AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT ON WEST ASHLEY

City Swim Meet brings thousands to town

By Joe Wright
Contributing Writer

Swimmers get on their marks as the final day of relays are about to begin. Hundreds of spectators were on hand at the JCC last week to see the finals of the City Swim Meet.

One of the biggest annual sporting events in West Ashley took place last week with the 2010 City Swim Meet, held by the Coastal Carolina Aquatic Association (CCAA) at the Jewish Community Center. The meet is a Lowcountry summer tradition, held since 1969. Teams begin practice and meets in May, and spirited meets are held every Tuesday and Thursday night, all leading up to the three-day City Meet. Unfortunately for the half-dozen or so West Ashley teams, the Snee Farm squad continued its winning streak this year. The team has won every meet since 1989.

Raoul Wallenberg Blvd. was invaded with traffic over the three-day event, held July 18-20. Over 2,000 swimmers compete in the meet. The City Meet determines where team positions are in next year's league. This year's meet was a very good one, as thousands of spectators descended on the JCC to watch the Lowcountry's best swimmers in action.

Snee Farm won by 105 points, but West Ashley teams did very well too. Three of them finished in the top seven: Parkshore finished 4th, Shadowmoss was 6th, and Northbridge Terrace was 7th. Team Sha-Mel-Lon, based in Melrose, was 16th (improving three spots from last year), and the JCC team finished 23rd overall.

Parkshore had a big meet, with several winners. Alexa Johnson won the 7-8 girls freestyle, Isabel Sonka the 7-8 girls breaststroke, Zachary Moody the 7-8 boys breaststroke, and Matthew Hughes the 15-18 freestyle.

Hughes, 17, has been swimming for 14 years. In that time he's found his groove in the freestyle, and its paid off. "I love to swim in the freestyle," he said following his winning performance. He also swam in the 50 free, 50 breast, and 100 individual medley (IM).

Shadowmoss did very well too, with winners including Emorie Thrasher in the girls 7-8 backstroke, Jonathan Stone in the 9-10 boys freestyle, and Justin Lawrence, who cleaned up, winning in the 9-10 boys butterfly, breaststroke, and IM. Cassidy Rindge won the 11-12 girls breaststroke, and Chelsea Roberts winning in the 15-18 girls freestyle and butterfly.

Shadowmoss's Patrick Spigner is 18, and he competed in backstroke, butterfly, and the IM. Spigner has been competing at the City Meet for years, and said the neighborhood rivalries are what makes the meets so much fun. "I love competing against other teams with my friends," he said. Spigner is a 2010 grad of West Ashley High, and will attend Coastal Carolina University in the fall.

Northbridge Terrace also had some great performances, with Josh Adams winning in the 7-8 boys butterfly and backstroke, Ian Martin finishing 2nd in the boys 13-14 freestyle and backstroke, Abigail Boling coming in 2nd in the girls 13-14 butterfly and breaststroke and 3rd in the 13-14 IM, and the team finished 3rd in the girls 10 and under freestyle relay.

Sha-Mel-Lon had a vast improvement over last year, with Allison Knight finishing 4th in the girls 9-10 butterfly and backstroke and 5th in the IM, and Faye Patat finishing 5th in the girls 13-14 backstroke. Sha-Mel-Lon's Angela Patat is 18, and has competed for 12 years. She swam in the butterfly, free, IM, mixed medley, and backstroke, and her favorite stroke is the free, as she likes "doing the flip turns". She will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall.

In all, the 2010 City Meet was a huge success. Not only did it bring a lot of Charleston residents to enjoy what West Ashley has to offer for a few days, it also spread goodwill through friendly competition throughout the Lowcountry. For complete results and a recap of the meet, visit www.swimccaa.com.