Almost as soon as it began, another spring season will end Sunday, June 5, for the Sedona Swim Team in Flagstaff.

By the end of the three-day Beat the Heat Meet at Northern Arizona University’s new Wall Aquatic Center, eight Swordfish hope to have qualified in their age groups for regional and state competitions beginning in a month.

“While skill development is important, at this point in the season most are focused purely on time drops,” said A. Jay Bronson, Swordfish head coach. “There is always room to improve and we constantly strive to work on skill development. We still have the whole summer to keep pushing forward.”

Newcomer Soleil Metcalf will help push fellow 13-year-olds Jaxon Oles, Emma Warner and Dezra Dana in the girls backstroke, butterfly, freestyle and individual medley, while older brother Zach Dana hopes to follow in Andrew Tate’s footsteps and secure a State qualifying time before aging into high school.

“As with most Swordfish events, individual times are always more important than team scores,” Bronson said. “As a small team of 30-plus [swimmers], it’s difficult to compete against teams ranging [from] upwards of 50 to 100.”

Carlos Lattanzi, new to the ranks of the 11-year-olds, looks to improve on multiple State qualifying times, while
9-year-old Sarina McCullough seeks to lead the Sedona Rock Shrimps to State in the breaststroke against about 20 other teams of swimmers new to competition 10 years old and younger.

“Then we have our Silver Group, geared for our summer recreational swimmers, and those looking to improve stroke technique and start to make the next step towards competitive swimming,” Bronson said of his other swimmers in the 9- to 13-year-old age groups. “Our Gold Group … is geared towards our regional/State kids.”

That group is where most of the local 13- to 18-year-olds are competing for Bronson this summer — a number he hopes grows by double digits by the end of the season.

“This summer, we started with around 25 swimmers,” Bronson said. “We are hopeful, by fall, we will have 35 strong.”

Those numbers would bolster the Swordfish’s competitiveness against larger teams from Cottonwood and Flagstaff at next month’s Verde Valley Invitational as well as meets Friday, June 11, in Bullhead City, and their two-day home meet the week after, the 33rd annual Sedona Splash, in the Sedona Community Pool.

“We are traveling to Bullhead for the first time in a few years,” he said. “We are also hosting our second annual … Masters Meet [on Sunday,] June 19, which will draw Masters swimmers from around the state.”

Those meets, along with the Friday, July 15, public swim in the Sedona Mile, are the Swordfish’s biggest summer fundraisers that help pay for daily use of the pool.

“As with any nonprofit, fundraising is always the hardest part.”

For more photos and the Swordfish summer schedule, please see the Friday, June 3, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.