The Santa Rosa Junior College men’s and women’s swim and dive teams flourished and set new personal bests through the heat of the Miyashiro Invite at Kathryn J. Kettler Pool in Quinn Swim Center at SRJC from March 19 to 21.
“Our team swam very well at the Miyashiro Invite, especially considering that we have been deep in the heart of our training and they are grinding without a lot of rest,” said head coach Jill McCormick. “It’s fun to host one of the largest and fastest meets of the year.”
The men’s team placed sixth with a score of 338, and the women’s team placed eighth with a score of 357; 13 different swimmers set new personal bests during the meet and six different swimmers finished in the top three in individual events.
Twins Kai Holt and Phoenix Hebshi-Holt led the men’s side with multiple top-three finishes.
Holt placed second in the 200-yard fly (2:04:43) and in the 1650-yard free (16:51:34), shaving 29.41 seconds for a season best. Holt placed ninth in the 500 free (4:49:12) for a personal best.
“I have been chasing that [500 free] time since my junior year of high school,” said Holt. “Now I’m a sophomore in college, so getting to break that 50 barrier meant a lot to me.”
Hebshi-Holt placed second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:12:93) for a season best and placed third in both the 200-yard individual medley (1:57:31) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:09:99) for personal bests.
Hebshi-Holt’s proudest achievement during the meet was breaking his personal best at the 200-yard individual medley.
“I did the same event at states last year, and I dropped five seconds today,” said Hebshi-Holt. “I’ve been working really hard this season to get there and it’s paying off right now.”
Bryson Throm placed second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:56:91) and had multiple top-five finishes in the 100-yard back and 200-yard individual medley. Erik Martin placed second in the 1M diving competition, scoring 160.00.
Addison Klosevitz and Natascha Deadman were the top two swimmers for the women’s side. Klosevitz placed third in both the 500-yard free (5:25:32) and 200-yard fly (2:16:71) for personal bests. She also placed third in the 400-yard individual medley (4:57.63).
Deadman finished with multiple top-five finishes and personal bests. She placed fourth in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08:14) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:34:55) for a season best and placed 11th in the 500-yard free (5:47:23) for a personal best.
Deadman earned a “leader of the pack” award, an honor given to two athletes who have shown leadership through performances and actions during a meet. “It’s always an honor to receive this award and be recognized,” Deadman said.
The award is passed down by previous leaders of the pack winner from past meets.
Laini Pradels placed third in the women’s 3M diving competition with a score of (165.80) and fourth in the 1M diving competition with a score of 179.65. DJ Mancuso placed third in the 100-yard individual medley (1:04:40), and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle (0:26.53) for a personal best.
Kai Holt was impressed with everyone’s performances during the three-day meet. “I don’t think there was a single person who didn’t PB,” said Holt. “Everyone was getting personal bests, just swimming their hearts out, that’s why we love this pool.”
Deadman’s proudest achievement was watching her team succeed.
“Seeing them put in so much hard work throughout the weeks in practice, and it paid off this weekend, was amazing,” Deadman said. “The dedication, leadership and positivity this team has is something so special.”
Head coach McCormick believes that the team can carry their overall performance into momentum for the rest of the season.
“Although we had over 70% personal or season bests at this meet, we are confident that the athletes will continue to improve when we taper and rest during training in order to prepare them for peak performance at the Big 8 Championship and the state championship.”
