Hello Lake Marion Family!

It’s time for another epic email as we close out the season. This won't be the last email you will receive this summer, but I can promise that it will be the last long one! ;)

Here’s what’s included:

• Popsicle Meet
• Banquet & Awards Night
• Thank Yous
• End of Season Survey

Popsicle Meet

We had a fabulous turn out for our Popsicle Meet on Sunday morning. Congratulations to everyone who swam. We are so proud of you! Thank you to all of the family members who volunteered, the CITs who came out to help, Stephen Ravas for being our official, Fatima Rasulova-Lewis and Monte Lewis for providing full automation for the meet, Mike Page for announcing, and Alissa Eaton, Alison Torres and Cindy Fuentes for organizing the morning fun! And of course, thank you to Elliot Redman, our preteam coach, who supported the swimmers all season long! You can review the results by clicking here.

Banquet & Awards Night

It was so great to see the team in their fancy attire on Sunday evening to celebrate the season. There are so many thank yous and congratulations to share!

First off, thank you to all of the coaches (and their helpers) for all of the time, energy and thought they put into each of the swimmers’ paper plate awards. Hours and hours of work are poured into our team’s paper plates, and it really showed. A huge shout out to Brandi Valencia for coordinating the festivities! Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped with set up, serving, clean up and preparations. And thank you to the voice of the Lasers, Mike Page, for being our master of ceremonies that evening!

We will miss our graduating seniors and "graduating" parents. Once a Laser, always a Laser!

• Seniors: Sam Arias, Sarah Caldwell, Henry Giffin, Yvette Larios, Liem Nguyen, Maxi Torres, and Jordyn Valencia
• Parents: Vanessa Larios, Eniko Szorenyi, and Ken & Kelli Giffin

We recognized the Giffins with the Kristine Frohman Award for their decades of service to the team, as their oldest daughter joined our team in 2005!

Our preteamers received a medal for their participation. Swimmers who received an All Star time this season received a star pin. Swimmers who participated in any A or B meets received a personalized report card. Swimmers not on preteam under age 12 received a keychain, and our teens received a team shirt with their names on the back!

Congratulations to these swimmers for earning the following special recognition:

• Most Improved - improvement in time and ability
  • Beatrix Carroll and Emmett Tobiassen
• Perseverance - outstanding effort and persistence
  • Elliot Redman and Isaac Muldowney
• Spirit - team spirit and leadership skills
  • Yvette Larios and Isaiah Lansigan
• Sportsmanship - showing respect and a sense of fellowship with competitors
  • Mila Johnson and Benny Catucci
• Coach’s - team spirit, sportsmanship, motivation and overall attitude throughout the swim season
  • Andi Gacuma and Ricky Najarro
• Excellence - general excellence in swimming
  • Sam Arias and Eli Hunter

Preteam

• Perseverance - Olivia Collins and Leo Rami
• Most Improved - Eliana Gnatiko and Roan Au
• Courageous - Taylor Estrada and Carlos Jenkins

Raft and Splash

It was great to see everyone Monday night for our end of season pool party! Congratulations to these swimmers for earning the most points for personal bests this season:

• 18 points - Dylan Jenkins
• 16 points - Alice Kuminov
• 15 points - Charlie Eaton and Andrew Niemiec
• 14 points - Eli Hunter

Thank you to Nadine Tolbert for compiling the personal best data throughout the season, and to Nadine and Coach Tolbert for running the prize shop! Note: While the swimmer report cards reflect season bests, the awards above are based on personal bests calculated by Nadine.

More Thank Yous

Thank you to our coaches - Head Coach Dana Sato, Assistant Coaches Ellie Mikula and Izzy Najarro, Preteam Swimmer Coach Elliot Redman, and Swimmer Coaches Ricky Najarro and Austin Seager. We are so lucky to have such a talented coaching staff!

Our team couldn't function without the time and efforts of all of the volunteers at all of our events. Thank you for your efforts, especially to everyone who went above and beyond the minimum points requirement. We could not have had such a successful season without all of you!

Next Steps

• Survey: Please help us plan for next year by completing our brief survey by Friday, August 7th.
• Unclaimed Awards: If you missed the banquet, please pick up your items at 20525 Beaver Ridge Road between 8:30 AM to 7 PM by Saturday, August 8th. Please leave your family folder in the box when you take your items.

Thanks for a fabulous swim team summer!

Daria, on behalf of the LMST Board