argrave Aquatics Has a Triple Threat in 500 Yard Freestyle
Hargrave Aquatic’s 12-year-old Jessica ‘Jessie’ Abbott, 11-year-old Jason Reese and 10-year-old Jesse Conner were a successful triple threat to their competitors in the 500y Freestyle, December 3, 2004, winning an first, second and first respectively. The three athletes performed at the 2004 SEVA 12&Younger Christmas Championships, December 3-5, 2004, in Ft. Eustis, Virginia.
“Normally, a 500y Freestyle is something most young athletes dread just because the event is ‘long,’” said Hargrave Aquatics Coach William Wiebking. “These three, and quite a few of their teammates, don’t worry about long events. They work very hard, so length doesn’t matter so much to them. It is a big part of the team culture these kids have created for themselves. With that attitude, they turn from good athletes to ferocious competitors.”
Scoring for the meet was single age based. This means that there is separate scoring for 12 and 11-year-old girls and boys, for example. However, all racing was done together, meaning that all 12&Unders in the 500y Freestyle swam together according to their sex.
Jessie Abbott not only won in the 500y Freestyle with an overall time of 5:34.32, she beat all other female athletes in the event. There were a huge number of girls participating, too. 90 out of a potential 92 athletes arrived at their blocks Friday night. Abbott also maintained a huge 10-second lead over second place. “Jessica is quickly cementing her place as one of Virginia’s fastest distance swimmers,” said Coach Wiebking.
Abbott also placed top eight in other events. She was 3rd in the 200y Freestyle, 2:06.38, 8th in the 100y Freestyle, 59.65, and 8th in the 100y Backstroke, 1:07.98. Abbott resides in Republican Grove in Halifax.
Jason Reese took 2nd in his 500y Freestyle, which was a difficult feat against approximately 60 11-12 male contenders. His time of 6:01.59 was also a personal best time by over 7.38 seconds.
Reese also placed in finals in several other events, including a 5th place in the 200y Freestyle, 2:24.15, a 7th place in the 100y Freestyle, 1:06.29, an 8th place in the 50y Freestyle, 29.41, and an 8th place in the 100y Butterfly, 1:20.62. “It was one of his first serious yard meets that involved both prelims and finals in the 11-12 age division,” said Coach Wiebking. “He did very well.”
Jesse Conner continued his impressive decline in time in the Boy’s 10&Under 500y Freestyle. Conner descended to a 5:55.28, which beat several 11-12 athletes and all 10&Under athletes. He would have placed 4th overall. “Interestingly, Jesse’s 200y split in the 500 was a 2:20.52. Earlier that day, he posted a 2:20.91 in his 200y Freestyle,” said Coach Wiebking. “He knows he’s fast in the 500. It’s going to be fun watching him realize that he is also much faster in other events.”
Conner was also 3rd in the 200y Individual Medley (IM), 2:40.67, 3rd in the 200y Freestyle, 1:05.15, 5th 200y Freestyle, 2:20.91, 5th in the 100y Backstroke, 1:14.82, and 8th in the 50y Freestyle, 30.32.
Altavista 12-year-old Jennifer Murphy stood out on her own in three Breaststroke events. While the 200y Breaststroke is traditionally her best event, this meet proved that she could be very successful in her shorter events, too. She was 3rd in the 50y Breaststroke, 34.98, 4th in the 100y Breaststroke, 1:15.23, and 7th in the 200y Breaststroke, 2:42.97.
Hargrave Aquatics athletes also participating in the event, but not placing top eight, were Megan Bennett of Danville, Katie Dougherty of Brosville, Chelsea Law of Gretna, Sami Norman of Martinsville, Hannah Patterson of Martinsville, Ali Stephens-Pickeral of Danville and David West of Altavista.
