LAKE ORION — Fueled by three Michigan state record-breaking performances, the Liquid Lightning (LL) swim team had an unprecedented third-place finish overall out of 77 teams at the 12 & Under Short Course State Championship held March 9-12 at Lake Orion High School. LL’s Women placed first in the state and the Men placed 12^th, thanks to the state record-breaking swims as well as seven individual State Champion titles, two relay State Champion titles, multiple Age Group High Point wins and many top-16 finishes.

LL’s Women 10 & Under relay team made up of Courtney Connolly, Claire Abbasse, Reese McCorry and Fernanda Camacho Castro placed first and broke the 200 Free Relay Michigan state record that had been in place for 21 years by two seconds. They also won their division’s state title in the 200 Medley Relay.           

Also in the Women 10 & Under division, Connolly broke two Michigan state records (50 Back and 100 Back) and earned six individual State Champion titles for 50 Back, 100 Back, 50 Breast, 100 Breast, 100 IM and 200 IM. Camacho Castro earned the individual State Champion title for 50 Free in the Women 10 & Under division.

The team also had several Age Group High Point Winners, all of whom placed top 16 in multiple individual events. In the Women 10 & Under division, Connolly placed first overall; Abbasse placed third; Camacho Castro placed sixth; McCorry placed eighth; and Katie Miller placed 16^th. In the Women 11-12 division, Sarah Hennings placed 15^th among High Point Winners.

Rounding out the weekend were LL’s other top-16 finishers in the individual events. In the Women 10 & Under division, Emily Shores placed eighth in the 50 Breast. In the Men 10 & Under division, Daniel Reimchen placed third in 50 Breast; second in 100 Breast; 15^th in 100 IM; and 10^th in 200 IM. Aaron Thielen was 14^th in the 200 Free; 12^th in the 500 Free; 13^th in the 50 Back; and 14^th in the 100 Back.

In the Women 11-12 division, other top-16 finishers were Adrienne Goins, who placed sixth in 100 Back and 11^th in 200 Back. Clare Langenderfer was ninth in 50 Breast; 11^th in 100 Breast; 15^th in 200 Breast; sixth in 50 Fly; and 13^th in 100 Fly. Bridget Muns placed 13^th in the 50 Breast.

In the Men 11-12 division, top-16 finishers included Jorge Roman, who was sixth in 50 Breast, eighth in 100 Breast; and 10^th in 200 Breast. Cameron Sanders placed fifth in 50 Breast and 15^th in 100 Breast. Carl Wacker was 11^th in the 50 Breast, and Avery Womack was ninth in 50 Back and 15^th in both the 100 Back and 200 Back.

“Our 12 & Under swimmers truly lived up to the challenge of competing against the best swimmers in the state and showed everyone that Liquid Lightning has what it takes to compete at this level,” said Coach Blaine Dolcetti. “Each and every swimmer has trained since September, sacrificing one thing after another. I am so proud of them and pleased to see all their hard work and determination pay off.”

The Liquid Lightning swim team includes approximately 200 swimmers from Lake Orion, Rochester, Oxford, Clarkston, Brandon, Lapeer, Pontiac, and surrounding areas. For more information, visit www.liquidlightning.org. Swimmers interested in trying out for the team can e-mail Coach Colin Dolcetti at coachcolin@liquidlightning.org.

Note: This announcement was received and posted by the Oakland Township-Lake Orion Patch.