Scoreboard
Wednesday B meet: MCT 451, Hallowell 391
Saturday A meet: MCT 394, Bethesda 397    
Sunday B Relay Carnival:
MCT 762, Hallowell 552, Olney Mill 544, Upper County 452, Damascus 400, Flower Valley 344

Swimmers of the Week (Week 4):
Jordan Crispeno and Christopher Trahern worked very hard at practices, resulting in great swims at the Wednesday B Meet.  Jordan recorded four best times all by at least 3 seconds, while Chris added two best times and his fly swim bumped him into the A meet.

MCSL Coaches Longcourse results:
MCT swam very fast at this year’s Longcourse meet, held 7/14 at Rockville, which featured the top 8 swimmers in the County in each event.  Congratulations!
Caroline Clark – 2nd 200 IM, 3rd 100 fly 
Evan Garfield – 6th 200 breast
Kyle Jones – 4th 50 breast
Mark Larson – 4th 100 back
Catherine Mulquin – 3rd 100 free, 2nd 100 fly
Matt Mulquin – 8th 50 back
Matt Triau – 4th 100 breast
Alyssa Wallace – 4th 100 fly

Congratulations to Alexys Cohen, Jonathan Crocker, and Abigail Triau, who picked up All-Star nominating times since the last newsletter, bringing the team total to 19.

Quail Valley Mini Meet
Congratulations to our Pre Team swimmers who participated in the Quail Valley Mini Meet on Sunday.  MCT dominated their competitors from eight other teams.  Congratulations to the following Pre-Teamers who swam in the meet: Kiera Ceely, Madelyn Ceely, Zane Clark, Luke Clarke, Noah Clarke, Travis Crandall, Michelle Hoang, Charlie Matusek, Kevin Nguyen, Natalie Parsons, Carson Powell, Elizabeth Schaefer, Ben Senatore, Benjamin Uy, and Jordan Webster.  A big thanks to Pat Webster for organizing everything.  I also wanted to thank the several MCT swimmers and families who came out to support the Pre-team even though they didn’t have anyone in their own families swimming, such as the Boehlert family, the Hernandez family, the Reid girls and Jenna Martinko (I apologize if there were more of you there, we thank you all as well).  This is the Marlin Spirit that keeps us so strong, and with a meet like this one, our future looks bright.

While we’re on the subject of Pre-Team, we couldn’t have had them this ready for the meet without the CIT’s who have helped them and our other 8&Unders throughout the season.  Thanks to Caroline Clark, Rachel Clark, Rebecca Connor, Ceili Gunster, Anna Kovalcik, Jordan Martinko, Matthew Neff, Rachel Sonnenberg, Katie Sweeney, and Hallie Whalen.

Water Polo
The challenge was fierce this game, having to contend with “alumni ringers” such as Brad Buckley, Eric Schofer, Adam Spencer, Scott Spencer, and Andrew Wingert.  Thanks to those guys and all of the 13&Overs who have played all season, continuing the Friday night tradition.

Congratulations to our Graduating Seniors competing in their last dual meets this week: Andrew Clark, Kevin Mulquin, Tyler Newell, and Zack Rimkus.  Also to Mike Deshayes, who graduated last year and came back to swim his final season of MCSL eligibility. 

Other notes and scheduling info:
-Divisionals lineup is posted on the bulletin board, please check to see if you are in the lineup. 
-Thursday morning (donuts and ribbons) is the last practice of the season for non-Divisionals swimmers.  We will be having some fun and maybe playing some water polo.  This is the only chance for us to hand out ribbons from the B Meet. 
-We will be awarding Swimmers of the Week (Week 5) on Thursday morning.
-Thursday morning is also the last practice for the Pre-Team.
-There is no practice Thursday evening or Friday evening.
-Divisionals swimmers (ALL AGES) will practice from 10-11 AM on Friday 7/24.
-All-Star practices (relay and individual, all ages) will be Tuesday 7/28 through Friday 7/31, from 9:30-10:30 AM (no practice Monday 7/27).  The All-Star seedings will be posted on the bulletin board as soon as I have them.

