YMCA Northerns Updates

GRAND MARAIS SWIMMERS DIVE RIGHT IN AT THE FIRST MEET OF THE 2023-2024 SWIM SEASON

SUPERIOR, WI 10/21/23. On October 21st, the Cook County Community YMCA sent 6 swimmers to Superior, Wisconsin to compete alongside their Duluth YMCA Northerns teammates. In total, 50 swimmers represented the Northerns Swim team from both Duluth and Cook County.  The Northerns faced tough early season competition as both the hosting team, the Superior Whalers and other visiting team the Brainerd Dolphins were in attendance to compete in the first swim meet of the 2023-2024 YMCA swim league season.  At swim meets, each swimmer is able to swim in up to 3 individual events and compete as part of up to 2 relays. Most of the Cook County swimmers competed in the maximum number of individual events and relays possible. Northerns Head Coach, Lucas Crawford-Nichols, said “As the new Head Coach of the Northerns swim team, I’m incredibly impressed with our performance at our first swim meet. We were resilient in the water and we look forward to building on this momentum into the season.”

Listed below are all the Northerns swimmers placed top 5 in their individual events and relays:

GRAND MARAIS SWIMMER COMPETES IN NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SWIM MEET

DES MOINES, IA 3/19/23. On the weekend of March 17th, Arlo Litterst, a member of the Cook County YMCA Northerns Swim Team, competed in the North Central Regional Championship swim meet.  The Wellmark YMCA, a branch of the YMCA of Greater Des Moines, Iowa, hosted the meet for 35 teams across the North Central Region. Participating swimmers who earned qualifying times were from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

Arlo competed in two regional events; the 100-Yard Individual Medley where participants swim 25 yards each of the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle, and the 50-Yard Butterfly.  He placed 13th in his Individual Medley with a time of 1:23.98. He also placed 13th in his Butterfly with a time of 39.85, which was fast enough to qualify him for the Junior Olympics this July.

“He did great!”, said Arlo’s mom, Jane Asay. “We definitely had some ‘little fish in a big pond’ feelings, but he achieved personal records in both races!”  

Arlo agreed, “The pool was really, really big and there were a lot of super-good swimmers!” "One of my favorite things about Saturday,” he continued, “was I got cheers from the Superior Swim Team even before my race started. That felt really good." When asked why he thought he did so well, Arlo replied, "It's like the back of my sweatshirt says, 'Champions are made from practice', and I practiced a lot!" Looking ahead to July, Arlo said, "I'm not nervous for the Junior Olympics; I'm excited!"

“The entire coaching team is eager for Arlo to compete in the Junior Olympics this summer,” said Cook County Head Coach Karen Runkle. “We’re also looking forward to seeing what the spring and summer swim clubs hold for all of our youth swimmers in Cook County.” 

GRAND MARAIS FACES TOUGH COMPETITION AT THE LAST REGULAR SEASON SWIM MEET

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 2/19/23. On February 19th, the Cook County YMCA Northerns sent 12 swimmers to Minneapolis to compete in the Minnesota YMCA Competitive Swim League State Swim Meet. It was held at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus, and was attended by approximately 650 swimmers representing 15 Y teams from across the state.

“It was a super big meet,” Said Sabrina Dusheck, eight years old. “There were three pools! My favorite part was swimming in the relay. We got third place!”

In order to compete at this invitation-only meet, swimmers ages 5 – 19 years had to be one of the top 16 swimmers in their individual event(s). Three Cook County swimmers qualified and competed in 3 individual events, which was the maximum number allowed for any one swimmer.

Below are the names of the three swimmers and their individual events:

Luke Dragswiek (8); Boys 8 & Under 25 Yard Freestyle, 25 Yard Butterfly and 50 Yard Freestyle

Adalyn Plummer (8); Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Individual Medley, 25 Yard Butterfly and 25 Yard Breaststroke

Arlo Litterst (10); Boys 9-10 100 Yard Individual Medley, 50 Yard Butterfly and 100 Yard Freestyle.

“I am constantly in awe of the Cook County swimmers and their families who put in so much time, money and energy. They have consistently showed up in support of their kids, as well as other swimmers on the team. Families have been waking up at the crack of dawn to drive 2+ hours to meets, booking hotels, volunteering at meets setting up carpools, and so much more to ensure that no swimmer had to say ‘no’ to attending a meet”, said Karen Runkle, Cook County Aquatics Coordinator and Head Swim Coach. “This season has always been about more than just getting the fastest time or earning the most ribbons. It’s been about families, swimmers and coaches giving their all to represent our wonderful community.”

Emily Marshall, District Vice President Duluth Area Family YMCA added, “We are so lucky to have an amazing team of coaches supporting our swimmers. Truthfully, as I looked around the state meet and saw all of the coaches from around Minnesota there, the Cook County coaches stood out and represented our area so well. They are so engaged, supportive, thoughtful, attentive, nurturing, and professional. They pour their heart into creating practice plans and meet line-ups that benefit the most kids possible and it showed by the number of swimmers they were able to help advance to State. Our team is growing in size and in the ability to compete at a higher level is, in large part, due to the fantastic coaching staff. We haven’t even had the end-of-season banquet yet and they are already strategizing about next season and how to get even more kids to State.”

Listed below are all swimmers who competed at this meet and their placements.

