MISSION MARLINS NEWSLETTER

It's hard to believe that we have reached the halfway point in our season...and what a week it was! Hoping next week brings us sunshine and warmer, summer temperatures! Please remember that each of you are an incredibly important piece of our team! We value all of you and what you bring to the table! We only have one meet left this season before Championships. Please continue to listen to your coaches and make the best of practice each day as we prepare for Champs.

We want to wish each of you a happy and safe 4th of July! We will have practice Monday through Thursday this week and will take Friday, July 3rd off. Enjoy the long weekend and stay safe!

Please continue to communicate with the coaches when your swimmer will be absent from a meet. The easiest way to do this is to mark your swimmer as ATTENDING THE MEET or NOT ATTENDING THE MEET for each meet in Swimtopia. You can also shoot Coach Katie an email as well. Remember, a swimmer must participate in a minimum of 2 swim meets in order to be eligible for Champs.

- Save the dates:

• NO PRACTICE Friday, July 3rd! Enjoy the holiday weekend!
• Pre-competitive Swim Meet (For GREEN Teamers Only) is Monday, July 6th at Homestead Country Club.
• Championships are Tuesday, 7/14, and Thursday, 7/16 (during the day). Please keep these dates open. These will be day meets, not evening meets, so letting you know now to plan accordingly. See below for rough timelines for those days.
• End of the Season Picnic/Awards ceremony is Friday, July 17th at 7pm!
• Picnic & Awards: 7:00-8:30pm; Pool Party: 8:30-10:00pm
• Every single swimmer will have something to pick up!

Tuesday, 6/30: Regular Practice; 10 & Under Swimmers compete vs. Brookridge @ Brookridge Golf Club

Wednesday, 7/1: Regular Practice

Thursday, 7/2: Regular Practice; 11 & Older Swimmers compete vs. Brookridge @ Mission Family Aquatic Center

Friday, 7/3: No Practice; Happy 4th of July! Have a safe holiday weekend!

Tuesday, 6/23: MMSC - 228, TTST/GEN - 137

Thursday, 6/25: MMSC - 609 , TTST/GEN - 126

Combined Score: MMSC - 837 , TTST/GEN - 263

New Level II Times:

Caroline Clutter – 100 IM

Rose O’Hara – 50 Back

Aiden Schraeder – 50 Back

Ethan Guidry – 50 Back

Maren Myers – 25 Fly

Jack Simonsen – 25 Fly

London Duffey – 50 Breast

Will Cardin – 50 Breast

Nancy Logan – 200 Free, 50 Fly

Cale Connell – 200 Free

Bexley Geis – 50 Free, 50 Breast

Lacey Geis – 50 Free

Maureen McCauley – 50 Free

Ellie Collier – 50 Free, 100 Free

Isaac Datu – 50 Free

Caroline Nissen – 100 IM

Vera Thomas – 50 Back

Luke Swob – 50 Back

Morgan Dennis - 50 Back

Charlie Gibson – 100 Back

Theo Datu – 50 Fly, 100 Free

Cate Clark – 50 Fly

Cade Simonsen – 50 Breast

Elaine Giroux – 100 Breast

New "A" Times:

Charlie Holloway - 50 Free

Dale Williams - 50 Fly

Tuesday, June 30, 2026: 10 and under swimmers compete against Brookridge at Brookridge Golf Club (8223 103rd St, Overland Park, KS 66212)

**Carpooling to Brookridge is highly encouraged! The best way to pull into the Brookridge lot is via Antioch. The entrance is the first entrance to the right after turning East on 103rd off of Antioch. The pool is down some stairs and through a small clubhouse.**

Thursday, July 2, 2026: 11 and older swimmers compete against Brookridge at Mission Family Aquatic Center (**Chick-fil-a will be at the meet for your concession needs**)

**This is our Mission Marlins Senior Night. We will take a few minutes at the beginning of the meet to recognize our 7 amazing seniors!**

For all swim meets, please arrive no later than 5:15 P.M. – Warm-ups begin at 5:30 P.M.

The meet begins at 6:00 P.M. – Please be on time!! Parking is always an issue…please consider carpooling and head to the meet with plenty of time.

