Published:Saturday, May 10, 2008 12:10 PM PDT
Serving the South Coast of Oregon

Local swimmers set masters records
Saturday, May 10, 2008 12:10 PM PDT

Two South Coast masters swimmers set four new Oregon Masters records in two different recent meets.

Jayna Tomac traveled to San Antonio for the U.S. Masters Indoor Short Course Championships and broke two of her own Oregon records and one long-standing record.

In her first event, Tomac finished third in the 100 breaststroke in the 35-39 age group. Her time of 1:09.52 broke her old record by nearly two seconds.

Tomac also swam a leg on the mixed men and women 200 freestyle relay team for Oregon on the opening day. Her leg was an outstanding time of 25.96 seconds, while the team placed 18th in the 35-and-over age group.

On the second day, Tomac finished third in the 50 breaststroke for the 35-39 age group in 32.17, an improvement on her old record. She also finished eighth in the 100 individual medley and swam on the eighth-place Oregon team in the 35-and-over 200 medley relay, with a time of 31.81 for the first leg.

Tomac’s most impressive race came the final day, when she finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a new Oregon record time of 2:35.27. The old record had been set in 1985 and was a national record at the time.

Tomac finished third in her final event, the 200 individual medley, with a time of 2:22.65.

Meanwhile, Denise Stuntzner-Gibson swam in an age-group meet in Lincoln City, breaking the 400-meter freestyle short-course record with a time of 5:08.3. The mark had been set five years ago.

When asked if swimming against kids was different than swimming against adults, Stuntzner-Gibson said, “The kids seem motivated to not get beat by someone who could be their mother or grandmother, so they tend to make sure I don’t beat them, thereby swimming a lot faster than their entry times.”

Both Tomac and Stuntzner-Gibson will now change their focus to the outdoor summer season, with long-course 50-meter meets and open water swims in Oregon lakes.

Anyone interested in masters swimming can come to the Mingus Park pool on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when the area swimmers work out from 7 to 9 a.m., or contact Ralph Mohr at 269-1565.


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