Eight Club Olympia swimmers competed in the West Coast Elite Showcase Championships last weekend in Irvine, California. Pictured from left are Sanaa Kulkarni, Camila Mejia Murguia, Lily Pendleton, Brooklyn Pendleton, Rebeca Mejia Murguia, Shreyan Kulkarni, Tony Machavariani and Joshua Pendleton.
Submitted photo
Eight Club Olympia swimmers traveled to Irvine, California, last weekend to compete in the four-day 2023 West Coast Elite Showcase Championships hosted by the International Swim Coaches Association and NOVA Aquatics. This annual meet attracts top swim talent from California and as far away as New York, Washington, Utah and Indiana. This year, 12 teams competed and Club Olympia, despite entering only eight swimmers, was able to secure a fourth-place finish.
Josh Pendleton led the contingent from Columbus by claiming the Boys 12-year-old high point honors. Pendleton won the 200-yard freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle and 100 individual medley and placed second in the 100 freestyle and 400 IM and third in the 50 freestyle and 200 IM. Pendleton’s 1,000 freestyle time is fourth-fastest in the nation this year for his age group and qualified him to swim at the Indiana Senior State Championships in March.
Tony Machavariani was the Boys 10-year-old high point winner. Machavariani won the 50 butterfly and finished second in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 IM, and third in the 100 breaststroke.
Camila Mejia Murguia placed third in the Girls 11-year-old 100 butterfly; fourth in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle; fourth in the 50 butterfly, 50 IM and 100 IM; fifth in the 100 backstroke and had two other top-10 finishes. Her 200 freestyle time qualified her to compete in the event at the Indiana Swimming Age Group State Championships in March.
Also in the Girls 11-year-old competition, Rebeca Meija Murguia finished fifth in the 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 100 IM, along with seven other top-10 finishes.
Sanaa Kulkarni placed fourth in the Girls 13-year-old 200 butterfly and fifth in the 200 breaststroke. Brooklyn Pendleton took third in the Girls 14-year-old 50 butterfly, fourth in the 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke and fifth in the 100 butterfly. Kulkarni and Pendleton also combined for an additional 10 top-10 finishes.
Shreyan Kulkarni, also competing in the Boys 10-year-old division, was fifth in the 100 breaststroke and 500 freestyle, with four additional top-10 finishes.
Lily Pendleton, swimming against other 10-year-old girls, claimed fifth in the 200 free and added seven other top-10 finishes. Pendleton also qualified for the Indiana Swimming Age Group State with her time
in the 100 freestyle.
HOCKEY
Squirt teams wins Gateway tourney
The Columbus Flames Peewee AA hockey team won the Gateway Tournament last weekend in St. Louis. They fell to Nashville Warriors 2010 4-2 before beating Southern Illinois Huskies 8-4, Atlanta Mad Hatters 3-0 and then the Nashville Warriors 2010 4-2 in the championship game.
Brooks Larsh led the Flames with six goals and four assists. Max Perez scored four goals, Carter Davis netted two goals and two assists, Maddox Coy recorded one goal and six asssits, Ethan Neumann notched one goal and two assists, Logan Barringer and Kai Bergmann each had one goal and one assist, Thomas King scored one goal, Rowan Correll dished out five assists, Bentley Hampton and Henry Schloemer each had two assists and Garrett Uy added one assist. Canyon Long stopped 57 of 67 shots for and 85.0 save percentage.
The Columbus Flames Squirt 10U Gill team also won their division in the St. Louis Gateway Tournament. Team members include, front row from left, Cayden Long and Landon Neumann; second row, Timo Bergmann, Santiago Perez, Colton Pepmeier, Eliot Gill; third row, Jada Thomas, Nolan Bush, Declan McGurk, Luke Powers, Jonah Oliphant, Miles Gill, Ronald Brumberg, Duncan Saner; and back row, head coach David Gill and assistant coaches Orlando Perez, Stefan Bergmann and Brian Neumann.
Submitted photo
Flames Squirt AA Finished second in the Gateway Tournament. They tied St. Peters Hockey Club B 6-6, beat St. Peters Hockey Club A 2-1 and lost to Krivo School of Hockey 4-3 before falling St. Peters Hockey Club A 5-0 in the title game.
Avery Orgass led the team with four goals and one assist. Nolan Bush and Maddox Coy each netted two goals and one assist; Carsen Sims and Thomas Degner each had one goal and three assists; Dalton Larsh scored one goal and Chance Mathis, Lucas Oswald and Oli Jamerson all added one assist. Cayden Long stopped 101 of 117 shots for an 86.3 save percentage.
The Columbus Flames Squirt 10U Gill team won the St. Louis Gateway Tournament last weekend. The team beat St. Peters Hockey Club 5-2 and Nashville Flyers 3-1 and fell to Kirkwood Stars 3-1 before beating Kirkwood Stars 4-3 in overtime forthe championship.