Things to keep in mind for swim meets:

• Consider keeping your belongings in a trash bag or water-resistant bag.
• Bring extra towels, as swimmers will be entering and exiting the water throughout the meet.
• Bring warm clothing. Even during the summer, when the sun starts to set, the temperatures start to drop.
• Bring a water bottle and a healthy snack. Keep in mind that trash should not be left in the team area.
• Eat a light dinner no later than 4:30.
• Try to limit your time in the sun on meet days.
• Label EVERYTHING!
• Do not bring anything to the swim meet that cannot get wet. Swimmers are responsible for lost or damaged belongings.
• Please notify Katie ASAP if you are unable to attend the meet.
• Meet entries are posted during practice on the day of the meet. Swimmers will check their events and Coach Katie will send out meet entries via Remind, as well.
• PLEASE do not leave the swim meet early without checking out with Coach Katie. This is super important so that swimmers can participate in relays and we don't have to declare a last minute scratch because someone left early.

• I have TWO Male Size 30 Jammers available for sale for $10/each. Both are black and blue of various designs. Contact Coach Katie if interested and I'll get you in contact with the seller!

Tuesday Night Families: Thank you for stepping up and filling some extra volunteer spots to help our meet on Tuesday run smoothly and efficiently. You are all AMAZING and I can't thank you enough!!

Thursday Night Families: Thank you for filling all of the available volunteer positions and toughing it out in the cold and rain for the meet. I know the outdoor conditions were not ideal for a summer swim meet, but with only 4 meets during the season, it was important that we did all that we could to get it in, and we did. Thank you for your patience as we navigated mother nature!!

Fundraiser Participants: Thank you to those of you who have helped sell popcorn, collected cash donations or made a personal donation yourself. I feel very fortunate and oh-so lucky to be a part of such a supportive community. The Marlins are truly a special team and I cannot thank you enough for your commitment and support of our organization. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

• Tuesday, July 14th is Novice Championships. This is open to all 14 and younger Novice swimmers.
• Session 1: Any swimmer, 12 or younger, who has swam in a minimum of 2 meets this season, but did not achieve a NOV qualifying time.
• Estimated time is: 7:45-9:00am
• Session 2: Any swimmer, 14 or younger, who swam in a minimum of 2 meets this season with NOV qualifying times. (All 13-14 year olds are automatically NOV unless they have all Level IIs)
• Estimated time is: 9:00am-2:30pm

• Thursday, July 16th is Level II/A Championships. This is open to all swimmers of all ages who have achieved at least one Level II time. 15-18 year olds are automatically placed in the Level II division.
• Estimated time is: 7:30am-2:00pm

• If you’ve been keeping track of your swimmer’s times, you might’ve noticed a NOV or II next to their name. NOV indicates that a Novice qualifying time has been achieved in that particular event. This qualifies that swimmer for Novice Championships. If no novice times have been achieved, swimmers 14 and younger are still eligible to participate in Novice Championships! “II” indicates that a Level II time has been achieved and that swimmer is eligible to participate in Level II Championships.
• A table during the bye week will be sent out to help communicate which session/day your child has qualified for. I just can't send this out until our final week of meets has concluded.

• It is very important that you communicate to the coaches as soon as possible if you are unable to attend Championships. Every swimmer matters - each one of you is an important part to our success at Championships!

• Swimmers must have participated in at least TWO regular dual meets to be eligible to participate in Championships!

• We will have many volunteer spots to fill for our two days of Championships. Please be on the lookout for volunteer information in your email inbox.

• There will be a special practice for those swimmers who have qualified for Level II Championships on Wednesday, July 15th. It will be an adjusted practice schedule, so please take note:

Blue and Red Team Swimmers with Level II Times: 8:00-9:45am

Orange, White and Yellow Swimmers with Level II Times: 9:00-9:45am

The Mission Marlins are known for their incredible team spirit! Our team theme this year for champs is "Unleash Your Inner Animal!" Anything and everything animal is recommended! Be creative! Don't you worry - your coaches participate, too! Start thinking about how you can participate!

Save the date for our end of season awards picnic & pool party. Every single swimmer who participated this summer will have an individualized award to pick up, and we do some specialized team award recognition as well. Please join us as we celebrate our amazing Summer 2026 season!

