Held annually the first weekend in December in southern California, the SPMS SCM Championship Meet normally draws quite a crowd and is one of the largest SCM meets in the nation. This year, I believe it was the largest SCM meet. Because of its size and depth of competition (and likely because it’s nice to go somewhere sunny and warm in December!), this meet normally draws a decent-sized group of swimmers from Oregon. For whatever reasons, this year there were only 6 of us from Oregon in attendance (Kevin Cleary, David Hathaway, Allen Stark, Carol Stark, Colette Crabbe and me – Matt Miller). However, we were able to outperform many larger teams, finishing 12th overall out of 66 teams.
Kevin Cleary received a 2nd place medal for both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 breaststroke
Kevin Cleary was elated with his swim in the 100 breast. He dropped nearly a full second off of his lifetime best posting a time of 1:14.37. Kevin also posted a very good time in the 200 breast (2:49.18). He was pleased that both swims will likely hold up for 2017 national top 10 times in his age group (men 30-34).
Carol Stark swam the 100 (2:27.34) and 200 backstroke (5:21.31) and the 800 free (20:12.21), significantly besting her seed times in all three events. Allen Stark swam the 50 breast (35.96) and 100 breast (1:19.32), posting times that are currently the fastest in the nation for men aged 65-69 in 2017.
Scoreboard story! Matt Miller set an Oregon Record; David Kays set a PNA record and Heidi George beat all the guys by a big margin while setting a WORLD record in her 40-44 age group.
David Hathaway was very happy with his 400 (4:48.60) and 800-meter (10:00.58) freestyle swims, as he improved his own Oregon record for men 55-59 in both events. And thanks to David being on deck and helping me pace during my swim, I got under 18 minutes for the first time in the 1500 freestyle (17:59.34), posting the fastest time in the nation this year for men 40-44, and also improving the Oregon record for men 40-44 in the event. In the same final heat of the 1500 free, David Kays set a PNA record for men 50-54 with a 17:47.33, and Heidi George won the entire heat on her way to setting a new world record for women 40-44 with a 16:50.92! Wow!
And Colette Crabbe had some of the most impressive swims of all. She set Oregon and Zone records in the 100 fly (1:14.21), 100 IM (1:16.22), and 200 IM (2:43.40) for women 60-64. But the highlight of the meet for her was her world record in the 400 IM, going a 5:50.34 at the end of the day on Saturday. Colette’s new World Record in the 400 SCM IM beat the existing world record set by Laura Val, who has been dominating the USMS and world swimming record books in her age group for decades! Congrats Colette!!!
Overall it was a fun weekend spent with old friends, and making new friends, in warm and sunny southern California. The fast swims by Oregon swimmers made it even more fun to attend!