Emily Wolbert, 10, Takes Home the Gold at JO's

Lancaster, PA, is not quite Beijing, but 23 members of the Pocono YMCA Swim Team were happy to take part in the Mid-Atlantic 2008 Junior Olympic Swim Championships at the Golden Meadows Swim Center, July 24-27, 2008. And for 10-year old Emily Wolbert, it was a golden opportunity.

Nine members of the Pocono Piranhas qualified for individual events by competing in meets sanctioned by USA Swimming, the National Governing Board for the sport of swimming. The remaining 14 joined their teammates on one or more of three relays. [Time standards are not set for relays -- any team sending individual qualifiers may send a relay team.] There were a number of top ten finishes, and Ben Gendelman, Liz Jordan and Emily Wolbert qualified for the Eastern Zone Championships in mid-August.

In the 15-19 Girls Division, Liz Jordan (16) took 4th in the 100 Meter Freestyle, and 6th in both the 100 Meter Breast and 50 Free. She qualified for Zones in the 100 Free and 100 Breast. Lena Yang (14), competing in her 2nd JOs, was 9th in the 50 Free, and also competed in the 100 Free, 100 Breast and 200 Meter Individual Medley (IM) in the 13/14 Girls Division.

For the 11/12 Boys, Benjamin Gendelman (12) placed 6th in the 50 Meter Butterfly, which qualified him for Eastern Zones. He also swam the 100 Meter Fly, 50 Free and 100 Free individual events. He was joined by Karl Wint (12), Colin Orlowski (11), and Sam Velez (11) for the 200 Meter Medley Relay and 200 Meter Free Relay. The team took an uncontested 1st in the Medley Relay, and placed 3rd in the Free.

Two swimmers qualified in the 11/12 Girls Division: Alex Burns (12) swam the 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 200 Fly (placing 9th) and 50 Free, and Maggie Palaski (11), making her 2nd trip, competed in the 50 Fly and 50 Breast. Alana Slater (12) and Kimmie Konz (11) joined Burns and Palaski for the 200 Medley Relay (7th place) and 200 Free Relay ( 5th place). Burns, Slater and Konz also placed 7th in the 400 Meter Free Relay with Meghan Dwyer (11).

In the 10 & Under Boys Division, Zack Wolbert (8) was the youngest male swimmer to qualify for any individual events. He placed 8th in the 50 Breast, and also swam 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 50 Free, 100 Free, and 100 Breast. The 200 Medley Relay team of Wolbert, Lascelles Dunn (10), Colin Naturale (9) and Liam Naturale (8) took an uncontested 1st place.

Three Piranhas met the time standards in the 10 & Under Girls Division. Emily Cabral (10) qualified in the 50 Back and 50 Free, while Irene Gendelman (9) swam the 50 Fly and 50 Free. Emily Wolbert (10) made her 3rd JO appearance, having qualified for nine different individual events. She took 1st in the 400 Free, 100 Breast, 200 IM, and 100 Free. She was 2nd in the 100 Fly, 3rd in the 200 Free and 50 Fly, 4th in the 50 Free, and 16th in the 100 Back. Her outstanding performance earned her the High Point Trophy for the 9/10 Girls Division.

Wolbert, Cabral and Gendelman were also joined by Monica Hagn (9) for the 200 Medley Relay (6th place), 200 Free Relay (7th) and 400 Free Relay (4th). In addition, the Pocono Piranhas sent a second relay team in the 9/10 Girls Division: Mary Cerbone (10), Araceli Dunn (9), Nadine Parrish (9) and Olivia Wint (8) swam the 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays.

These dedicated swimmers, members of the Pocono Piranha Swim Team, have traveled the area to compete in USA sanctioned meets, where the shortest distance swum is 50 meters, more than twice the 25 yards common to summer meets. The Mid-Atlantic organization is made up of teams from Delaware, southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, and is part of the Eastern Zone Division of USA Swimming. Liz Jordan and Emily Wolbert will be making the trip to Rockville, Maryland, August 6-9, 2008, to compete in the Eastern Zone Championships.