When: Friday, July 17th

7:00-8:30pm - Awards picnic at the shelter to the west of the pool (by the tennis courts)

8:30-10:00pm - Pool Party for Marlins & Families

What to Bring:

1. Chairs, Blankets, Bug Spray (🤪)

2. Your Own Drink

3. Swimsuit for the pool

4. Something to Share - To be determined and will be shared in a future newsletter!

Still interested in participating in this but haven't set up your store yet? Have no fear - you have until Monday at 1pm to try to sell some popcorn!

Ends: Monday, June 29th at 1:00PM

It's super easy - follow the steps provided in the flyer below and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! Once you download the app and enter our team store code, it will give you a sharable link to use.

• @swimblue26 (for Blue Team swimmers and families)
• @swimred26 (for Red Team swimmers and families)
• @swimora26 (for Orange Team swimmers and families)
• @swimwhi26 (for White Team swimmers and families)
• @swimyel26 (For Yellow Team swimmers and families)
• @swimgre26 (for Green Team swimmers and families)

Each Friday, the coaches recognize swimmers from each practice group for their outstanding weekly attendance, hard work, and positive attitudes. It is always a VERY hard decision, as we are full of AMAZING young people! These swimmers were recognized as this week's Top Tankers:

- BLUE: Ian Gonzalez, Charlotte Graves, Kaitlyn Kellerman, Nora Lynn, Hazel Williams

- RED: Layla Busche, Morgan Dennis, Charlie Gibson, Eliana Guild, Simon Smith

- ORANGE: Caroline Clutter, Brooklyn Dennis, Clara Horvath, Violet Hrabe, Madelyn Nichols

- WHITE: Clay Kowalski, Graham Thomas, Oliver Younger, Exira Wellendorf, Coralie Zerr

- YELLOW: Casper Carrington, Georgia Carrington, Dylan Hodges, Mayer Mackay, Imogene Mentz, River Null

- GREEN: Maeve Mackay, Ava Morris, Hattie Randall, Connolly Vaglio, Arthur Winkler

Top Tanker recipients need to return the shirt they were given next Friday CLEAN so we can award more Top Tankers. Thank you!!!

Top Tankers are sponsored by: Gabrielle Morris Real Estate by Compass Realty 🏠

Blue Team: I Believe I Can Fly Club (Captain's Class) - Members of this club are able to swim a 25 butterfly without taking a breath. Welcome to the club, blue teamers!

Lucy Adamo, Emily Atchity, Ashlyn Beckley, Joseph Beecher, Annika Berg, Tyson Boyer, Clara Breneman, Elli Brunsvold, Dominic Cara, Cassidy Carter, Ella Clutter, Ian Gonzalez, Maddox Harvey, Charlie Holloway, Juliana Jamison, Kaitlyn Kellerman, Jack Kingston, Darcy Kroening, Leah Kroening, Quinn Laing, Izzy Nely, Abe Nissen, Caroline Nissen, Zoey O'Keefe, Curtis O'Laughlin, Graham Peoples, Dakota Rominger, Declan Rydzel, Calvin Sawyer, Landon Solenberger, Eileen Smith, Blake Thompson, Lauren Trost, Ella Tylicki, Mirah Wade, Dale Williams, Hazel Williams, Alex Wingert, Zachary Wingert, Calvin Winkler

Red Team: Super Duper 50 Free Club - Red Teamers are given the opportunity to join this club by swimming a 50 freestyle at practice from a start either under 40 seconds (Captain's Class) or under 35 seconds (Captain's First Class). Welcome to the club, red teamers!

Captain's Class (Under 40 seconds):

Layla Busche, Nicholas Cara, Ellie Collier, Cale Connell, Isaac Datu, Morgan Dennis, Bexley Geis, Lacey Geis, Loren Gillette, Eliana Gonzalez, Eliana Guild, Nancy Logan, Isaac Schraeder, Luke Swob, Sam Trost

Captain's First Class (Under 35 seconds):

Charlie Gibson, Elaine Giroux, Mitch O'Laughlin

Many of you have asked how you can help out the team. I've started this Amazon Wish List for this year. There is absolutely NO pressure for any of this, but wanted to create it for those who have asked. I will add on to this as we go. Thank you for supporting the Mission Marlins!

WOWWWWW - thanks for all the contributions. What an amazing community we are. 🩵

Gabrielle Morris Real Estate with Compass Realty 🏠