	50 Free	117	100 Free	122	239
Christina Freibott	Tower Hill	FR	1st place diver		No Second Event		N/A

2nd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Nicole Haag	Cape Henlopen	SR	50 Free	123	100 Back	114	237
Corinne Capodanno	Padua	FR	50 Free	121	100 Free	115	236
Kelly McKinley	Brandywine	JR	100 Fly	117	100 Breast	118	235
Alyssa Sanders	Milford	FR	50 Free	117	100 Back	113	230
Haley Arasim	Brandywine	JR	200 IM	111	100 Back	118	229
Meghan Lam	Tower Hill	JR	200 IM	107	100 Back	117	224
Aly Paxton	A.I. duPont	SR	200 Free	106	500 Free	108	214
Meghan Holliday	Charter	JR	200 Free	107	500 Free	104	211
Caitlin Towe	Sanford	JR	100 Fly	106	500 Free	103	209
Haley Novak	St. Mark's	FR	100 Fly	96	100 Breast	107	203
Rebecca Murray	Archmere	SR	100 Breast	128	No Second Event		128
Bridget Sauer	Archmere	SR	100 Back	114	No Second Event		114
Clare Thomas	Sussex Tech	SO	50 Free	111	No Second Event		111
Taylor Shelley	Padua	FR	100 Back	111	No Second Event		111
Katie Lounsbury	Tatnall	SO	2nd place diver		No Second Event		N/A

3rd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Total
Cecily Gordon	Padua	FR	100 Fly	110	110
Megan Blazovic	Padua	JR	50 Free	107	107
Leslie Linn	Tatnall	SR	100 Back	105	105
Claire Mesko	A.I. duPont	FR	100 Free	104	104
Mary Caitlin Samuels	Ursuline	SO	200 Free	101	101
Colleen Cannatelli	Cape Henlopen	SR	200 Free	100	100
Angelina Corrado	Brandywine	SO	100 Free	100	100
Beth McKee	Brandywine	SR	200 IM	98	98
Alicia Howard	Charter	SO	500 Free	94	94
Kristen Holliday	St. Mark's	FR	500 Free	85	85
Mikaela Gekas-Robinson	Ursuline	8	3rd place diver		N/A

Finals Preview

Girls
Barring anything too unusual, the top few teams for the girls' meet tomorrow look pretty predictable, but one mistake anywhere could make for an interesting team points race. As for individual races, it looks like we will see plenty of excitement. All three relays should be close, with the top two teams in each being within a second or a little more. As for individual races, the 200 IM may be close, certainly closer than was expected based on the prelims seeds. The 50 Free should be a thriller, with all of the top 8 swimmers within half of a second, and 9th through 16th all within three quarters of a second. The start, turn, and finish will probably make all the difference. The 100 Fly should be close, with Nicole Osman taking the first seed, but not by much. The 100 Free, much like the 50, should be closely contested, with the top 8 all within a second and a half. While most of the other races don't look quite as close as far as the top few seeds go, there certainly will be close races throughout the top 16 swimmers, and maybe some unexpected close races. A few records have a chance to go down, the best chances are in the 500 Free and the 100 Breast, with an outside chance at the 200 Medley or 200 Free Relay records being broken.
Boys
As for the boys, Sallies is the favorite by a large margin, but second place is definitely up in the air, and 4th and 5th places still could change pretty easily. All three relays again look to be exciting, with the Medley having 5 teams within slightly more than a second. McKee looks to be ahead by a moderately large margin in the 200 Free, but I don't doubt that there will be a closer race than the prelims times. The boys' 50 Free should be an exciting race as usual, again with the top 8 within about a second of each other. The 100 Fly will almost definitely be close, especially if Tanner is feeling better than he was yesterday. The 100 Free features 4 swimmers under a 48, and will definitely be a race to the finish. My guess is the 500 Free will not be as close as it is seeded - Minderlein has gone a 4:37 in USA swimming. The 100 Breast will probably be exciting, with the top 4 possibly capable of breaking the 1:00 barrier. The 200 Free Relay record has a legitimate chance of being broken, with St. Andrew's only .03 away from the record at prelims, and the next few teams within a few tenths of the record. Otherwise, there are outside chances at record-breaking swims in the 200 Medley Relay, 100 Fly, and 100 Breast, but I wouldn't count on seeing any of those go down.
Both meets should be exciting tomorrow, and plan on a full house, tickets sold out quite some time ago.