Jonah Oliphant and Ronald Brumberg each scored five goals, and goalie Landon Neumann was named the tournament’s MVP. Santiago Perez recorded one goal and two assists, Cayden Long and Nolan Bush each scored one goal, Declan McGurk notched three assists, Colton Pepmeier had two assists and Luke Powers and Miles Gill each added one assist.
The Columbus Flames 10U Hawley team finished runner-up in the Hockeytown Presidential Power-Play MYHockey Tournament in the Detroit area. The team beat Chicago Stallions 4-2, fell to Steel City Renegates 3-1 and Farmington Hills LC 6-2, beat the Chicago Stallions again 2-0 and lost to Farmington Hills LC 5-1.
Evan Armuth led the Flames with four goals and two assists. Thea Meyer scored two goals; Hudson Raper netted one goal and three assists; Elijah Allen recorded one goal and one assist; Wade Lynch, Evan Armuth and Caz Axsom all scored one goal; Camden Miller had two assists and Blake Schneider and Dahn Taylor each added one assist. Jaxon Nolting was in net for all games.
The Flames 14U B split with Louisville, falling 3-1 and winning 1-0. Ryan McGhehey and Zane Lynch each scored one goal. Keegan Bishop was in net one game, and Gabe Marsh was in net one game.
Peewee B competed in the Big Bear tournament in Indy. They fell to the Capitals 4-3 and Chiefs 3-2 and tied the Chargers 3-3 and lost to the Chargers 7-1. Nolan Sparkman scored five goals, Henry Jamerson notched two goals, Hallie Mudd had one goal and two assists and Colby Payne added one goal. Knox Coen was in net.
BROOMBALL
Monsters, Hansons to play for title
Top-seeded Monsters of Rock and No. 2-seed Hansons will meet for the Columbus Broomball League title at 6:30 p.m. today after winning semifinal-round matches last week.
Monsters survived a scare from No. 4-seed CCA, pulling out a 2-1 win on goals from Zach Henderson and Rob Jones. Todd Houchin scored for CCA.
Hansons rolled to an 8-1 win against No. 3-seed Our Name Is Earl. Keith Henry, Matt Psota and Matt Street all netted two goals, and Max Warr and Rob Steigerwalt each added one for Hansons. Darren Eckerty had the goal for Earl.
Our Name Is Earl had advanced with a 4-2 win against No. 6-seed Toyota Tsunamis. Eckerty scored two goals, and Noah Marsh and Gabe Marsh each added one for Earl. Clayton McNealy and Jimmy Robertson scored for Tsunamis.
CCA had advanced with a 5-1 victory against No.5-seed Jennings County BC. Todd Houchin and Scott Herron each scored twice, and Ricky Hooten added a goal for CCA. Darien Castetter had the goal for Jennings.
Jennings and Tsunamis will play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m. today. Our Name Is Earl will play CCA for third place at 5:30 p.m., followed by the championship game.
SPEED SKATING
Full Throttle competes
The Full Throttle Speed Skating team competed at last weekend’s Northburke Short Track Open in Northbrook, Illinois against teams from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Colorado and Washington D.C. This was an ability meet format, with boys and girls racing together, but placing for their gender.
Quinten Fortner, making his racing debut, had a second- and third-place finish at 255m , a second and fourth at 340m and a second at 425m. Fortier finished second overall for his division.
Christopher Schwab competed at 333m, 500m and 777m distances for his division. He placed first in his semifinals, advancing to the A finals. He finished first in his A finals for each distance and first overall for his division.
Gabe Marimoto Taqueushi placed in the top two positions in his semifinals, advancing to the A finals for all three of his distances. He finished second at 333m and 777m distances and third at 500m distances, resulting at second overall for his division.
Rithwik Veeravalli and Meredith Schwab competed a 333m, 500m and 777m distances for their division. Both skaters placed in the top two positions in their semifinal, advancing them both to the A finals. Veeravalli finished second his A finals for each distance, finishing second overall for his division. Meredith Schwab finished third in her A finals for each distance and came in first overall for the girls division.
Wyatt Kiefer and Luis Marimoto Taqueushi competed at 333m, 500m and 777m distances for their division. Both skaters finished in the top two of their semifinals, advancing to the A finals for their distances. Kiefer finished third in his A finals at each distance, finishing third overall for the division. Luis Marimoto Taqueushi finished first in his A finals at each distance, finishing first overall in his division.
Duree Brown finished first in his semifinals, advancing to the A finals. Brown finished first at 500 and 1000m and second at 1500m distance, finishing first overall for his division.
Full Throttle Speed Skating Team practices at the Hamilton Center Ice Arena, and is coached by Taylor and Mikey Burdekin. Their final meet this season will be March 4-5 at the Land of Lincoln event in Champaign, Illinois.
