KENDRA TAPIA The Marlins Swim Team has selected Kendra Tapia and the 9-10-year-old boys’ relay team as the Swimmers of the Week for the Los Banos Invitational that was held on June 26. This meet was attended by almost 700 swimmers from 10 Central Valley area swim teams.

The Marlins sent a small, but talented squad of just 40 swimmers to this big event and came home with an overall fourth place finish. This is the highest place that the team has earned at an invitational in its 21- year history. Tapia, age 10, competing against a large field of 72 girls in her age group, did exceptionally well. She placed 17th in her 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 40.97 seconds and ninth in her 50-yard backstroke event, coming in at 50.73 seconds. Her most notable performances came in her 100 IM and 50-yard fly swims.

She dropped 7.93 seconds off of her best IM time, completing it with a time of 1:41.46. This allowed her to capture seventh place overall, and to earn two points for the team. She then topped this performance by cutting her best 50-yard fly time by 8.31 seconds, touching the wall in 47.25 seconds. This earned her another seventh place finish, and allowed her to score two more points for the Marlins.

This is Tapia’s second season with the Marlins along with her sister, Nicole, and brother, Drew. She is the daughter of Jennifer and Andrew Tapia.

The boys’ 9-10 age group relay team consisted of Chance Burrough, Geep Cummings, Ryan Leonard, and Chad Coffman. At this invitational, these boys placed third overall against 12 other teams in their 200 meter freestyle relay. Coach Tammy Kudela said, “This group of boys is extremely competitive, and they all hate to lose. That type of attitude I’m sure is what helped earn them their bronze medal.”

The lead off swimmer was second year Marlin, Burrough, whose quick reflexes gave his team a great start. He is the son of Sundance and Tye Burrough and sister to Chasie who is also a second year Marlin swimmer. Cummings, swimming the second leg of the relay against many boys two years older than him, is new to the team this year but has proven to be a quick learner and a very spirited swimmer. He is the son of George and Ginny Cummings and brother to Eleanor, Lucy, Van, and Alice who are all Marlin swimmers.

Leonard swam the third leg. He brings five years of experience as a Marlin to the blocks and is the son Debbie and Steve Leonard and brother to Carissa and Laurynn, also long-time Marlins. The anchor position was held by Coffman. This is his fourth season as a Marlin and each year he has proven to be an outstanding swimmer. He is the son of Lisa and Brent Coffman and brother to Jacqui and Jenna, also veteran Marlins.