Three girls and four boys from the Santa Maria Swim Club (SMSC) qualified to compete at the National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) Junior National Championships this year. The competition takes place Aug. 1 through 5 in Indianapolis, Ind.
The seven athletes make up the largest group of Nationals qualifiers from the club since 2009, Coach Mike Ashmore told the Sun.
“We’re always excited when great kids do hard work and get the fruits of their labor,” Ashmore said. “It’s always rewarding to help young athletes learn how to work towards their dreams and goals. That never gets old.”
Ashmore has been the head coach and general manager of the SMSC for 18 years. Qualifying for the Nationals is so prestigious because the events are not broken up into age groups, he said, which makes the cut more competitive than usual.
“Qualifying involves a lot of training and planning to peak at the right time, before the entry deadline” he said. “You have to produce a time in your event fast enough to be invited. The group has been working hard all year and it really paid off.”
The seven qualifying athletes are Austin Aguirre, Blake Simpson, Marcos-Hillje-Enthoven, Wyatt Marsalek, Izzie Fraire, Alayna Gocke, and Saray Brown.
But qualifying for the events is only the first step to get to the Nationals—funding a round trip to Indianapolis is a challenge all on its own, Ashmore explained.
“We have a great team and a great facility, but not always the funding we need,” he said. “Our greatest challenge is having limited resources. The fundraising is going moderately well so far, but we can always use more help.”
The trip costs $7,200 and the club has raised $3,800 so far through donations from local businesses, alumni, and other members of the community, Ashmore said.
Approximately 1,500 swimmers from around the country will congregate at the Indiana University Natatorium to compete this year. SMSC member Wyatt Marsalek, 17, is a senior at Central Coast New Tech High School who has been swimming for 10 years now. This isn’t the young athlete’s first time to nationals either, he told Sun.
“This will be my third time going to the Nationals,” Marsalek said. “I’ve always loved the water. When I was seven, my mother suggested I join a team after passing all of my swim lessons.”
Marsalek qualified for four events at the Nationals this year—the 200, 400, and 1,500 meter freestyles, and the 200 meter butterfly.
Izzie Fraire, a senior at Ernest Righetti High School, qualified to compete in the 50 and 100 meter breaststroke events. Fraire, 17, has been swimming with the club since she was 10.
“My family and I used to go to the lake and I’d always have to wear a life jacket, which I didn’t like,” Fraire said. “My dad thought it would be a great idea to sign me up for club lessons.”
This is Fraire’s second time qualifying for the Nationals, she first competed at the 2015 championships in Orlando, Flor.
“I’m super excited to be going to Indianapolis because I’ve never been there before,” Fraire said. “What I learned from competing in Orlando is that I need to relax and just have fun with the races. Instead of worrying about how many other swimmers there are, I need to just focus and swim.”
Contributor Caleb Wiseblood can be reached through Managing Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 3-10, 2017.