It was great to see all of you who attended this year's Dallas Mustangs banquet at SMU. Katie McClelland did a fantastic job as our guest speaker. She is living proof that an incredible swimming career can be balanced with stellar academics. (Katie was a 20 time All-American at SMU and received a presidential scholarship and academic All-American status while gaining a double major in communications and economics.) Katie also spoke about the many wonderful opportunities that swimming has offered her, including traveling and making friends. Most importantly, swimming has given her the self-confidence to achieve anything she wants to do in life.
There are some very special people that I failed to recognize during the banquet and I apologize for not having given them the recognition that they deserve. First of all, this team could not be as great as it is without the endless work of our board. Adele Wherry, the club's President, is the glue that keeps everything together and she continues to be someone who is always there to help with any situation. George Cornelius has been a saving grace ever since he took over the huge responsibility of Treasurer late last year. Mary Cardone continues to be a big help as our Meet Director and with getting the Dallas Mustangs name out to the public. Also helping with the public awareness of our club is Wendy Begg. Wendy's other responsibility is this awesome newsletter which comes out each month. Rounding out the board are; Joe McNamara, our Fundraising Chairman, who did a fine job as banquet MC. One of Joe's responsibilities is organizing the Swim-A--Thon and this year we had the most successful SAT in the club's history; John Bowsher heads up our swimming officials; James Jester is the club's Secretary; and Judy Shipp is our Safety Coordinator. Some other parents who have done an incredible amount of work for the team and deserve a great deal of thanks are: Barb Knott, who was responsible for that fantastic banquet and all of the other social events that our team enjoys; John Wherry, who has been in charge of membership and like his wife, always seems to be there with a helping hand; and David Dominguez, who orders and organizes the many supplies needed by the team.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife Meredith for all that she does in my life. Meredith has an endless commitment to excellence and she is responsible for raising the other bright light in my life - Mady. Those two mean the world to me and give me the strength to make it through every situation with a smile on my face.
The BB/B/C Championships were the first of our team's end of the season meets. The Dallas Mustang 10 & unders went to Grapevine in force and swam their way to a second place team finish. The following swimmers can be extremely proud of the effort they gave during the meet (swimmers winning events are underlined and swimmers scoring in the top eight are in bold face): Caroline Pickett, Alexandra Weber, Ashley Rape, Alyson Smith, Joyce Yee, Avery Rape, Alexandra Barinka, Alethea Atkins, Alexandra Cornelius, Maggie Wackle, Alexandra Jennings, Kelsey Hendricks, Ashley Andro, Natalie Jacobs, Hayley Hatfield, Devon Bowsher, Meredith Monroe, Lauren Roth, Meredith Higgins, Kristen Masters, Spin Beck, Andrea Goodwin, Hannah Penley, Rori Barnes, Emily Welton, Alexandra Young, Latane Barnes, Lindsay MacKintosh, Sam Cornelius, Christy Mathews, Caleb Veazey, Marshall Kelly, Nicolas Low, Michael Carpenter, Nicolas Soliba, Marshall Oelson, John Bannon, and Derrick Brown.
The Dallas Mustang 11 & over BB/B/C swimmers went to Northlake for their championship meet and also did a great job. Over half of the swimmers attending the meet for the Dallas Mustangs scored individual points - a great accomplishment! Those Mustangs competing were (winners underlined and scorers in bold face): Beth Geis, Maggie Marshall, Melissa Dominguez, Amy Geis, Audrey Rogers, Kimberly Harris, Arielle Goldberg, Kate McNamara, Becky Jester, Kaity McNichol, Mikala Wright,Sarah Staples, Erica Saito, Marguerita Gabriele, Brittany Miller, Alexandra Buckley, Jennifer Penley, Kate McNeill, Beverly Yee, Jessica Rowe, Spencer Williams, Matt Saunders, Matt Knubowitz, Nathan Haney, Travis McDaniel, and Bryan Jester.
This year's TAGS (Texas Age Group Championship) team, sporting their good lookin' red hockey jerseys, traveled to the City of Midland and competed well. Our team came up just short of their goal of bringing home another top ten TAGS banner, with an eleventh place finish - just seven points out of tenth place! However, our 15-18 women powered their way to the top and won their age group team award. Those swimmers scoring valuable points for the Mustangs were: Caroline Jennings, Debbie Forinash, Sarah Wells, Emily Frasco, Amy Danchik, Courtney Patterson, Clare Williams, Sara Haney, Katy Crawford, Thomas Ayers, Brian Stephens (won the 200 IM and obtained Junior qualifying times in the 200 IM and 200 Breast), and Kenneth Wherry.
Our season concluded in St. Louis with the Junior Championships. This is one of the highest meet levels that our swimmers can qualify for, and should be one of the long term goals for the majority of our younger Dallas Mustangs. This year's Junior team included Amy Danchik, Emily Frasco, Sara Haney, Courtney Patterson, and Brian Stephens. Our swimmers did a great job competing against some of the top swimmers in the country.
