5th Annual Monumental Masters Mini Meet Recap

Contributed by Mike Leake

Results

Maurice Regan and Liz MacBride flew in from New Hampshire

On Saturday, April 9, 2016, Bennington's adult swimming team, Monument Masters, hosted the 5th Annual Monumental Masters Mini Meet, as 36 swimmers from eight teams from MA, NJ, NH, NY, and VT traveled to the Bennington Recreation Center. Two swimmers traveled from Concord, NH, in a Cessna airplane, and the the Pittsfield Polar Bears and Simon's Rock Pace Makers from Great Barrington arrived in large numbers to compete.

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Warmups at Bennington Recreation Center

This meet welcomes athletes of all abilities for a morning full of fun swimming and encouragement with all proceeds benefiting the Bennington Marauders swim team, providing youth swimming for our community. For many the meet was their first experience with competition, and all participants were eligible for US Masters Swimming caps and stickers as well as sweet treats of stroopwafels from Bakkerij Krijnen and maple syrup from Cluett Farm. 

Heat two of the 100-yard freestyle

Swimming for the first time with Monument Masters were Matt Moon, Carol Newell and MG Nightingale. Gabrielle Betit-Mattison and Amanda Robson returned to action in the pool following previous splashes at the meet. Siblings Jeff, Jill and Mike Leake along with Kevin Murphy and Greg Sellei continued their streak of swimming in each of the Monumental meets.

Monument Masters also fielded two relay teams in each of the relay events offered. We look forward to our sixth meet in April of 2017!

Casco Bay YMCA "Toughen Up Challenge" Results

Casco Bay YMCA and Maine Masters hosted the 9th Annual "Toughen Up Challenge" this past Sunday, February 21.

The challenge is a five-event competition to find the "toughest" masters swimmers. Participants race five times, then their times are age graded and added together. The swimmer with the lowest total time in each category take the title.

Challenge Results

Meet Results

Winners 

Sprint Challenge

50 back, 50 fly, 50 free, 50 breast, 100 IM

Men: Michael Regan ('13, '16)

Women: Katrine Alcaide ('14, '16)

Distance Challenge

400 IM, 200 free, 200 breast, 200 back, 200 fly

Men: Mike Hurd ('15, '16)

Women: Anne Uecker ('13, '14, '16)

Women's Sprint Challenge winner Katrine Alcaide with 3rd place finisher (and 5-time champ) Mary Estabrook

Women's Distance Challenge winner Anne Uecker

Thank you to Crystie McGrail for submitting the photos!

Men's Sprint Challenge winner Michael Regan

Men's Distance Challenge winner Mike Hurd

Results for the 2016 Exeter Mini Meet

Results

Results are up from the 2016 Exeter Mini Meet! It was an excellent meet, hosted by Great Bay Masters at the beautiful Phillips Exeter Academy pool.

CMSC's Miles For Marly Raises $3,500 for Charity

Cambridge Masters' 2016 edition of "Miles For Marley" 100x100 was a rousing success. On January 3, 120 swimmers from around New England swam while raising $3,500 for the Marly Pineda Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is set up at Marly's alma-mater, Smith College, in honor and memory of the friend and coach lost in 2010. The event saw a record swimmer turnout and record fundraising this year.

Special thanks to: Rick Osterberg for setting up the big scoreboard with all the intervals; Scott McInerney for the National Anthem; Coaches Scott, Jamie, Samantha, and Ben; Ann Densmore for front desk and on deck help; Medena Knespl for Gatorade Endurance products; All lane line helpers and clean-up helpers; Sarah Kurchian for online registration.

Mark your calendars for next year - the annual 100x100 event has a tentative date of Sunday January 8th, 2017. 

Worcester Area Masters Hosts Successful NE-LMSC SCM Championships

Results

Swimmers shattered four world records during the New England LMSC SCM Championships, held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute December 11-13.

Hosted by Worcester Area Masters (WAM), 478 swimmers, some from as far away as Texas and Florida, participated in the meet. It was a highly competitive meet during which 208 New England LMSC SCM Championship meet records and 63 New England records were recorded.

The four world records were set by:

• Cecilia McCloskeyin the Women's 65-69 200 back with a time of 2:53.36
• NEM Women's 800 free 24-27 Relay team [C. Brynn, C. Hayes, K Slifer, T. Grilli] with a time of 10:58.88
• Leslie Livingston in the Women's 50-54 50 back with a time of 30.58
• Fritz Bedford in the Men's 50-54 50 back with a time of 27.28

Additionally, five national records were set, which include the above world records plus Kathy Silver's 6:14.34 in the women's 70-74 400 freestyle.

