Ketchup & Greenie Beanies: Ohio Junior Olympic State Swimming Championships- March 7-9, 2014

When I say that Max has had a great year swimming it's really an understatement. He just keeps getting better and better and I know it's from all the hard work he puts into practice. On more than one occasion a parent has come up to Chris or me and said "Max is always working hard!". He just loves the sport!

This year Max made 5 individual state cuts for the Junior Olympic Championship Meet that was held at Ohio State in early March. Pretty big stuff and he was excited to go! Besides the 5 events he also got to swim two relays with his teammates. It was a long weekend (yes, he even had to miss school!) filled with not only swimming but also hanging with friends, staying up late, playing in the hotel pool (cause you know, we don't get enough swimming around here), taking breaks during the afternoon at the movies and fun restaurants, buying neon sweatshirts to commemorate the event, and so much more!

Since I print this blog every year I want to type out Max's events and time for record keeping purposes. These are the individual events he swam, his best time going into the meet, and the time he swam at the championships:

100 yd Backstroke: Best time- 1:20.08 State Meet time- 1:17.21
50 yd Butterfly: Best time- 36.53 State Meet time- 36.56
200 yd IM: Best time- 2:55.27 State Meet time- 2:51.51
100 yd Butterfly: Best time- 1:20.90 (after dropping 7 seconds just two weeks ago!) State Meet time- 1:20.48
50 yd Backstroke: Best time- 37.89 (back in December! He hasn't been able to break 38.00 since then) State Meet time- 37.34

So he had personal bests in 4 of the 5 with the 5th really being about the exact same. It was a great meet to watch and Max loved every second. Three times over the weekend he said to me "I cannot believe I'm really here" as if he just kept realizing the gravity of it all. It was adorable. He made a ton of memories and we were so proud of him and all he has accomplished.

After his last event of the weekend he changed into his clothes, grabbed his gear, and came up to find us in the stands with tears in his eyes. We were confused because it was such an amazing weekend for him and we knew how much fun he had. His reason for crying? "I don't want this to be over!" (He's a sap! :) Just goes to show how much heart he has in this sport and not just because he loves to race but also because of the respect he learns for himself, his peers and his coaches and for the awesome friendships he has formed over the last two years with this team. It's a great place for Max to be!

To celebrate the end of the short course season the team hosted a banquet on March 17th. Max was awarded the "Most Improved" for the second year in a row. He coached gushed about how this was his first year in a faster training group and how Max proved himself to be one of the standouts in the fastest lane by working hard and improving all four strokes so well. And it's true! Hard work pays off. No question! According to USA Swimming, Max is the 13th highest rated 9 year old (overall!) in the state of Ohio! How cool is that??

Here are a ton of pics I took at Ohio State… Enjoy!

Heading into McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion at Ohio State.

The first point where Max said "I can't believe I'm really here!"

First event complete. Best time in the 100 Back.

Friends and Teammates. Max, Ryan, and Keaton

After the 200 IM. Dropped nearly 4 seconds!

That kind in lane 5 looked like he could have been 13!!!

Relay Team! Ryan: breast, Keaton: free, Max: fly, Jacob: back

The boys on deck and pumped for the 200 Medley Relay (see that kid in the yellow cap? That's the kid Max had to race all weekend… supposedly he is 9 or 10? What??)