Two Stingrays earn national rankings

The Havasu Stingrays Swim Team has produced it’s first nationally ranked swimmers.

Alex Johnson, 10, and Caden Carver, 10, each attained National Reportable Times at the Arizona State Long Course Championships last weekend in Chandler.

The local swimmers’ performances earned them rankings among the top competitors in the nation. In the girls 10-and-younger age group, Johnson gained the nation’s No. 7 ranking in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1 minute, 27.09 seconds.

Carver captured the No. 21 ranking in the boys 50 backstroke, among swimmers 10 and younger, by finishing in 36.15.

“What’s going to top this?” Stingrays head coach Mike Taylor said. “Each season we have new goals and each season our swimmers manage to exceed them. State used to be a goal, then Far Westerns, then Zones and now we have swimmers who have elevated themselves to a high ranking in the nation. It’s really exciting for all of our swimmers to be able to swim with teammates who have achieved such special recognition.”

Early-morning, six-day-a-week practices leading up to the meet in Chandler appeared to pay off for the team as the Stingrays’ contingent of five swimmers captured 11th place overall out of 33 teams. Some of the other teams at the meet boasted as many as 70 swimmers.

Along with Johnson and Carver, the Stingrays were also represented by Mickey Scharbrough, 12, McKenna Wales, 10, and Courtney Barker, 13. Five hundred thirty top-seeded Arizona swimmers competed at the Long Course Championships.

In addition to winning the 100 breaststroke, Johnson,10, turned in second-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (32.95 seconds), 200 freestyle (2:36.29) and 50 breaststroke (41.32). She took fourth place in the 50 butterfly (36.75) and fifth place in the 200 individual medley (3:01.55).

Carver took first in three events, including his title in the 50 backstroke, for a second-place high-point total among boys 10 and younger. He also won the 100 backstroke (1:18.79) and 200 freestyle (2:29.95). Carver placed second in the 100 freestyle (1:09.18) and 400 freestyle (5:13.27) and took third in the 50 freestyle (32.18).

Scharbrough, earned second-place in the 50 breaststroke (37.53), third in the 100 breaststroke (1:22.28), fourth in the 200 breaststroke (3:00.76), eighth in the 50 freestyle (31.84) and 100 freestyle (1:08.46), and 15th in the 50 butterfly (37.49) in the boys 11-12 division.

In the girls 10-and-younger group, Wales finished seventh in the 50 freestyle (35.64) and took 10th in the 50 backstroke (42.51).

Barker turned in a 16th-place finish in girls 13-14 50 backstroke (36.05).

Johnson, Carver and Scharbrough travel to San Jose, Calif., for the Far Western Long Course Championship July 30-Aug. 3.

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