in championship meet

By Kevin Taylor

Greenville had everything going against it from the beginning.

The Greenville YMCA does not have a regulation-sized pool for competitions, so the YMCA Tigershark swimming team had to travel each week to compete.

The Tigersharks also began swimming for the upcoming meets two weeks before the first competition, while fellow YMCA teams were in the water two months before.

Despite the hurdles, the Greenville Tigersharks put an exclamation point on their stellar season by finishing fourth our of 10 teams in the Montgomery YMCA Championship Meet.

The Bell Road Dolphins came away with the YMCA title followed by the Maxwell Seahawks and the Grandview Gators. Greenville came within 27 points to overtaking Grandview for third place.

It marked the first time in four years that Greenville's swim teams had finished in the Top 5 among the Montgomery area YMCA teams.

"There are no words to express how proud we are of these kids," said Tigershark coach Debbie Haire.

Rebecca Mosley and Haire also were named YMCA Coaches of the Year.

"We certainly weren't expecting it," Haire said. "This honor reflects on the kids' hard work, dedication and teamwork."

Gold, silver and bronze medals were given to the first-, second- and third-place winners, while highpoint trophies were given out for first through eighth place.

Ribbons were then given out to the fourth- through eighth-place finishers.

Fifteen Tigershark swimmers collected 32 medals during the two-day meet.

Two of Greenville's first-year, 6-year-old swimmers, walked away with a gold, silver, and bronze medal.

Samantha Akkerman won a bronze medal in the 25 yard breaststroke, and Rhiya Daniel won a gold in the 25 backstroke and a silver medal in the 25 freestyle.

"These two young ladies gave it their all Friday night, and we are really proud of them," Haire added. "I'm just so proud of all of our swimmers. They did so well for the short amount of time we had to prepare for the season."

Here are the standings for the gold, silver, and bronze medals:

n Samantha Akkerman: Bronze 25-yard breaststroke

n Rhiya Daniel: Gold 25 backstroke, silver 25 freestyle

n Josh Banks: Silver 50 breaststroke and 200 medley relay, bronze 200 freestyle relay

n Mollie Boutwell: Bronze 200 freestyle relay

n Syndi Boutwell: Gold 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay, Silver 50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 100 freestyle

n Lacy Callins: Silver 50 backstroke

n Lauren Christ: Gold 50 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, silver 50 backstroke

n Courney Gregory: Silver 200 freestyle relay

n Amelia Grider: Silver 200 freestyle relay

n Travis Haire: Silver 200 medley relay, bronze 200 freestyle relay

n Dallas Harrison: Silver 200 medley relay, bronze 200 freestyle relay

n Andrew Jones: Silver 200 medley relay, bronze 50 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay

n Laura Jones: Gold 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay

n Sarah Sims: Gold 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay

n Victoria Walker: Bronze 200 freestyle relay

The highpoint trophy swimmers include:

n Sydni Boutwell: Fourth place

n Lauren Christ: Fifth place

n Andrew Jones: Fifth place

n Kenny Harrison: Seventh place

n Lacy Callins: Eighth place

The ribbon-winning swimmers included:

n Samantha Akkerman: Sixth 25 freestyle

n Lacy Barr: Fifth 25 breaststoke

n Rhiya Daniel: Sixth 25 breaststroke

n Josh Banks: Fourth 100 IM, fourth 50 backstroke, fifth 100 freestyle

n Mollie Boutwell: Fourth 50 butterfly

n Sydni Boutwell: Seventh 50 backstroke

n Lacy Callins: Fourth 100 freestyle, Seventh 50 freestyle

n Zachary Grider: Seventh 50 butterfly

n Travis Haire: Fourth 50 breaststroke, eighth 50 backstroke, eighth 50 butterfly

n Dallas Harrison: Seventh 50 butterfly, eighth 50 freestyle

n Kenny Harrison: Fifth 50 freestyle, fifth 50 backstroke

n Andrew Jones: Fourth 50 freestyle, fourth 50 backstroke

n Laura Jones: Fifth 50 breaststroke, fifth 50 butterfly, sixth 100 freestyle

n Jacob Katzev: Sixth 25 backstroke

n Sarah Sims: Sixth 50 backstroke, seventh 100 IM, eighth 50 freestyle, eighth 50 breaststroke

"We want to give out a very special thanks to all the parents," Haire added. "We couldn't do it without them, their help and support.

Thanks to Amanda Phillips, Director of the Greenville YMCA, for all her help and support."