Doorfins Swimmers Compete in National Meet

Six Door County swimmers competed in a national swim meet on April 5, 2013, marking high scores, breaking personal records and proving that working hard can pay off.

“We moved up quite a bit,” Doorfins coach Mike McHugh said. “Certainly the goal is to have improvement when you go down there.”

The six swimmers swam in 15 individual events and two relays. They marked four team records and a fourth national title.

Conner McHugh was named the third-time national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke with his personal best time. He came in second place in the 200-yard breaststroke, also with his personal best time. He came in fourth in the 200-yard individual medley with another personal best score. He came in 33rd place in the 100-yard butterfly.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team placed 21st, with a team record of 1:36:44. The 400-yard freestyle relay team placed 38th place with a time of 3:35:08.

Savanna Townsend swam the 50-yard freestyle, and got 16th place with her personal best time. She placed 59th place in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard breaststroke, and 39th place in the 100-yard freestyle.

Arica Smith got 48th place in the 50-yard freestyle and 114th place in the 100-yard freestyle.

Maddie Rastall got 50th place in the 50-yard freestyle and 116th place in the 100-yard freestyle.

Max McHugh got 71st place in the 100-yard breaststroke with his best time ever. He was the youngest swimmer in the event.

Abby Bubnik was part of the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams, and got two personal best times.

Doorfins is a YMCA swim team for swimmers ages 5 to 18. Anyone who can swim one length of the pool with freestyle stroke can join the team.

“Probably the best thing that [swimmers] get is the feeling that hard work is vital to improvement, and they see the improvement each time that they work so it’s perpetuated,” McHugh said. “I think they learn a lot about dedication and commitment to a team – even though they’re swimming individual events they score as a team so it’s a combination sport. Probably the most important thing we see with our swimmers is that they gain a lot of self confidence and self esteem through the sport.”