The top individual point scorers were:

Men:

1. Brendan Wright (GSP) - 171 points
2. Spencer Coffin (CMSC) - 170 points
3. George Coupe (GSP) - 170 points

Women:

1. Mindy Williams (GSP) - 175 points
2. Sue Jensen (CSMC) - 170 points
3. Lori Hindle (WCMS) - 164 points

Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked so hard to plan and run another spectacular meet! 

For anyone who would like to review the meet results, you can find them at http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/.

Theroux Completes 40-Mile Circumnavigation of Aquidneck Island

On September 26, Trent Theroux swam 40 miles around Aquidneck Island, home to Newport, Rhode Island, to raise money for RISE Above Paralysis - a non-profit focused on assisting families of people who have experienced spinal injuries.

Trent faced six-foot swells and headwinds during his roughly 18-hour swim, but he powered through and came ashore with a smile. 

Check out a video of Trent's finish at Bowen's Wharf here. Follow more of Trent's swim via the real time updates posted to NE-LMSC and SwimRI's Facebook pages. Congratulations Trent!!

Press Coverage

Providence Journal Pre-Swim Feature

Providence Journal Post-Swim Feature

4th Annual Boston Sharkfest Draws Large NE-LMSC Contingent

Results

Congratulations to all who participated in the Boston Sharkfest earlier this month. Nearly 500 swimmers covered the one-mile distance across Boston Harbor from east Boston into the Seaport on calm waters under sunny skies. Members of the NE-LMSC made a great showing, taking age group honors in almost every age group in both the wet suit and non-wet suit categories. 

A special shout out to CMSC member Franny Cohen who celebrated her 60th birthday by swimming Sharkfest - her first open water race! - and taking silver in her age group.

Lin Completes Nantasket - Nahant - Nantasket Solo Swim

Helen Lin continues to prove she has no limit when it comes to navigating the open water. Earlier this month, Helen became the first person to make the 18-mile round trip swim from Nantasket Beach in Hull to Northeastern University's Marine Center in Nahant. Helen took a whopping 10-minute break in Nahant before heading back to Nantasket.

Read the Patriot Ledger's coverage of Helen's swim (along with video) here and enjoy the video from her crew here. 

Congratulations Helen! 

Howley Completes Solo Crossing of Loch Ness, One Swim Closer to her "Monster Triple"

Elaine Howley finished a solo crossing of Loch Ness late last month. She covered the  22.2-mile length in 13 hrs 21 minutes, making her the third American to swim the length of the loch. We believe that fewer than 15 people worldwide have completed the swim. Water ranged from 51 to about 57 degrees over the course of the swim. "That was a tough swim but great fun," said Howley. 

Elaine's sense of humor never died over 22 miles of cold water ... check out this video of her last feed. The water was so cold that her mouth was frozen, but that's no reason not to tell a good joke! 

Completing the Loch Ness swim puts Elaine just one swim away from the Monster Triple Crown (solo lengths of Loch Ness, Lake Memphremagog, and Lake Tahoe). She plans to swim Lake Tahoe next spring to cross the Monster Triple Crown off of her bucket list.

Media: WOWSA piece

Penny Palfrey Wins 2015 Boston Light Swim

Results

Legendary open water swimmer - 53-year-old Penny Palfrey of Seventeen-Seventy, Queensland, Australia - handily won the 8-mile Boston Light Swim across Boston Harbor on August 15th with a time of 2:56:48. Palfrey maintained an amazing 85 strokes-per-minute pace throughout the eight-mile course.

Finishing second overall, and winning the men's competition, was 63-year-old James Clifford of Poolesville, MD, the oldest male competitor in the race. Clifford finished in 3:08:22, edging out third place finisher Jennifer Olsen, 44, of Natick, MA, who finished in 3:11:28.

The Boston Light Swim is the oldest open water marathon swim in the U.S. and has been a local tradition since 1907. Participants begin in the water at America's first lighthouse, the Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in the outer Harbor. The course continues past George's Island and Rainsford Island, then along Long Island (and past where the Long Island Bridge used to stand), and around Thompson's Island. Swimmers come ashore at the historic L Street Bathhouse in South Boston, home of the world famous L Street Brownies and the L Street Ice Swimmers.