Manta Rays solid at Junior Championships
Courtesy photo Manta Ray swimmers (from left to right) Left to right, Kendall Vance, Dallie Cobb, Aline Davis and Kora Preston comprise the girls 10 and under relay team.
CLARKSTON — Manta Ray Aquatics took a team of 16 swimmers to the 2018 Junior Championships in Clarkston.
This meet had over 300 participating athletes, ranging in age from six to 14 years old. Morning preliminary sessions determined the top eight athletes that would advance to the finals session in the evening.
Manta Ray Aquatics had many impressive time-drops throughout the course of the meet. However, three athletes contributed significantly to the MRA team point count.
Leading the charge was Aline Davis (10), who posted eight top eight finishes and added 44 points to the team total. Davis was the second-highest scoring female athlete in her age group, missing the high point position by only three points. Her best performance of the meet came in her 50-yard freestyle, where she cut nearly two seconds and placed first with a time of 34.54 seconds.
Teammate Aidan Devine (11) brought in 21 points for Manta Ray Aquatics. Devine had five top eight finishes, including a first-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Devine shaved six seconds off his 100 breaststroke time throughout the course of the meet, eventually winning the event with an impressive 1:24.78.
The young Marcus Quezada (8) contributed 30 points to the team total, finishing in the top eight in seven events. He cut nearly three seconds in the 25-yard butterfly, finishing second in the event with a time of 21.34 seconds.
Manta Ray Aquatics also boasted two strong relay finishes. On Saturday, the team of Dallie Cobb, Kora Preston, Aline Davis, and Kendall Vance finished in third place in the girls 10 and under 200 medley relay with a combined time of 3:05.70. On Sunday, their teammates Owen Devine, Damien Paluch, Marcus Quezada, and Aidan Devine also finished third in the boys 200 freestyle relay with a time of 2:18.76.
A couple of the MRA Jr. Champs participants earned a qualifying time for the Inland Empire Swimming “A” Champs meet that takes place the first week of March at the University of Idaho. They will be joining a few of their Manta Ray teammates that have already qualified.