By Mike Maltais
The Methow Valley Killer Whales swim team hosted the Brewster Bearacudas, Okanogan Bullfrogs and Omak Manta Rays for the annual Methow Invitational swim meet at the Wagner Memorial Pool in Twisp on Saturday, where pods of local swimmers some 80 strong devoured the visitors in the course of the arduous day-long competition.
Coaches Jeanne White and Bo Thrasher, with the help of assistant coaches Sidnee Glenn and Hannah Hafsos, guided new swimmers and team veterans alike through scores of heats in more than 100 events.
A supporting cast of timers and judges monitored individual swimmers and pool lanes while Ashley Lodato and Danbert Nobacon called the swimmers to their marks and started each event.
Killer Whale swim pods range in age groups from 6 and under up to 18. In a meet as large as Saturday’s invitational, the older swimmers age 13 and up may compete in as many as eight events.
Hafsos, 17, a 2014 graduate of Liberty Bell High School, was both coach and competitor last weekend. When not in the water herself, Hafsos was helping the youngest Killer Whales navigate the fast-paced tempo of the meet.
“I’ve been on the team since I was 9,” Hafsos said. “I hope to spend at least part of next season with the team before heading off to college.”
The Killer Whales were scheduled to compete at Brewster on Tuesday (July 1). Next Tuesday (July 8) the team will travel to Omak for a dual meet against the Manta Rays.
