Owen McLaughlin and Michelle Lo celebrate their 50 Fly swims. This was the first time McLaughlin went under 30 seconds. Courtesy photo

Catherine Price at the start of the 50 Backstroke. Courtesy photo

Glyn Lo talks with coaches before getting in for warmup. Courtesy photo

Aquatomics athletes and coaches get together before start of meet for team cheer led by some of the swimmers. Courtesy photo

Owen McLaughlin, Michelle Lo and Catherine Price get ready for the 50 Back. Courtesy photo

BY MARIBETH ENGLERT
Assistant Coach
Los Alamos Aquatomics

The Los Alamos Aquatomics recently competed in the CAQ Age Group Invite on June 19. The swimmers had a great meet and are happy to be able to compete again. Below are some highlights for each swimmer.

Ashley McLaughlin: I really liked doing the 100 IM because I get to do all the strokes in one event. (100 IM, 200 Free, 50 Fly)

Joshua McLaughlin: I liked doing the 200 free since I haven’t been able to do it in almost 2 years. My dad also brought really good snacks. (50 Breast, 200 Free, 50 Free)

Lyla Lo: “I feel nervous but excited. I am happy that I broke my own records and created my best times.” (50 Back, 50 Breast, 50 Free)

Glyn Lo: “I am tired but happy when I swim!” (50 Back, 100 Free, 50 Free)

Evan Guerrero: Everything was fun! I had a lot of fun racing in my freestyle events. (100 Free, 50 Free)

Owen McLaughlin: The meet was very good. All of the Aquatomics were cheering for everyone’s swims. And mostly everybody got best times. (200 IM, 50 Back, 50 Fly)

Yvette Garcia: “What I liked about the meet was the competitive feeling which I had not felt in over a year. I was also able to see that I improved my times.” (50 Breast, 200 Free, 50 Free)

Alma Hurlocker: I liked being able to talk to people more and hang out with people again. I also liked the 50 breaststroke. (50 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Free)

Monty Hanks: I went faster than I thought I would. (50 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Free)

Grace Nowell: It was fun to cheer on my teammates. And it was fun to race the other teams. I’m 0.5 seconds away from a State Cut time! I also got the meet qualifying times I was trying for in two events for the next meet. ( 100 IM, 100 Free, 200 Free)

Michelle Lo: I really liked my 50 fly. I swam differently and took off a couple of tenths. (200 IM, 100 Free, 50 Fly)

Catherine Price: I was very nervous for this meet. I hadn’t done one for more than a year. But this meet was great! I got best times in everything. I’m very glad I went. (50 Back, 200 Free, 50 Free)

WarmUp Glyn: Glyn talks with coaches before getting in for warmup.Team Cheer: The Aquatomics athletes and coaches get together before the start of the meet for a team cheer led by some of the swimmers.Congrats: Owen and Michelle celebrate their 50 Fly swims. This was the first time Owen went under 30 seconds.Catherine 50 Back: Catherine at the start of the 50 Backstroke.

Before 50 Back: Alma, Owen, Michelle, and Catherine get ready for the 50 Back.

Before warm up: The team gathers for a team meeting before the start of the meet.