SMAC lights up the pool

From staff reports
Published: July 27, 2008

The Waynesboro YMCA Swim Team, SMAC, competed in the 2008 Long Course State Championships in Newport News this weekend. To be eligible for the meet, swimmers had to be under 14 years of age and exceed specific qualifying times for each event. Only the top 30 to 40 swimmers in the state qualify within each age group.
Representing the Waynesboro YMCA in the 10-and-under division were Jordan Miller, Brazil Rule, Norah Hunt, Ethan Cohen and Max Tempkin, along with Anna Corley, Jessica Arnold, Olivia Heeb and Remedy Rule in the 11 to 12 year-old-division.
The meet started off Thursday afternoon with the 400-meter freestyle and SMAC lit up the pool.
Miller finished 15th and Hunt dropped 15 seconds from her personal best to finish second with a time of 5-minutes, 19-seconds and earn an AAAA time standard.
The girls in the 11- to 12-year-old division were not to be outdone, with Arnold and Remedy Rule competing for SMAC. Arnold finished fifth with a time of 5 minutes and Rule finished third with a new SMAC record time of 4:49. Rule broke the record of former SMAC standout Melanie Mathews, set in 1994.
On Friday, SMAC started off with the 10-and-under age group and set the stage for a great day for the team.
Tempkin started things off with a first-place finish in the 50-meter backstroke. His 34.45-second swim broke the Virginia Meet record.
Tempkin also placed first in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:27.52, which broke another SMAC record by almost six seconds. The previous record was set by Jimmy Goodloe in 1983.
Tempkin also placed fifth in the 100-meter butterfly.
Cohen scored a lot of points for the SMAC, placing eighth in the 200-meter free by dropping nine seconds from his previous best time.
Ethan also finished eighth in the 100-meter fly and 21st in the 50-meter backstroke.
The 10-and-under girls were represented by Hunt, Brazil Rule and Miller.
Hunt placed third in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:32.82 and earned an AAAA time, just missing the SMAC record by half a second. Hunt also placed 18th in the 100-meter fly with a time of 1:33.18. Miller placed 17th in the 100-meter fly and the 200-meter free, earning a AA time in the fly.
Brazil Rule dropped almost a second off her best time and finished the 50-meter backstroke in 23rd with a time of 42.12.
The nighttime finals started off with a bang for the 11 to 12-year-old girls, as the small team from Waynesboro had three swimmers in the finals of the 200-meter freestyle. The trio was comprised of Remedy Rule, Arnold and Corley. They finished in second, sixth and seventh.
Remedy Rule broke the previous SMAC record, set by Melanie Mathews, by almost two seconds with an AAAA time of 2:16.77. She also placed third in the 100-meter fly, and broke another SMAC record held by Mathews with a time of 1:11.41.
Corley earned additional points for the team by placing 13th in the 100-meter fly.
The SMAC team finished out the night with Remedy Rule and Arnold battling it out with all the 12-year-olds in the 200-meter backstroke. They finished fourth and fifth respectively, both lower than the previous SMAC record .