Lara’s Blog

I hope all enjoyed a very Merry Christmas.  We had a very enjoyable week with Lara’s visit home to El Paso December 20th through December 27th.  Christmas day was nice and cozy with just Keith, Lara and myself having a peaceful time together.  And in the afternoon Lara and I went to visit Toni Harvey, the wonderful lady who took care of each of the girls when they were babies.  We’re extended family now, and it would not be Christmas unless we paid her a visit.  And she told Lara (and Carly on the phone) that they would always be her babies.  Lara also visited with her two best friends from high school, Danny and Brittany.  Lara’s first swim coach and very good friend, Melissa Lomeli stopped by to see Lara one day.  On Christmas Eve, Lara visited with all the good people at New Hope Lutheran Church (formerly St John’s Lutheran Church), who have known Lara since she was baptized as an infant in 1987.  And she did go to a couple of Ft Bliss Barracuda Swim Team practices to see her former coach, Wright Stanton, and to say hello to the team who cheered her on here in El Paso, when she competed at Olympic Trials.  Then she needed to head back to Tucson on Saturday, to get ready for practice on Monday. 
And not a moment too soon.  The Arizona Swim Team has a busy month starting with a home meet on Friday, January 2 verses OSU/NAU/Washington.  On Thursday, January 8 they meet up with West Virginia.  Then Keith and I will be traveling to Tucson for the dual meets against California on January 23 and against Stanford on January 24.  At the end of the month, the Team travels to Austin for a meet against Texas/SMU on January 30-31.  Keith and I may travel again to Tucson to watch the meet against Arizona State on Saturday, February 14.  That will be the seniors’ farewell home meet and that includes Lara, which is unbelievable to us! 
So check out the Arizona Swimming and Diving web page for results and news.  And keep checking out this blog.  I will try to keep it updated as events happen.  And don’t forget to leave a comment if you can.  I love to know who is reading the blog.  Even if you just say hello and good luck.  And don’t forget to chant, “Go Cats!”

No comments »

The Texas Invitational for 2008 is over and it surely was an exciting 3 days of competition.  The Arizona Women dominated and won the meet.  The newer Arizona Mens Team came in second to Texas.  The order of events Saturday were: the final heat of 1650, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the 400 free relay.
Ana Agy dominated in the 200 back winning and setting a new AZ school record of 1:52.47.  Annie Chandler was looking good in the 200 breast, but she went out a little fast and came in third (prelims 2:09.30, finals 2:10.55), but she was able to pull Julie Stupp to a NCAA “A” time for second place (2:10.00).
The 100 free is a big monster to Lara, who she has been trying to conquer since coming to Arizona.  She is fast enough to take down all of the records – but she still needs some work on that event.  Lara did a 48.49 (a personal best) in prelims, but fell to fourth with a 48.64 in the finals.  Her teammate, Justine Schluntz won the event with 47.80.  The NCAA “A” time is 47.84, the “B” time is 49.75.  The rest of the Arizona girls as follows: Anna Turner 48.68, Taylor Baughman 48.81, Lindsey Kelly 49.23 and Ana Agy 49.95.
Oh but the first day of the Invitational was the best for Lara.  Lara took down all of the records in the 50 yd free with 21.37 in prelims and 21.33 in finals.  The records broken were the Texas pool record, the Arizona school record, the NCAA record (previously held by Kara Lynn Joyce), the American record (previously held by Natalie Coughlin) and the US Open record.  What an achievement!
Then the 100 fly was no slouch either.  Lara took down Whitney Myers school record with a 51.39 in prelims and 51.12 in finals winning both the 50 free and the 100 fly in one day!  Plus the 200 free relay set a new Texas pool record with Lara leading off with a 21.46, the previous American Record held by Natalie Coughlin.  Way to go Lara!  The second day for Lara was more of a “rest” day, swimming the 100 back and able to pull off the “B” time of 53.24 in prelims.  And she came in fourth in finals.  Not bad for someone who does not primarily train the back.  The 200 medley relay also took down the TX pool record.  Lara split a 22.41 in the 50 fly in the relay.
Overall it was a good meet for Lara.  It’s big to set an American record!  We’re hoping it will ensure her future to be able to stay in Tucson and train for the 2012 Olympics.  Lara just keeps getting faster and faster, folks.  What a blessing to have this opportunity with some of the best coaches in the country.  What a blessing for so many reasons.  And for this we are truly grateful!

2 Comments »

We are between sessions on the last day of the Texas Invitational here in Austin, Texas.  It’s a beautiful, warm sunny day as we wait for Lara to get her rest in our hotel room.  Luckily I found the business center computer free and I can give a quick update from prelims this morning.  I don’t have my notes in front of me so I will try to mention what I remember.  The order of events were: 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast and the 200 butterfly.  It was definitely an Arizona show on the Women’s side.  Ana Agy looked amazing in the 200 back with a top seed time for tonight’s finals and already an automatic NCAA time.  In the 100 free Arizona women dominated again and we have Justine Schluntz seeded first in the 100 free with a 47.9 and Lara is seeded third with a 48.44, I believe.  We had Annie Chandler take it away in the 200 breast for top seed with a NCAA automatic time.  And iron woman, Alyssa Anderson is second seed, to Texas’s Kathleen Hersey in the 200 fly.  Plus Alyssa is top seed for the 1650 to be the first event for the evening finals.
After finals we’ll have a team banquet at a nearby restaurant, then I’ll rush to get back on the blog to let you know what happened at finals. 
For fastest results check the UT Texas Sports page on the web.  Arizona should also have an article on how our swimmers do, but there’s more delay on the most recent results.
In the meantime, Go Cats!

