Becca Buck, LMYA (black and pink suit) Photo Peter Buck
Local swimmers raced against competitors their exact age at a unique swim meet the last weekend in June. The 18th Annual Battle of the Ages Swim Meet, often referred to as "Battle" took place in Pleasant Hill.
At Battle, swimmers compete against others their exact age, as compared to typical meets where they race in age groupings. For the uninitiated, large invitational meets such as this are an intimidating and chaotic experience. This year, twenty-two teams and over fifteen hundred swimmers braved the triple digit temperature to battle it out in the pool.
Despite the heat, and stiff competition, the Lafayette swimmers topped the charts, taking home 11 of the 28 High Point trophies. High Point trophies are awarded to the swimmer in each age category who accumulates the most points during the meet. Sun Valley and LMYA swimmers distinguished themselves with four high point winners from each team. These top honors went to Sun Valley swimmers Sean McKenna, 10, Alyssa Mueller, 11, Jewel Roemer, 7, and Caroline Wash, 10; and LMYA swimmers Julianne Bozzini, 16, Becca Buck, 9, Jack Larsen, 7, and Caitlin Smith, 5.
Buck and Smith won all four events earning a perfect score. Smith broke two long standing meet records in the 25yd Freestyle and the 25yd Butterfly. LMYA Head Coach Marc Cavallero was pleased with the meet's results, "I am incredibly proud of our entire team's performance, to move into the top five teams overall was fantastic. Not only am I proud of our high point winners but of all our swimmers who each put in an amazing performance. This was our first high intensity meet of the season. If this meet is any indicator there will be many more stellar performances to come this season."
Caroline Wash, LMYA (yellow cap) Photo Peter Buck
Sun Valley High Point winners (left to right: Sean McKenna - 10, Head Coach Warren Wallace, Caroline Walsh - 10, Alyssa Mueller - 11, Jewel Roemer - 7 not pictured) Photo Peter Buck
At Battle, swimmers compete against others their exact age, as compared to typical meets where they race in age groupings. For the uninitiated, large invitational meets such as this are an intimidating and chaotic experience. This year, twenty-two teams and over fifteen hundred swimmers braved the triple digit temperature to battle it out in the pool. 
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA