Sea Otters finish season on high note

The Folsom Sea Otters had an amazing Suburban Swim League season placing fourth overall in the league and at champs. This is the highest the Sea Otters have placed in more than 10 years. The Folsom Sea Otters also received the 2022 SSL Sportsmanship award this year. It represents great sportsmanship from the team, coaches and families. It is voted by the league coaches and representatives. "The dedication and commitment these swimmers have to the sports is remarkable," Folsom Sea Otters Coach Gabi Avallone said. "This is a very important award to us from the league because it is one thing to get recognized for winning races, but truly something special to get recognized for having good sportsmanship. The last time we won it was in 2015." At the Suburban Swim League championships, the team celebrated many personal best times, broken records and accomplishments. Kyron Gulley broke a team and league record in the 25-yard butterfly with a time of 13.75 seconds. The team record was originally held by his brother, Dorian Gulley, with a time of 13.99. Kyron also broke the team's 25-yard freestyle record with a time of 13.24; the 50-yard freestyle record with a time of 28.95; and the 25-yard backstroke record with a time of 15.78. Amai Ilankatharan, Darren Johnson, Kyron Gulley, and Jackson Hembree broke the team record for the medley relay with a time of 1:06.89. The previous record was set in 1993. Johnson, Hembree, Everett Favro, and Kyron Gulley broke the team record for the freestyle relay with a time of 2:07.15. The previous record was set in 1993. The overall high-point winners from the Sea Otters are Shay Ceasar, 8, who tied for second high points overall in her age group by placing second in the 25-yard backstroke, the 25-yard breaststroke, and the 25-yard butterfly. Kyron Gulley, 10, placed first in overall high points in his age group by placing first in the individual medley, the 25-yard freestyle, the 25-yard backstroke, the 25-yard butterfly and third in the 25-yard breaststroke. Johnson, 10, placed third in overall high points in his age group by placing first the 50-yard free and 25-yard breaststroke, fourth in the individual medley, and eighth in the 25-yard butterfly. Sydney Mayoral, 15, tied for third place in overall high points in her age group by placing third in the 100-yard breaststroke, fourth in the individual medley and 50-yard freestyle, and tenth in the 50-yard butterfly. Other notable finishes from our swimmers included a third-place finish in the girls' 9/10 100-yard individual medley for Caitlyn Brady, who also finished fourth in the 9/10 25-yard backstroke. Lauren Pham finished second in the girls' 13/14 100-yard freestyle. In the boys' 13/14 100-yard freestyle, Max Schiappacasse finished second, while also finishing fourth in the individual medley. Briar Compton finished second in the girls' 7/8 25-yard freestyle and fourth in the 25-yard butterfly. Ava Moss finished third in the girls' 11/12 50-yard freestyle. Kayla Bayley finished third in the girls' 13/14 50-yard freestyle. Julian Myers Calderon finished third in the boys' 13/14 50-yard freestyle, while Kaden Kwok finished second in the boys' 11/12 50-yard butterfly. "This team has come a long way in the league," Avallone said. "We have overcome many obstacles to get to where we are now. Each year we build and improve. We have 44 athletes, who qualified to swim at the Sacramento Valley Meet of Champions. We cannot wait to see what they are able to accomplish. Our coaching staff is very proud of all the swimmers, both for their incredible accomplishments in the pool and for their top-notch sportsmanship. They continue to inspire me, and I cannot wait to continue on this journey with them next season." Otters place first at Meet of Champions At the Meet of Champions, the Sea Otters placed first in the small team division, as they continued to win big in the pool. Of the 44 athletes who qualified to swim, 24 competed. Kyron Gulley won first place high points in the 9/10 boys' age group with a total of 112 points, winning the 100-yard individual medley, 25-yard freestyle, 25-yard backstroke, 50-yard freestyle and 25-yard butterfly. Darren Johnson placed third in points in the 9/10 boys' age group with a total of 74, as he took third in the 25-yard freestyle, 50-yard freestyle, and 25-yard breaststroke. Shay Caesar, placed second overall in the 7/8 girls' 25-yard breaststroke and scored 49 points overall for the team. Austin Barr-Wood, placed third overall in the 9/10 girls' 25-yard breaststroke and scored 16 points for the team. Caitlin Brady scored 37 points with strong finishes in the individual medley, freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. Amai Ilankatharan scored 21 points with a fourth-place finish in the 9/10 boys' 25-yard backstroke. The 9/10 boys' placed first in the 100-yard medley relay and 100-yardfreestyle relays (Gulley, Johnson, Ilankatharan, and Jeremy Wong). The 9/10 girls' placed fourth in the 100-yard medley relay and third place in the 100-yard freestyle relays (Jett Lewis, Brady, Barr-Wood, and Aili Fallon). The 7/8 girls' placed third in the 100-yard freestyle relay and fifth in the 100-yard medley relay (Caesar, Abby Jaco, Angelina Ruan, and Becca Wong). "We are over the top proud of this team and how far they have come," Avallone said. "The Sea Otters are celebrating big with our Champs performance and now our MOC win. This team really supports each other and it is amazing to see the personal accomplishments from its members, athletes and families."