MTSC Masters 2005 in Review

It all began with an Equation …. learning the proper techniques in the four competitive strokes, mastering flip turns, training smart with systematic building blocks, and then applying all of this to race fast in competitions.

Oh, and don’t forget the “play”—a very important component in our Equation! We built an incredible fitness base and each workout contributed to a foundation for SUCCESS! Now, “how’s that feel?”

In January, we stormed Bowling Green, Kentucky, where we found success at the Barbara Stevens Invitational Meet. Our team emerged as the CHAMPIONS, winning the overall team title, the men’s team title and the women’s team title. What a great accomplishment as we upset the defending champions Crescent City Masters, who had won the event the past four years in a row!

Many swimmers competed for the first time in their adult swimming careers; Tammy Sue Gentry, Roger Goode, Janis MacMillan, Shelly Calonge, Terri Donaldson, Dave Trenner and Amy Caldwell all earned valuable team points to be a factor in our victory. Even Reeno shed her fins this year to score in the 50 free and anchor a winning 200 free relay.

February arrived in the bleak mid-winter while many athletes are still hibernating. Not at MTSC!! We learned all about HEART…and not the kind that you send to your sweetie on Valentine’s Day! No, we worked with that four chambered muscular variety---whose steady beat maintains our life essence.

With progressive heart rate sets, increased volume of training and threshold sets, we discovered that you have to have Heart to be a member of this team! (We continued to incorporate flip turns into our training to increase fitness…getting your rear end over your head with only one big breath will really get your heart pounding!!!)

We continued to March on fitness the following month with Coach Amy Caldwell absolutely crushing us in the weight room. Affectionately known as “Weights in the Warehouse” (or to the participants, “Amy’s House of Pain”), our Wednesday mornings continued to establish team camaraderie with our regulars … Larry Phillips, Roger Lancina, Jean Mainland, Bev Mainland, Linda Mainland, Blake Graves, Bill Taylor, Robin Williams, Jaime Loebner and Randy Hartkemeyer.

As the year progressed, Anna Pond, Kim Sprout, Tommy McAuley, and Calyx Harris also found themselves in the mix on a regular basis. This group worked hard to build muscle and those calipers were great incentive to pass on second helpings. As our collective BMIs reversed themselves, you should consider this group to be “armed” and dangerous!

By April, we could hardly wait!! MTSC hosted their first ever short course yards meet at the Jimmy Floyd Center in Lebanon. Vanderbilt, Excel, Bowling Green “Green Gators” and our good friends, the Shoals Sharks from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, each sent competitors to the meet. Our teammates established many team records.

It was a hot day for April, and the long course pool’s “virgin” waters beckoned, so many of us rediscovered our inner child … we just had to sneak outside to the 50 meter pool, plunge into the 68 degree water and swim the 50 meter free! Yes, no flip turn, but lots of teeth chattering!

MTSC swimmers who swam at this meet included Larry Phillips, Ron Chlasta, Mary Chlasta, Bruce McLeod, Derek Vance, Jamey Briscoe, Jean Mainland, Jaime Loebner, Linda Mainland, Roger Goode, Leah Fisher, Keith Dennen, Eddie Robinson, Rick Baranyi, Doug Blaise, Roger Lancina, Tracie Evick, and Randy Hartkemeyer.

May is the official “Gateway to Summer”, and to all festivities that accompany the long awaited arrival of SPRING! Our favorite festivity had to be Derby de Mayo, which got the party started with our special guest Modello, who was ridden by Caroline Edwards.

Now Caroline worked hard at learning to swim all winter long, but she had no problem putting Modello through his paces! While sombreros were the official team uniform at the party---everything else was optional.

DJs extraordinaire Larry Phillips and Fran Varbencoer cranked out the tunes that made everybody’s feet happy, and we danced till the wee hours of the morning!

