Oregon swimmers were treated to a fast and furious Spring Nationals in Irvine, CA. Forty-three swimmers headed south to compete in the 2023 Short Course Yards Nationals held at the Woollett Aquatic Center. The facility underwent a $2 million renovation which included upgrades to the scoreboards for each of the two 50-meter pools as well as locker room improvements and additional shade structure. This was the largest swim meet in USMS history with nearly 2500 swimmers. Ten lanes of competition were run simultaneously in two 50 meter pools (set up in short course yards). Amongst the participants were 23 former and current Olympians including our own Kurt Grote and Margaret Toppel both of whom swim with the MAC Club.
There were many outstanding swims by Team Oregon and many National Champions. The top 3 point scorers for Team Oregon were Joy Ward with 55 points, and Bob Bruce and Sara Shepherd both with 48 points. Swimmers were limited to a total of 5 individual events. A first place finish earns 11 points. The most a swimmer could earn is 55 points so Joy Ward must have had a perfect meet! Congratulations Joy. She is a National Champion five times over.
We also want to give a big shout out to our amazing coaches Tim Waud (who spent many long days at the pool coaching and cheering for all of us), and Brent Washburne who had the arduous task of putting all the relays together. We are very grateful for you both.
Out of 273 clubs entered, OREG placed 8th! If you only look at regional clubs (20 entered) OREG placed 4th!!
Congratulations to our Oregon stars for this meet:
Joy Ward – 2 Nat’l records, 5 Zone records, 5 OR records
Margaret Toppel – 1 Nat’l record, 3 Zone records, 3 OR records
Bob Bruce – 3 Zone records, 4 OR records
Jane Nichols – 2 Zone records, 2 OR records
Sara Shepherd – 1 Zone record, 4 OR records
Arlene Delmage – 1 Zone record, 2 OR records
Women’s 75+ Relays – 2 Nat’l records, 2 Zone records, 2 OR records (Sandi Rousseau, Joy Ward, Jane Nichols, Margaret Toppel)
