- Menno Scholten (M2) |
- Rory Moore (M3) |
- Anoushka Brannan-Anderson (DP1) |
- Dimitri Doric (M1) |
- Komie Nguyen (M4) |
- Komay Nguyen (M5) |
- Katie Drummond (M2) |
"Can We Do It Again?" - TITANS at the 2017 CEESA Swim Competition
- Details
I am writing this to you all on the airplane back to Baku, tired but fully satisfied… what a tournament! Our TITAN Swimmers showed remarkable sportsmanship, enormous endurance and competed above all our expectations in the annual CEESA Swim Competition at AAS in Moscow. Beating nearly all their PB’s in a challenging competitive environment.
The facilities at AAS Moscow are phenomenal and the hospitality from both the school staff as well as the host families was exceptional. The meet ran like clockwork, each day started with prelims, followed by finals in the afternoon and fished with exciting and fun team relays. Eight CEESA schools were represented in the tournament with middle and high school teams varying in size. Represented for the second time, the TISA Titans are definitely marking their grounds in this yearly swim championship.
The MS Boys team formed by; Francis Luft (M1), Dimitri Dornic (M1), Menno Scholten (M2) and Rory Moore (M3), faced some challenging competition against strong boys often two to three years older. Nevertheless, they managed to place an impressive 4th in the 200m Freestyle Relay. Menno, Francis and Rory placed in the finals for individual events, which means they ranked in the top 6 for MS boys overall. Francis took the podium with two bronze medals for the 50 and 100m Breaststroke. A promising performance, knowing he still has two years to grow in the Middle School age category.
Katie Drummond (M2), Maria Saavedra (M2), Teah Moore (M2) and Isabella Triolo (M3) represented the TITANS MS Girls Team. With the true TITAN team spirit they placed 4th in the MS Medley Relay and 5th in the Freestyle Relay. Impressive seconds were shaved off their personal bests in most of their races and Katie and Teah placed in the finals for three events each. The Middle School girls are developing strong techniques in their strokes and we are looking forward to see them grow in the years to come.
Swimming in the HS Boys division is of a whole other caliber! Strong, powerful young men make for a tough and challenging competition. Albert Mukhametov (M5), Steffen Kindsgrab (M5), Niels Scholten (M5) and Stefan Papazov (DP1) stood their grounds and secured a 4th place in both the Medley and the Freestyle Relay. Rayane Aoudia (M4) showed commendable sportsmanship, swimming a leg in the Kiev Kozak’s relay team. Niels placed in the finals for three out of the four events and took home the bronze medal for the 100m breaststroke. Stefan won a silver medal on the 50m freestyle and once again showed his unbeatable power securing three gold medals on the 200IM, 50 and 100 Fly.
Rest me to proudly share with you the results of our supreme HS Girls Team; Marit Stalder (M4), Emma Villinski (M4), Komie Nguyen (M4), Komay Nguyen (M5), Julia Villinski (DP1) and Anoushka Brannan-Anderson (DP1). With Komie on the fly, Julia on the back, Komay on the breast, and Anoushka on the free, the girls swam themselves to the first place in the Medley Relay. Marit and Emma came out on the freestyle relay with two HS boys from Moscow and swam a solid race. The TITANS HS Girls Relay team had to settle for silver on the Freestyle Relay.
The Villinski sisters are each other’s friendly rivals on the backstroke and raced each other in the finals for both the 50 and 100m, where Julia took bronze on the 50m backstroke.
The Nguyen girls are pure power… Komie set a new CEESA record for the 100IM and took the gold medal for this event. She also won gold on the 50m back, and took home silver on the 50 and 100m fly. Komay, who celebrated her sweet sixteen at the pool, won gold on the 50m and 100m free and silver on the 100 and 200 IM.
Anoushka did what she came for… setting the new CEESA record for the 100m backstroke with an astonishing time of 1:12:00. She confidently swam the 400m Free for a silver, and took the podium with a gold 100m Back, 100m Fly, and bronze on the 50m Fly.
All these amazing results lead to our HS girls taking home the trophy in their category, beating the AAS favorites.Liz, Ruben and myself are looking back at a memorable four days. It was a joy to travel with these young athletes, who showed sportsmanship, camaraderie and respect for all. We are proud of their achievements and looking forward to continue to work with them in the pool!