May was also the official beginning of the triathlon season. Jamey Briscoe competed in the “Memphis in May” triathlon, and improved her time in the one mile swim by THREE MINUTES!! Again, her performance proved that the equation brings success!

When it rains it pours, and it sure did at the MTSC Masters Long Course meet, which was held outdoors in Lebanon. The first night’s competition was held “under the lights”, as the evening began with the 800 meter freestyle.

Many of our swimmers tried their hand at the 800 freestyle, but it was also their first time to swim long course meters. Scott McLaurin, Ted Gregory, Eddie Robinson all emerged from the event feeling like they had swam two miles! By the time the 100 breaststroke began, the angry skies opened wide and flooded the competition. Many teams might have called the meet. Not us! We continued the meet; we were already water logged anyway.

Denise Liyana didn’t mind at all; she emerged from the meet with top 10 national rankings in the 50 meter free and 100 meter breaststroke events and World Championship qualifying times in those same events as well!

Ron Chlasta garnered a National and World Championship qualifying time in the 800 meters, and World Championship qualifying times based on splits at the 200 and 400 meter points along the way to the 800.

Ann Curtis established World Championship cuts in the 50 meter free, and 100 meter breaststroke events as well. All in all, a good, albeit soggy night for MTSC Masters!

Our “Special Olympian” Linda Mainland used the Equation at the Nashville Area and the State Special Olympics meets. Her formula equaled victory, and she added gold, silver, and bronze medals to her collection.

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer usually begin in July … but not for Randy Hartkemeyer. Randy competed in the quarry at Lakeside in Louisville, and swam faster than his meet records a year ago in the breaststroke events. Randy now has qualifying times for 4 events for the World Championships in 2006!

Not to be outdone, Roger Lancina set three state records in the Tennessee Senior Games!

With records shattering at a blistering pace, it was time for some purposeful fun. We put the “FUN” in “fundraiser” one more time with “A Summer Solstice Wine Tasting”, as we worked towards our goal of new pool covers for the “Warehouse”.

We had another food competition (everything’s a competition with this team…), judged by Laurie Potts, the Head Chef at the Wildhorse Saloon. Amazing what you can learn on the Food Network!

Special thanks go to Scott Chlasta, who cut his marketing teeth as “The Apprentice” to “The Ronald” by planning and executing this event.

Thanks also go to Scott’s teammates from the Western Kentucky University swim team, who worked as servers for this event. GO TOPPERS!!!! You are as awesome out of the pool as you are in the pool!

What would summer be without VACATION??? MTSC Masters charted some pretty wild escapades this year. Coach Ron had an “excellent adventure” in California, where he competed in a couple of national championships.

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In October, Jean, Bev and Linda Mainland visited a battered, red tide infested, post-Katrina Florida and posed with an alligator. Linda was not a happy camper about the whole reptilian experience.

On the international scene, Jaime Loebner backpacked through France and Italy. She actually witnessed history being made as she saw Lance Armstrong cross the finish line to capture his 7^th victory in the Tour de France.

Mary Truka headed to the Netherlands to renew old friendships.

Robin Williams went “Down Under” to Australia in November (hey—it’s summer in Australia, isn’t it?). To celebrate a milestone, she even jumped out of a plane.

Relax—she meant to do it. Some people will do anything to avoid telling you their age!

As the summer months came to a close, the National Championship events began to surface on the calendar. First stop—the USMS five mile National Championship “Tour of the Buoys” in La Jolla, California in August. This open water competition was part of the USMS Long Course Nationals that began the following week in Mission Viejo. Our coach Ron Chlasta went back to his home turf to compete; he placed 7^th!

Since he was already there, it would have been a shame to miss Long Course Nationals, so Ron extended his vacation long enough to compete in Mission Viejo. He placed 10^th in the 800 meter freestyle against a very deep and competitive field of swimmers. Not too shabby, Coach!

Labor Day brought the end of summer on the calendar, but the summer is endless for MTSC Masters. Next stop? Chi-Town…Chicago, that is!

