Butler Y swim team gears up
BUTLER TWP — This is the Butler YMCA swim team’s time of year.
The district meet takes place next weekend at Penn Sate University. The state meet is there the following weekend.
“Most of our kids are preparing for something,” seventh-year head coach Alex Fertelmes said. “Our advanced kids are focused on nationals, our mid-level kids on states and our younger ones on districts.”
The Butler Y team has consistently had more than 100 swimmers for a number of years now, ranging in age groups from 8-under to 15-18. This season, more than half of the team members — 64 — have qualified for the district meet.
“That’s particularly exciting for our younger swimmers, especially our first-year kids, because they had to reach a qualifying time to get to districts,” assistant coach Kathy Pierre said. “There’s a sense of accomplishment there, something to build from.”
The completed project has been consistent success.
Fertelmes said the YMCA record book has been rewritten over the past decade.
“(Former Olympian) Eric Namesnik used to own virtually every record in the program,” Fertelmes said. “Now he only holds five.”
The longest standing YMCA swim record is in the boys age 13-14 50-yard freestyle. T. Lafferty set that mark of 23.30 seconds in 1967 and it remains unbroken.
Laura Goettler owns 26 Butler Y swim records and Camryn Forbes 25 on the girls side. David Bocci has 22 of the boys records and Chadd Cummings — who graduated from the program last year — has 15.
Forbes has snapped seven records in the girls ages 15-18 category so far this season: 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 200 individual medley. Brooke Zukowski broke the girls 15-18 100 and 200 breaststroke marks.
Bocci has broken five records this year in the boys 11-12 division: 100, 200 and 500 free, 200 back and 400 individual medley. Sam Deemer has broken the 50 and 100 back, along with 100 butterfly marks.
Abbie Griffith has broken the girls 11-12 100 and 200 butterfly records this season.
The YMCA Nationals take place in April.
“We have a lot of kids who just enioy being in the water and being competitive ... they put the time in,” Fertelmes said. “Some kids do our summer program along with swimming for summer teams at Penn Valley, Butler Country Club and Sebco.”
The YMCA season begins in September and concludes with the district, state and national meets. Swimmers practice four or five days a week, the older kids for two hours each day, the younger kids for an hour.
After nationals, the Y swim program takes a week off before beginning its spring and summer program.
“For some of these advanced swimmers, it’s their only week off all year,” Fertelmes said.
Pierre marvels at the dedication.
“I’ve been coaching here for three years now and these kids rarely miss (practice),” she said. “I give the parents credit, too, because they get them here.
“Kids see their times drop and it motivates them to do more. We have a very focused group of kids.”
