After another successful season for the Fulton YMCA Speed Demons swim team, the team held its 36th annual awards banquet to celebrate. The banquet, which was carnival-themed, was held at the Volney Fire Station for the the team members and their families.
Upon the accepting of awards from coaches Cassandra Jones and Cameron Lanich, the banquet was held to honor the eight seniors that will be departing the team after years of contribution: Andrew Distin, Josh Hotaling, Sage Hourihan, Casey Jones, Dakota Stoutenger, David Tallents, Alisa Trudell and Abbey Zych.
Being a major highlight at the banquet was the 2016 States Team. Of the 52 Speed Demon members, 14 swimmers qualified for the state meet, which was held in March in Buffalo, NY. The qualifiers were Logan Ames, Nathaniel Archer, Dawson Curtis, Mallory Curtis, Ella Henderson, Josh Hotaling, Christopher Mandart, Rimma Mankiewicz, Ryan Morehouse, Alex Semchenko, Camille Stevenson, Ean Stevenson, Christina Tallents and Mark Tallents.
The following awards were given at the banquet:
The Ippolito Award was given to an outstanding E Boy swimmer (age 8 and under), Logan Ames. The award was named in honor of the late father of a former swimmer.
The Hard Worker Award is presented to swimmers who show strong work ethic at practice and meets and is an example for others. This year’s recipients were Olivia Hawthorne, Noah Cordone, Hayden Williamson, Lane Rawls, Kody Doran, Kim Bednarz, Ai Yamasaki, and Emily Grant.
The Most Improved Award is presented to swimmers who have shown the most growth this season in time, stroke or attitude. This year’s recipients were Caleb Trepasso, Ronan Rodriques, Mackenzie Palmer, Sage Hourihan, Nikolas Grant, EvaLynn Dickens, Reagan LaPage and Alisa Trudell.
The Achievement Award is presented to swimmers who not only achieved their goals for the season but who exceeded their coaches goals. This year’s recipients were Josh Hotaling, Alex Semchenko, Chris Mandart, and Abbey Zych.
The Most Valuable Swimmer Award is presented to swimmers who scored the most points for the team and were a vital asset to their age group and their team as a whole. This year’s recipients were Rimma Mankiewicz, Mark Tallents, Ella Henderson, and Andrew Distin.
The Coaches’ Award was presented to Ryan Morehouse. This is a swimmer who eats, sleeps and breathes the sport of swimming. He is a positive and motivating teammate who goes above and beyond to perfect his technique and has set goals for himself that are challenging but achievable. We, as coaches, are so proud of all of his accomplishments and it is a testament to the swimmer he is.
The B Boys Team of Nathaniel Archer, Koji Burdic, Ean Stevenson, Dawson Curtis, Mark Tallents, Cameron Warren, and Caleb Trepasso were also honored for achieving first place for the season.
The Fulton YMCA Speed Demons swim team is a competitive community swim program for boys and girls ages 5-18. Emphasis is placed on individual growth as well as being part of a team. Swimmers are coached on stroke technique and participate in competitive meets. The Fulton YMCA Speed Demons will have try-outs in September 2016 for the 2016-2017 season. No prior experience is required.
Contirbuting to this article was Lisa Hawthorne
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