This first meet of the spring/summer season came with a "bang" after we had been back in the water for only one week! The swimmers who went to the meet showed a lot of character and will to swim fast. We had some great swims and it was a wonderful start for the upcoming stars of the Mustangs. Some of the younger swimmers are starting to venture into swimming the longer events - the 50's - and that is great to see. Keep it up! The 100's are right around the corner!
The following swimmers took part in the meet:
Abbie Allums, Ashley Andro, Alethea Atkins, Rori Barnes, Latane' Barnes, Spin Beck, Meredtih French, Rebecca Gentsch, Andi Goodwin, Lizzi Goodwin, Kelsey Hendricks, Becky Jester, Leah Kitchen, Lindsay MacIntosh, Maggie Marshall, Kristin Masters, Hannah Penley, Ashley Rape, Avery Rape, Sarah Staples, Alexandra Weber, Alexandra Young, John Bannon, Derrick Brown, Michael Carpenter, Christopher Hewitt, Bryan Jester, Christopher Jones, Nicholas Saliba, Jonathon Seals, Caleb Veazey, Christian Washington, Jeff Wherry, and Jay Wingo. Congratulations to you all!
During the banquet registration, each family had the opportunity to cast a ballot for nominees for the Board of Directors. (There were 5 people listed on the ballot and spaces left for write-ins as well). The ballots were tallied and the members who were elected to the Board were Adele Wherry, Judy Shipp, Joe McNamara, Don Haney and Wendy Begg
Congratulations to all!
We would like to thank the following swimmers and their families for referring new swimmers to the Dallas Mustangs - Alexandra Whitcomb and Lizzy Goodwin.
Credits have been posted to the accounts of these swimmers equal to one month's dues These referrals are for swimmers joining our team in October and November of 1998. In order to receive a referral credit (equal to a single month of dues for one swimmer), a new swimmer must list the name of a currently active member on their registration form. The new member must be part of a competition group. The new member must be in good standing (dues paid up to date) for three consecutive months. If there are any questions about this program, and why you were or were not listed, please contact the DM Registration Chairperson, John Wherry.
Thanks again for bringing new members to our team!
The 18th Annual DM A-BB Swim Classic is scheduled for May 7th - 9th, at SMU. Once again, we will be calling on all our parental resources to ensure a safe, fun and efficiently run swim meet. The meet information has been distributed and very soon, there will be volunteer sign-up sheets posted at both pools. Please make sure you volunteer some of your time and talents. There will be a need for anything from set-up, clean-up, Tabs, Clerk of Course, Timing Operations, runners, Hospitality etc. etc. There is truly a job for everyone. And remember you can earn a volunteer voucher, which can be applied to your swimmer's monthly dues.
As in years past, the swim schedule during the summer is different for certain groups. Please pay close attention to the calendar and to the changes in the schedule. The following schedule for workout times will be effective May 31st.
6:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. at SMU on M, W, F. 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. at SMU on T, Th. 3:30 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. at Loos, NOT Wed.
7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. at SMU, NOT Wed. 4:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. at Loos, M - F
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
6:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
6:15 - 7:15 p.m. at Loos 6:00 - 7:00 a.m. at Highland Park
Remember, if you have any questions regarding scheduling changes during the summer, call the hotline at 972-889-SWIM.
Please remember that each family is responsible for $75 in ad sales per year. We have already hosted two meets and there are two opportunities remaining. The DM Classic is May 7th - 9th and the Senior Circuit Meet is June 4th - 6th. Ad sale contracts can be obtained from Mary Cardone, Meet Director (last month's newsletter also contained a contract). The ads for the DM Classic are due by May 1st. Please contact Mary if you have further questions.
This year's team trip will be June 11th-13th to Little Rock, Arkansas. The meet we will be attending is an open meet, which means that swimmers at all levels are able to compete. This is always a fun weekend for the swimmers and a great way to promote team unity. This year we will be renting a team bus. Only those swimmers who are 11 years and older, may ride the bus (assuming parental consent); kids who are 10 and under must ride with their parents or other adults to the meet. Watch for information to be distributed in the upcoming weeks.
There will be an Intra-Squad Meet at 9 a.m. on May 22nd at Highland Park Pool, for B/C level swimmers. Unfortunately, there are not a great number of B/C meets this season. This event therefore, will provide swimmers with an extra opportunity to improve their times. Immediately following the meet there will be an team outing to the Dallas Zoo. The plan is to meet at Highland Park Pool at 10:30 a.m. and proceed from there. A flyer with more detailed information regarding both these events, will be posted on the bulletin boards and distributed to the swimmers.
Davis Peden, who once coached the Gold group at Loos, is returning and will be coaching the Gold Group at Highland Park. Please make sure to welcome him back when you see him!
Mona Nyheim-Canales is leaving the team. We wish her well in her coaching career and future motherhood as well!
