Of the 69 Palisades-Malibu YMCA swimmers who participated in last weekend’s La Canada/Crescenta meet at the new eight-line Olympic pool in El Monte, almost every one of them dropped seconds off of their best time in at least one event. That is a significant accomplishment in a sport where races are won and lost by hundredths of seconds. When Coach Kameron Kennedy was asked how 11-year-old swimmer Jacob DeFillipis shaved 18 seconds off of his best 200 Individual Medley time, he replied: ‘The kids deserve all the credit. I give them the tools and the techniques. We have fun, I try to change it around, but it’s the kids.’ DeFillipis wasn’t the only swimmer to make remarkable gains at the La Canada-Crescenta meet. Thirteen-year-old Jessica Schem’s old time in the 200 Individual Medley was 3:15.11 while her new time is 2:46.74. Shevin Ghaffari, 11, swam the 50 Butterfly in 52.19, breaking his old mark of 1:01.92. Rachel Jaffe, 11, went from a 1:48.72 in the 100 Breaststroke to 1:35.35. Placing fifth or better in the Under-8 division, Courtney Carswell, 8, took a second in the 25 Breaststroke (25.36), placed third in the 25 Freestyle, 100 Individual Medley, 50 Freestyle and 25 Backstroke. She also placed fourth in the 25 Butterfly. Elizabeth Edel, 6, took second in the 25 Butterfly (28.47), third in the 50 Freestyle and fourth in the 25 Backstroke. Nicolas Green, 8, placed second in the 25 Freestyle (16.68). Alexander Landau, 8, took third in the 25 Breaststroke and 25 Butterfly. He placed fourth in the 100 Individual Medley and fifth in the 25 Backstroke. Joe Walker, 6, took first-place in the 25 Breaststroke (32.85), second in the 100 Individual Medley (2:20.00) and third in the 25 Freestyle. In the 9-10 division, Olivia Kirkpatrick took third in the 50 Butterfly, dropping over three seconds off of her time. Catherine Wang won the 200 Freestyle (2:20.35) and 50 Butterfly (33.59). She also took fourth in the 50 Freestyle (30.06) and fifth in the 50 Backstroke (37.47). With its senior swimmers gone, Paly’s 11-12s were the top point-getters for the team, led by 12-year-old Alexandra Edel, who took first place in five events: the 200 Freestyle (2:10.19), the 50 Breaststroke (35.60), the 100 Freestyle (1:00.64), the 200 Individual Medley (2:27.74), and the 100 Breaststroke (1:17.29). Edel also took second in the 50 Freestyle (28.21) and 50 Backstroke (33.41). She finished her remarkable day by placing third in the 50 Butterfly. Danny Fujinaka, 12, placed third in the 200 Individual Medley (2:32.81), and fourth in the 200 Freestyle (2:10.51). Allison Merz took fourth in the 50 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly. She also placed fifth in the 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle and 200 Individual Medley. Shelby Pascoe placed fourth in the 100 Backstroke. Jennifer Tartavull was runner-up in the 50 Freestyle (29.51) and 100 Breaststroke (1:18.47), and third in the 50 Breaststroke and 200 Breaststroke. ‘They’re not only swimming well, they’re also acquiring life skills in the process,’ Kennedy said of his team. ‘Just like in life… you work hard, you stay focused, you succeed. The same is true in swimming.’ Samantha Brill, 14, placed third in the 100 Breaststroke and 50 Freestyle. Thirteen-year-olds Mike Buchhauer and James de Mayo made their swimming debuts in the meet. Julian Hicks, 15, the only swimmer in his age group, dropped 36 seconds off of his previous best time in the 100 Freestyle to finish 10th in 1:04.75. Swimmers who also earned points for the team are Mac Abe, Tommy Collins, Julaina DeFillippis, Jacob DeFillippis, Nicolas Edel, Kate Heck, Julian Hicks, Josephine Kremer, Hayley, Katherine and Laura Lemoine, Michael Lukasiak, Colin Magana, Jack Porter, Mardell Ramirez, Andre Santa-Clara, Jessica Schem, Ana, Ellen, and Mara Silka, Pamela Soffer, Kimberly Tartavull, and Jordan Wilimovsky. Paly’s 11-12 girls’ 200 Freestyle Relay of Alexandra Edel, Ana Silka, Allison Merz, and Hayley Lemoine took first place. The 10-and-under 200 Medley Relay team of Mara Silka, Olivia Kirkpatrick, Catherine Wang and Pamela Soffer was second.
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