Boys Results

After the preliminaries, boys results can be found here.
Here are the point spreads if the results stay the same:

School	Points
Salesianum School	394
A.I. duPont	299
Charter Sch of Wilm	297
Archmere Acad	175
St. Andrews School	164.5
Newark HS	150
Delaware Military Acad	139.5
Tatnall School	127
Brandywine HS	124
Mt. Pleasant HS	121
Middletown HS	99.5
St. Mark's HS	83
Seaford HS	46
Wilmington Frien	40
Sanford	40
Caesar Rodney	37
Dover HS	35
Milford	24
William Penn HS	18.5
Concord HS	16
Cape Henlopen HS	10
Appoquinimink	7
Lake Forest HS	6
Glasgow	4
McKean	2

The original website that I had posted for the girls' results is not functioning, but thankfully Bruce was able to make it work. Just got All-State Predictions:

1st Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Samson Crawford	Newark	SR	50 Free	133	100 Breast	143	276
Tyler Gehrs	St. Andrews	SR	50 Free	139	100 Free	131	270
Curtis Ramsey	Charter	SR	50 Free	136	100 Free	133	269
Clifton Gordon	Salesianum	SO	100 Fly	132	100 Back	133	265
Ricky Agresta	Archmere	JR	50 Free	134	100 Free	127	261
Ryan MacLeish	Caesar Rodney	SR	50 Free	131	100 Free	130	261
Tanner Kurz	Del Mil Acad	FR	100 Fly	127	100 Breast	132	259
Eric Materniak	Tatnall	JR	200 IM	132	100 Breast	126	258
Tommy McKee	Brandywine	SO	200 Free	128	500 Free	125	253
Luke Minka	A.I. duPont	SO	200 IM	121	100 Breast	128	249
Sean Minderlein	Salesianum	JR	200 Free	121	500 Free	128	249
Brad Brooks	Charter	FR	200 Free	119	500 Free	122	241
Jack Reardon	A.I. duPont	SO	50 Free	127	100 Fly	113	240
Wills Cooper	St. Andrews	SR	50 Free	120	100 Free	120	240
Greg Miraglia	Wilmington Frien	JR	1st place diver		No Second Event		N/A

2nd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Event #2	Points #2	Total
Wayde Marsh	Salesianum	SR	100 Free	120	100 Back	118	238
Michael Moore	Mt. Pleasant	SR	100 Fly	117	100 Back	120	237
Dylan Coggin	Archmere	SR	200 Free	118	100 Free	117	235
Jeong Shin	A.I. duPont	SR	50 Free	119	100 Free	113	232
Mike Marando	Middletown	SR	200 Free	110	100 Breast	115	225
Zack Pryor	Salesianum	JR	200 IM	110	100 Fly	113	223
Joseph Creekmore	Archmere	SO	200 Free	113	500 Free	109	222
Bryan Brown	Dover	JR	100 Fly	104	100 Back	116	220
Alan Panaccione	St. Mark's	SO	200 IM	100	100 Back	118	218
Alex Hampel	Salesianum	SO	200 IM	108	500 Free	108	216
Jordan Lingo	Milford	SO	200 Free	105	500 Free	101	206
Jeffery Brooks	Charter	SR	200 IM	100	500 Free	101	201
Adam Stilwell	A.I. duPont	SR	100 Back	114	No Second Event		114
Jon Champagne	Tatnall	SR	100 Fly	111	No Second Event		111
Daniel Callaghan	Salesianum	JR	2nd place diver		No Second Event		N/A

3rd Team All State
Name	School	Class	Event #1	Points #1	Total
Benjamin Hitchcock	Newark	SR	100 Back	110	110
Seth Klair	A.I. duPont	FR	100 Breast	109	109
Robert Pagan	Charter	JR	100 Fly	109	109
Matt Jennings	A.I. duPont	JR	100 Breast	108	108
Lee Whitney	St. Andrews	SR	100 Breast	108	108
Tim Stradley	A.I. duPont	JR	200 Free	105	105
Adam Keup	Del Mil Acad	SO	200 IM	101	101
Nicholas Perkucin	Mt. Pleasant	SO	500 Free	100	100
Kyle Fagan	Newark	SR	200 IM	98	98
Eric Wegner	Brandywine	SO	100 Back	96	96
John Gravatt	Salesianum	SO	3rd place diver		N/A

Looks like we are in for a great day of fast swimming on Saturday, with excitement in both the boys' and girls' meets.