THE YMCA NORTHERNS SWIM TEAM HAVE A STRONG SHOWING AT THE SECTIONALS SWIM MEET

On Sunday, February 5th, the Duluth Northerns swim team, which includes swimmers from the Cook County YMCA branch, participated in the 2023 Sectionals swim meet. This swim meet was the largest of the season, with 345 swimmers attending from the Duluth, Superior, Itasca and Brainerd YMCA swim teams. The Cook County YMCA sent 17 swimmers to sections this year and they all put in their best effort representing the Duluth YMCA Northerns as well as our home YMCA in Grand Marais, MN.

"The swimmers all did amazingly well! These swimmers continue to impress me with their effort and dedication to swimming and to their teammates. They not only showed up for their individual and relay events at this meet, but they also supported each other and cheered on their teammates," said Cook County YMCA Head Coach, Karen Runkle.

Next up for the Duluth Northerns and several Cook County YMCA swimmers is the state swim meet held on Sunday, February 19th in the Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota's campus. The following local youth have qualified to compete in one or more races: Jack Dragswiek, Luke Dragswiek, Esa Huggins-Watson, Quinn Johnson, Sigrid Jorgenson, Lydia Kelly, Cadience LaFreniere, Arlo Litterst, Adalyn Plummer, Natalia Smith, MJ Wharton, and Rafe Williams.

Alro Litterst finished the Boys 9-10, 50-Yard Butterfly with a regional qualifying time. He is eligible and plans to compete in the regional competition in Iowa later this month. Go Northerns!

Initial Sections Results:

Arlo Litterst

Boys 9-10 100 Yard Individual Medley - 3^rd at sections

Boys 9-10 100 Yard Freestyle - 3^rd at sections

Boy 9-10 50 Yard Butterfly - 1^st at sections, regional qualifying time

Adalyn Plummer

Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Individual Medley - 2^nd at sections

Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Medley Relay - 2^nd at sections

Girls 8 & Under 200 Yard Freestyle Relay - 2^nd at sections

Cadience LaFreniere

Girls 11-12 50 Yard Backstroke - 2^nd at sections

Luke Dragswiek

Boys 8 & Under 50 Yard Freestyle - 2^nd at sections

Swimmers Eligible for State Competition Including Wild Card Positions

Jack Dragswiek - Boys 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay

Jack Dragswiek - Boys 11-12 50 Yard Breaststroke

Luke Dragswiek - Boys 8 & Under 25 Yard Freestyle

Luke Dragswiek - Boys 8 & Under 25 Yard Butterfly

Luke Dragswiek - Boys 8 & Under 50 Yard Freestyle

Esa Huggins-Watson - Boys 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay

Esa Huggins-Watson - Boys 9-10 100 Yard Individual Medley

Esa Huggins-Watson - Boys 9-10 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

Esa Huggins-Watson - Boys 9-10 100 Yard Freestyle

Quinn Johnson - Girls 9-10 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

Sigrid Jorgenson - Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Freestyle Relay

Lydia Kelly - Girls 9-10 200 Yard Medley Relay

Cadience LaFreniere - Girls 11-12 50 Yard Backstroke

Arlo Litterst - Boys 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay

Arlo Litterst - Boys 9-10 100 Yard Individual Medley

Arlo Litterst - Boys 9-10 50 Yard Butterfly

Arlo Litterst - Boys 9-10 100 Yard Freestyle

Arlo Litterst - Boys 11-12 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

Adalyn Plummer - Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Medley Relay

Adalyn Plummer - Girls 8 & Under 100 Yard Individual Medley

Adalyn Plummer - Girls 8 & Under 25 Yard Butterfly

Adalyn Plummer - Girls 8 & Under 25 Yard Breaststroke

Adalyn Plummer - Girls 8 & Under 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

Natalia Smith - Girls 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay

Rafe Williams - Boys 11-12 200 Yard Medley Relay

Rafe Williams - Boys 11-12 100 Yard Freestyle

Rafe Williams - Boys 11-12 400 Yard Freestyle Relay

MJ Wharton - Girls 15 & Up 100 Yard Individual Medley

MJ Wharton - Girls 15 & Up 500 Yard Freestyle

THE COOK COUNTY NORTHERNS SWIM TEAM RISES TO THE CHALLENGE AT THE GRAND MARAIS SWIM MEET

Grand Marais, MN, 12/27/22. The Cook County YMCA Northerns Swim Team hosted a swim meet at the Cook County YMCA in Grand Marais on Saturday, December 17th. Twenty participants from the Northerns competed against 28 swimmers from Superior and 38 swimmers from Duluth, and many placed in the top five in their events. In all, the Northern swimmers finished 1st in eight races; 2nd in 10 races; 3rd in eight races; 4th in four races, and 5th in five races.

Karen Runkle, Aquatics Coordinator and Northerns Head Swim Team Coach, says “it was great to see our swimmers competing here at home for the first time this season! Our swimmers are often the visiting team at meets and it was a great experience for Cook County to host this meet here at home and to have so many families and other members of the community volunteer and support the team.”

“The kids work hard at practice, and their dedication shows at the meets and during their personal events as they continue to decrease their times. It’s great to see their big smiles, their positive energy, and their pride,” shared Allison Plummer, Northerns Swim Coach and parent of one of the swimmers.

The Northerns have two more meets before the Sectional Swim meet in early February and they plan to train hard to prepare for it by learning and practicing more difficult racing strokes such as the breaststroke and butterfly. “These strokes are more mentally and physically challenging, mainly because there are more potential ways to get stroke infractions and to be disqualified,” said District Vice President and Swim Official Emily Marshall.

The Y’s core values for swimmers include, among other things, developing a healthy living and social responsibility, working towards and achieving personal and group goals while empowering youth to discover who they are and what they can achieve, and that competitive swimming can and should be FUN!