Thirty-one members of the LMSC, representing four teams (QMST, SNOW, VMST, WAVA) traveled to Mesa, AZ to participate in the 2011 USMS Spring (short-course) National Championship to post some great swims! The results have been uploaded to the website, including a link to results specifically for swimmers from our LMSC.

There were 16 new LMSC records set (two of which were also national records); the table below gives the details. Suzanne Newell racked up six new LMSC marks, setting a record every time she touched the water!

Our LMSC also accounted for 13 new championship titles. New national champions in individual events were Billy Gaines (1000 free), Kate Hibbard (200 IM), Dave Holland (400 IM), Suzanne Newell (100 IM), Beth Schreiner (50/100/200 free, 50 back) and Chris Stevenson (100/200 back, 100 fly). Beth dominated her age group, winning every event she entered! The VMST quartet of Betsy Durrant, Ida Hlavacek, Susan Marens, and Beth won both Women’s relays in the 65+ age group.

Virginia Masters Swim Team (VMST) placed fourth overall in the Local Club category: 3rd for the women and 13th for the men.

But numbers don’t really capture the essence of how much fun the event was! Check out the video gallery to get a better sense of what it was like on the deck. In the video below, Olympians Rowdy Gaines and Misty Hyman join USMS executive director Rob Butcher to describe the festivities on the final day.

There are also plenty of photos of our swimmers in Mesa. (Have more? Contact me!)