Amidst the dripping-wet maze of young swimmers moving about while hidden under caps, goggles, and towels in between their many events at last weekend’s YMCA New England Championship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, there was no chance that Noella Michaud or her Gleason YMCA Riptides teammates would get lost.
“We have like a color, and we were bright, neon pink with a cap and a shirt that has our names. We know who our friends and coaches were,” said Michaud a day after a weekend performance that saw the Riptides finish 19th overall among more than 50 teams competing in the culminating event of the winter season.
Noella, a 10-year-old, fifth-grade student at Rochester Memorial School, finished second among Age 9-10 swimmers in the 100 Butterfly and third in the 50 Butterfly. After spending four times per week in the water and battling a common cold, she admitted to some fatigue but would not have missed this opportunity for the world.
“I got sick; I could have gotten worse, but I did really well,” she said.
Noella said she needs approximately 15 minutes in the water for warm-up before competing for keeps. A big meet like the New England Championship requires a swimmer to recover quickly but, at the same time, could involve a long wait.
“It can be right after, but you can wait like 20 minutes or 25 minutes,” she said. “You get really cold; you have to stay warm to keep your muscles ready and stuff.”
Ava Gagliardi showed her readiness with an individual, sixth-place finish in the 50 Backstroke, and the eight-year-old, third-grader at Rochester Memorial School swam the first leg for the Wareham-based YMCA’s 8 & Under Girls Medley Relay team including Emelie Michaud (Rochester), Molly Beson (Rochester) and Isabella Duran (Carver) that finished fifth.
“I’ve been swimming since I was six months old. I remember maybe when I was four-ish,” said Ava, who specializes in the backstroke.
“That’s my favorite one. You have to swim a lot and have fun doing it and go as fast as you can,” she said. “Last year, I wasn’t like, into it? Then it just went into a whole different perspective for me this year.”
When Ava was done swimming her backstroke leg, she joined teammates and coaches on the other side of the pool and followed the rest of the relay. “We were all cheering, and it was really fun. And they were really fast, too.”
Camaraderie is evident at a Riptides practice, where the coaching team of Russ Anderson, Niko Duarte, and Brooke Michaud has cultivated a culture of enthusiasm, positivity and discipline essential to water safety.
Having warmed up for practice, the swimmers listen intently to Duarte’s outdoor voice booming out specific instructions for the execution of repetitions that the swimmers need to follow, according to the digital time clock on the wall. They react as if every repetition will translate into the next big competition.
The New England Championship became that showcase for these efforts.
In the Age 9-10 session, Charlie Hall, a nine-year-old, third grader from Mattapoisett, finished fourth in the 100 Freestyle, eighth in the 50 Freestyle, and fourth in the 50 Breaststroke. Charlie was recently champion in the 100 Freestyle at the SENECY league meet.
In the Age 13-14 competition, Jason Anderson, a 13-year-old, seventh-grader from Wareham who attends Old Rochester Regional Junior High School, finished eighth in the 200 Individual Medley and placed sixth in the 200 Backstroke, breaking the Gleason YMCA team record. Chris Glover (Plymouth) broke two Riptides records, finishing fifth in the 200 Freestyle and eighth in the 100 Freestyle. He also took sixth in the 50 Freestyle.
The Riptides’ 8 & Under squad had an exceptional performance as a group, the boys placing fifth, the girls seventh and the age-group overall placing fourth.
The Riptides’ 8 & Under Boys Freestyle and Medley Relay teams of Sam Reece (Rochester), Peter Voci (Marion), Oliver Hancock (Plymouth) and Henrik Obrebski (Rochester) both took third place, and the Riptides’ 15 & Over boys’ relay team of Liam McGee (Marion), Zach Travis (Wareham), Riley Karo (Marion), and Jake Iappini (Marion) broke the Gleason YMCA’s 200 Medley and the 400 Freestyle records.
The winter season may have officially concluded, but some members of the Riptides will keep swimming while transitioning to spring sports.
“We will be talking about maybe doing spring swim. I do have a pool so that can help me, too, but maybe,” said Ava Gagliardi, who plays tennis, pickleball and basketball and participates in Krav Maga classes at South Coast Self Defense in New Bedford.
Noella Michaud is still building upon a year that has seen her take first place in the SENECY League 50-yard Butterfly.
“There’s this record I want to get before this season’s over and before you turn 11,” she said, referencing her May 9 birthday and the Gleason YMCA’s record for the 500-yard Freestyle. “There’s a certain time you need to get. … It goes on this board at the Y. This year I got two (records).”
Noella admits chasing the club’s 500 record “gets really tiring.” The race consists of 20 laps up and down the 25-yard-long pool. “It’s hard to count so they have these things called counters. If it’s a red one, it’s the last 25,” Noella explained. “I’m six seconds away from the record.”
By Mick Colageo