The Davis AquaMonsters finished the summer meet schedule by winning the Meet of Champions last weekend. This all-star swim meet brought together the top swimmers from summer swim teams all over Northern California for one final competition.

To qualify for the Meet of Champions, each swimmer had to make the event finals in their own conference championships. Two weeks ago, at the Gold Rush Championships, the Davis AquaMonsters team finished second to the Gold River Stingrays by seven points.

This time, the AquaMonsters turned the tables with 867 points. The Stingrays were second with 745 points. A total of 29 teams and 842 athletes participated in this elite event to determine the best of the best.

Though many people see swimming as an individual sport, the AquaMonstersÕ philosophy is to teach swimming as a team sport.

Each swimmer on the team helps the other competitors improve Ñ sometimes by demonstrating a particular technique or skill and competing with, and against, each other at swim practice.

ItÕs much easier, and much more fun to come to swim practice when your friends are at the pool. At practices, the swimmers learn in groups and work together to help each other improve. They work toward personal-best times and satisfying efforts.

As swimmers had to qualify to swim at the Meet of Champions, not all Davis AquaMonsters had the opportunity to participate in the event.

ÒThe Davis AquaMonsters are the sum of all parts of the team that equal the great season ending in accomplishment,Ó coach Koren Motekaitis explains. ÒSo this award is shared with the entire AquaMonsters Swim Team.Ó

According to coach Pete Motekaitis: ÒThe ÕMonsters had the highest ratio of best times at the swim meet and that was a major factor in our teamÕs success at the 2010 Meet of Champions.”

Since this was a championship meet, swimmers competed in morning preliminary heats or trials, and the top 16 finishers advanced to the finals, swimming the race again in the afternoon. Each swimmer who advanced to the afternoon finals raced again and scored points for the team in addition to their individual success. Each day then culminated with relay races, which earned double points for the team.

Kyla Leacox was the 9-10 girls high-point winner. Alex Wheeler was the 15-18 girls high-point winner and Colten Montgomery was the 13-14 boys high-point runner-up. In addition, Montgomery set a new league record in the 50-yard butterfly with a swim of 25 seconds.

The following swimmers competed at the Meet of Champions: Lindsay Feyer, Devan Langley, Julia Thompson, Natalie Bercutt, Jillian Geist, Kaitlyn McElhern, Elle Motekaitis, Annie Brennan, Cody Hargadon, Leacox, Casey Li, Mia Motekaitis, Nikki Adkins, Juju Chan, Alyssa Lengtat, Claire McElhern, Alex Wheeler, Tyler Murphy, Matoshi Bulkeley, James Leistkow, Michael Leistkow, Colby Meyer, Christian Blair, Spencer Demmin, Jack Geist, Galen Plotkin, Brandon Zoghbi, Jensen Geist, Fernando Echeona, Wyatt Millstone, Montgomery and Stetson Wheeler.