Submitted
LAWRENCE — Ten-year-old Hays Hurricanes swimmers Zachary Smith and Amelia Jaeger will end the long-course swimming season by bringing home 11 medal finishes in 13 races at the Missouri Valley Champs meet in Lawrence last weekend.
Smith swam six races, bringing home two golds in the 50- and 100-meter fly, two silvers in the 50-meter back and free, a bronze in the 100-meter back, as well as a top ten finish in the 100-meter free.
Jaeger swam seven races and brought home a gold in the 50-meter fly, four silvers in the 100-meter free, back, and fly and the 200-meter medley and a bronze finish in the 50-meter back, as well as a Top 10 finish in the 50-meter free. Jaeger was awarded third place female high-point individual, Smith finished the weekend in the fifth place position for individual points.
Smith and Jaeger have qualified to swim at the Central Zone Championship Meet in Topeka, July 30 to Aug. 2. Smith and Jaeger have both qualified to swim six events, each: 50-meter free, fly, back and 100-meter free, fly and back. The Zone Championship meet is the highest level meet for the Central Zone, which is made up of 16 states and boasts close to 90,000 swimmers. Those swimming at Zone meets have a chance to qualify for Junior Nationals.
Western Kansas Swim Club made a strong showing with its six qualifying swimmers. Of the 450 qualified swimmers and 26 clubs, WKSC was ranked 15th in the team standings. Hurricanes swimmer, Isaac Smith (13) swam four events qualifying for finals in three with top 20 finishes placing eighth in the 50-meter free, 10th in the 100-meter fly and 11th in the 100 meter breast.
Three additional WKSC swimmers, from across western Kansas, also competed in a total of 18 races, resulting in 11 top 20 finishes.
The Hays Hurricanes Swim Team is a member of the Western Kansas Swim Club and competes within the Missouri Valley Swimming and USA Swimming organizations. The Hurricanes are composed of swimmers (age 5 to 18), parents, coaches and volunteers and was established in 1975.
For more information on joining the Hurricanes, visit https://hayshurricanes.wordpress.com/ or email [email protected].
As the busy summer sports season winds down, Hays Post invites parents and coaches to send in photos and stories about the success of their youth athletes. Email photos and information to [email protected], along with the contact number.