2025 Protect Ya Turkey Meet — 8 & Under Team Write-Up

Bronx, NY — November 21-22, 2025

The last write-up accidentally left out the 8&U Event results, so here they are !

Our 8 & Under squad shined this weekend at the Protect Ya Turkey Meet, showing outstanding courage, fast racing, and exciting time drops. For many, these short-distance 25s are their first real experience attacking races—and they delivered with confidence and great results.

Below are the highlights for our youngest competitors, including every personal best earned.

⭐ 8 & Under Meet Highlights + Personal Bests

🏊‍♂️ Dillon Drvostep (8)

Dillon had a strong meet with two personal best swims and noticeable improvements in both strokes.

• 25 Back — 25.56 (12th)
  PB: –0.12

• 25 Fly — 30.84 (13th)
  PB: –3.73

🏊‍♀️ Darby Gallagher (8)

Darby earned a podium finish and a big drop in her backstroke, showcasing excellent underwater kicks and fast tempo.

• 25 Back — 21.28 (3rd) 🥉
  PB: –2.07

• 25 Fly — 24.93 (5th)
   

🏊‍♀️ Ella Ghanem (7)

Ella continues to develop across all four strokes, earning two personal bests and strong mid-heat racing.

• 25 Back — 27.38 (18th)
  PB: –1.09

• 25 Free — 21.38 (7th)
  PB: –0.64

🏊‍♀️ Francesca Johnson (8)

Francesca raced hard in both of her sprints and is continuing to build stroke consistency at meet speed.

• 25 Back — 27.88 (20th)

• 25 Fly — 31.06 (14th)

🏊‍♀️ Sage Ouimet (8)

Sage had one of the strongest meets in the age group, earning two personal bests and placing top-6 in both of her races.

• 25 Breast — 28.66 (6th)
  PB: –2.03

• 25 Free — 20.36 (5th)
  PB: –2.26

🏊‍♂️ Bryant Xin (6)

Bryant showed tremendous courage racing against older swimmers and posted a solid breaststroke result.

• 25 Breast — 27.82 (4th)

🎉 Overall Summary

Our 8 & Unders brought great energy, team spirit, and determination to this meet. Collectively they earned:

• 6 confirmed personal best times

• Multiple top-5 and top-6 finishes

• A podium finish (Darby — 3rd in Backstroke)

• Valuable race experience across all four competitive strokes

These swims show huge growth and potential from this developing group. We are incredibly proud of their progress and excited for what’s ahead this season.

Great job, 8 & Unders

Swimmingly Carle