Lake Monsters make a splash
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News from Lake Monsters Swim Team
POLSON — Mission Valley’s newest athletic team is making some big waves in the swimming world. Formed last November, the Lake Monsters Swim Team recently had two qualifiers compete in the Montana Long Course State Championships in late July.
Swimmers 8-year-old Hannah Simpson and 10-year-old Christien Birdsbill had stellar performances at the Montana State Long Course Championship. Both athletes medaled in the top eight in all of their events.
Hannah placed 3rd in the state in the 8-and-under 100 freestyle with a time of 1:42.28. Hannah also placed 5th, 6th and 8th in the 100 backstroke, 50 breaststroke and 50 backstroke respectively.
Christien finished 6th in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 55.66 and also placed 8th in the 50 freestyle.
The pride and joy of the Mission Valley Aquatic Center, the Lake Monsters headed up this year’s Water Daze swim in Polson Bay. The 12th annual Water Daze event had a record number of attendees with 91 participants, including a dozen young team members. The youngest finisher of the mile swim across the bay was 8-year-old Hannah Simpson.
Head Coach Mark Johnston could not be more proud of his young swimmers.
“Living here by the beautiful Flathead Lake, it makes sense to combine pool training and open water swimming,” Johnston said. “This summer we did a couple of swims in the lake so that the kids could get a sense of what to expect and build up their confidence to make the trip across Polson Bay. The youngsters, along with our Master (adult) swimmers, did very well.”
Mark and his wife Dana moved to Polson last summer to help MVA get up and running. Dana heads up the lesson program and she assists Mark in coaching the new swim team.
“This is one of the best pools in the state and a perfect facility for teaching children and adults,” Dana said. “The natural transition for many new swimmers is to join the team. We try to encourage swimmers to be safe and comfortable in the water and then guide them onto the team when they are ready.”
To that end, the Lake Monsters held a meet at their home pool in Polson the night before Water Daze.
“We ended up with a lot more participants than I expected,” Mark said, “but I am really pleased with the support of the local and surrounding community.”
The team will host one more meet of the summer season on Saturday, Aug. 23. The competition is open to USA and USMS registered swimmers, as well as unaffiliated swimmers.
“We expect a range in ability of the competitors from novice to expert. One of the athletes is coming from Canada and he has some extremely fast Olympic times. We are excited to see how the participants do in the new pool facility,” Mark said.
The Lake Monsters swim team welcomes adult and youth swimmers ages 6-19. There are some skill prerequisites to joining the team and swimmers who are not quite ready for the rigor of training should consider participating in the swim lesson program. MVA’s swimming lessons follow a solid progression to develop students’ strokes and swimming technique. Swim lessons are offered for every age and ability including parent and tot, preschool, student, adult and senior.
For more information contact the Mission Valley Aquatic Center at (406) 883-4567.