Coach’s Corner: 
We had a lot to be proud of this week.  Believe me, I wish we could have pulled off the win on Saturday, but with the effort that the vast majority of our kids gave, I left that meet with as positive a feeling as is possible after a close loss.  That’s the thing that we always have to understand about this sport: the effort and the spirit are what are important in the long run.  You may not get a best time every time and your team may not win every time, but if you give your best in the water for yourself and out of the water for your team, then success will find you more times than not.  Call it cliché, but that’s the truth.
The B Relay Carnival was great, because we gave that great effort.  I thought that both our swimmers and our parents out-cheered every other team, even when we didn’t get off to the greatest start in the water.  And then our amazing depth allowed us to dominate the Medley Relays and eventually win the meet.  I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: most of us don’t really appreciate how good this team is from 1 to 196.  There were so many swims from the B Relays (or B meets in general) that are so fast for those ages, and would make a A meet for 75 other teams in this county, just not for this one.  I swam for and then coached a team that was usually in Division J, K, and L, and let me tell you, an MCT B team would have crushed any of those teams.  All of the fast depth that we have keeps the top end fast, and it makes everyone on the team faster.  Let’s finish the B meet season undefeated this Wednesday (that would make eleven of twelve years) to add another accomplishment to this great season.
Also, everyone should be fired up for our home Divisional Championship meet this Saturday.  Even if you’re not swimming, come cheer on MCT’s fastest against the best teams in the MCSL.  The meet will be very fast, and it would be great to show the other teams that “THIS IS OUR TOWNE” with a huge, spirited, pro-Marlin turnout (just make sure to carpool).

Since this is the last Coach’s Corner of the season, I’d like to take this time to recognize our coaching staff.  All of these coaches have worked with me since they were very young, and I am proud of the progress they have made as coaches and role-models.  Many other coaching staffs don’t have the commitment or the continuity to continually develop good swimmers and happy swimmers year after year.  I know I wouldn’t be as successful as a coach and MCT wouldn’t be as successful as a team if I didn’t have a group like this one around me.  The Junior Assistants: Mike Larson, Allison Kimball, Andrew Clark, Matt Larson, and Melanie Neff, have done a great job as well, and they are always getting better at instructing and motivating.  We are lucky to have had them all return this year.  And we were so fortunate to be able to have Allison Lapp back this summer as well.  Even with her training and internship demands, she did the great job she always does.  Allison has been coaching with me for seven years now, plus two as a CIT, and as I have gotten older and more tired, Allison has worked harder and added responsibilities to keep things going, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.  I also want to thank Jeff Paul (a.k.a. “JP”), for continuing to cheer and motivate the swimmers.  A lot has changed since I got into the MCSL in 1984, but JP has been there the whole time, and always reminds me of the enjoyment that we should all get out of this experience.  These coaches are a huge part of the reason why we are so successful at all levels - A, B, and Pre.  Please thank them as the year ends! 

Also, please thank our team Reps: Jennifer Crocker, Rosie Kitchen, Nellie Ross, Cheryl Triau, and Dawn Trahern.  They also make my job much easier, and work non-stop to make this experience enjoyable for all of our families.  This year has gone very smoothly, mainly because of their efforts.

Lastly, thanks to Kelly and Amanda for allowing me to continue doing what I enjoy despite the enormous time commitment.  It’s hard to believe that the season is coming to an end.  This is my 15th summer as an MCSL head coach, and I still enjoy it, thanks to this great community that you have accepted my family into.  I hope that you all have great memories of what we did here, and both in and out of the pool.  I hope that the kids learned a lot, not only about their strokes, but about effort, dedication, focus, and team unity.  Even though you’re probably feeling tired (I know I am), I hope that some part of you can’t wait to start again next summer. 

Only one week until the Gala!  Hope to see everyone there!
-Coach Dave