No comments »

It’s been a good day for Arizona Womens Swimming.  The evening got off to a great start with the 200 medley relay of DeGolia, Chandler, Jackson and Darlington swimming an automatic NCAA time of 1:36.02 and setting a new Texas pool record.  Lara’s 50 fly split was a sizzling 22.41, almost as fast the the 50 free leg of 22.21.
We were very excited about Lara’s teammate, Annie Chandler’s performance in the 100 breast with an automatic NCAA time of 59.78 and breaking her own previous Arizona school record.  Way to go Annie!
Then Arizona had four swimmers in the final heat of the 100 back.  The women finished 1 through 4, Ana Agy winning the event with a 51.45 NCAA automatic time of 51.45, setting a new Arizona school record.  Andrea Boritzke was second, also with an automatic NCAA time of 52.45.  Hailey DeGolia was third with a 53.13 and Lara fourth with a 53.44.  Lara held her own against women who primarily train the backstroke, but she did say her legs gave out with all of the underwater leg work.  Luckily our girls travel with a massage therapist, and she takes very good care of them. 
Tomorrow’s another big day for Lara.  Looking forward to see how it all pans out in the 100 free and the 4 x 100 free relay.  Will Lara get her automatic NCAA time of 47.84?  Can she even dream about the school record of 47.34?  Will the relay take down another Texas pool record?  These questions, and others, to be answered tomorrow on the last day of the 2008 Texas Invitational Meet.

1 Comment »

Lara is definitely enjoying some good momentum since setting the new American record in the 50 yard free yesterday, twice!  Today was an easy “off” day for Lara, not competing in any events that she usually does at big meets.  So today Lara competed in the 100 back and blew almost everyone out of the water.  She is ranked # 2 for finals tonight.  Lara swam a 53.24, just behind her teammate, Haily DeGolia who had a 53.05.  The automatic NCAA time is a 53.01 and the consideration time is 55.13.  The rest of the Arizona women were: Jenny Foster 53.29, Andrea Boritzke 53.43, Ana Agy 53.44, and Justine Schluntz 53.99.  So not too bad.  We’ll enjoy our “litter” of Cats that will compete in the top final heat of the 100 back and see who’s the top cat.

No comments »

Well if you thought the prelims this morning was exciting, then let me tell you about finals!  The evening started with the 200 yd free relay including Lara, Lindsey Kelly, Anna Turner and Taylor Baughman.  They took down the existing Texas pool record with 1:27.72 (NCAA “A” time 1:28.35).  Lara started off the relay with a 21.46 50 free leg.  Wow, that was the previous American record at the start of the day (before Lara broke the record in prelims)!
Then onto the 100 yd fly which she won with a 51.12, lowering her time from prelims, from a 51.39.  The evening climaxed with the Women’s 50 yd free with four Arizona women in the finals.  Lara won the 50 free in a time of 21.33, breaking her own record from the morning prelims, from 21.37.  Once again she broke the TX pool record, the NCAA record, the American record and the US Open record.
Tomorrow will be an easy day with the 100 back, an “off” event that Lara does not usually focus on.  And there’s the 200 medley relay during finals.  So all is well in Austin, Texas.  Be back tomorrow with continued coverage of the Texas Invitational Meet 2008!

No comments »

The University of Arizona Womens Swim Team is on fire!  And Lara is leading the way here in Austin, Texas at the UT Texas Invitational.  Lara started off with the 100 yd fly using the side breathing method for the first time during a major meet.  She is seeded first for finals tonight with a time of 51.39 (NCAA “A” cut time is 52.02)  And she broke Whitney Myers’s Arizona school record of 51.55.  Way to go!
Then Lara swam the 50 yd free in heat 11 of 11.  She swam a stunning 21.37, breaking her own school record of 21.69.  She also set a new Texas pool record, a new NCAA record, a new American record and a new US Open record, all in a pre-lim swim!  The NCAA “A” time is 21.93.  Way to go, again!
Lara’s determined to swim even faster tonight in finals.  There’s actually some room for improvement in both the fly and the 50 free.  And Lara continues to be focused and driven.  We’ll watch and see what happens next.

1 Comment »

How nice for Keith to bring along the laptop computer from work so that he can get some work done – and I get to blog!  Writing this blog keeps me sane while the meet progresses.  And we have been looking forward to the Texas Invitational since the Trials.  So it’s early and we’re nicely settled into our hotel by UT campus, and the pool.  Had a smooth time traveling yesterday and got to see Lara briefly.  After a quick dinner, Keith and I jumped in the rental car and set out for a grocery store.  Luckily there’s an HEB not too far.  We wanted to set up Lara with healthy provisions in her room to be sure her body has the fuel it needs to perform.  We wandered around a store that’s unfamilar, wrote a few texts to Lara for clarification on items she needed and finally got back to bring Lara her stuff (plus a few exta goodies for us!). 
Now sleeping the first night in a hotel bed the night before a big day for Lara was a bit challenging.  I was very tired but like a little kid on Christmas Eve, it was tough to settle down.  And after sleep finally comes, I am up early the next morning!
I’ll go grab some breakfast and then meet at the Chandler’s room.  We Moms of the Women’s Team gather little gifts and items and put them in goodie bags at the girls’ doors before they go off to warm ups.  So here it’s Easter morning everyday with new surprises for the girls.  This time I bought a bunch of the small bottle personal care items like shampoos, creams, etc that I found at Big Lots for $2.00 per 5 bottle bunch.  And I also brought along some bobbie pins and hair bands.  We needed enough for about 30 women since the divers are here at this meet as well.
So I better get started!  Today is a big day for Lara.  She gets to swim the 50 yd free and the 100 yd butterfly.  Go Lara!  Go Cats!

No comments »