Ohio Street Beach on the shores of Lake Michigan was the site for Big Shoulders Open Water National Championships. Derek Vance, competing in his first open water championship, found success by placing 9^th,while Ron Chlasta placed 5^th at the 1.5 mile distance.

Our triathletes continued to break the surface in the open water as well, with Mary Zweifel shaving one minute off of her mile time in Percy Priest Lake, and Dave Trenner establishing a PR at the one mile distance.

Teammates Reggie Thompson, Rick Baranyi, and Randy Hartkemeyer went “postal” in October. St. Petersburg Masters sponsored the 5K 10K National Postal Swim Championships, and these three swimmers established themselves among the nation’s finest in their age-groups in this event.

While Reggie thrives on the distance events, Randy & Rick are known more for their sprint prowess and found the event to be quite challenging. Rick found his “groove” during the event, while Randy needed a little more “encouragement” from Coach Craig Chlasta, who came over to “supervise” Randy’s lane! Like the postman, Randy delivered!

November found us at the Louisville Invitational, which was held at the brand new University of Louisville Natatorium. Six members from MTSC traveled to this short course meters classic and four came home with national rankings! Jeff Glass proved he had a “golden touch” winning the 50 and 100 butterfly events.

Watching Kristie Bailey compete was like seeing a modern day version of David vs. Goliath. She kept her goggles on during most of her dives and always came up swinging against “the tall one”. Sarah-ndipity? She came out unscathed with national rankings in all of her events.

It looked like an intra-squad event when Randy Hartkemeyer and Rick Baranyi raced. They traded first places between the freestyle and breaststroke events, and both came out of the pool with national rankings and a new respect for each other as training partners.

Jean Mainland completed a grueling 200 meter freestyle, with a personal sense of accomplishment after putting her fears aside and completing a swim of this distance. No more “Chicken of the Sea” for Reeno!!

Coach Ron learned to never swim the 1500 meters and 100 fly with only 10 minutes rest between … The consequence? … Your arms recover under the water on the 100 fly…not exactly where you want that rest.

We also met Mark Gill, who will be the meet director for the 2006 FINA World Masters Championships in Palo Alto, California next August. Yes, he’ll be the one to “stamp your passport” for this adventure.

MTSC did not hibernate during the month of December. Team members who are also TEAM SPONSORS helped us wrap up 2005 with great memories at social gatherings and community service events.

Master Floral Designer Derek Vance hosted our team party… “Wine, Dine and Design” … at his shop, Flower Express.

Derek taught us how to design flowers for our holiday table and Larry Phillips led us through a flight of whites, followed by a tasting of the reds. Even after many libations, participants still managed to create beautiful center pieces for their holiday dinner tables!

When the Hendersonville Samaritan Association put out a call for donations to their depleted food bank, our MTSC Masters showed support by swimming in Sea Star Swim School’s “Yes We Can” canned food swim meet.

Our generous team members who helped sponsor the event included Keith Dennen of Bone McAllister Norton, PLLC; Dr. Bill Taylor “Hard as a Rock” pediatric dentistry, and Derek Vance of Flower Express. Thanks, guys!!! Ryan Calonge of Richards and Southern, (our own Shelly Calonge’s husband) did a beautiful t-shirt design for the meet.

Wow – it’s hard to imagine a year has flown by! As “That Team from Tennessee”, we’ve solved our “Equation”. As we enter 2006, we are working to earn our “Passport to the Worlds”. In the spirit of traveling and adventure, thanks for letting us share this little “trip” down Memory Lane…it barely scratches the surface of all we have done and accomplished as a team this year.

In 2005, we’ve shared fitness, friendship and most of all, FUN--it’s been a blast! What’s in store for 2006? Pack your bag, check your itinerary, fasten your seatbelts and be sure those tray tables are in a locked and upright position…it will be one hell of a ride!