Competitor Coach of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based coach who has risen above the competition. As with any item of recognition, Competitor Coach of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one coach whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a coach who was clearly in the limelight, or one whose work fell through the cracks a bit more among other stories. If your favorite coach wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
Despite September typically being a month where there isn’t much racing going on as clubs establish a training base for the season, that didn’t stop the Crow Canyon Sharks from putting up some impressive results.
Led by head coach Joe Natina, the Sharks delivered during their first meet of the year (for the top groups) with several lifetime bests at the WCAB Senior Open in Walnut Creek, California.
Leading the way was 17-year-old Raya Mellott, who posted some noteworthy early-season times in her primary events and added a few best times. The Virginia commit went 1:50.93 in the 200 free, 1:01.42 in the 100 breast and 2:10.32 in the 200 breast, and established new personal bests in the 100 back (1:02.00) and 100 fly (58.39).
One of the top-ranked recruits in the girls’ high school class of 2025, Mellott owns lifetime bests of 1:50.37 in the 200 free, 59.53 in the 100 breast and 2:09.53 in the 200 breast.
Mellott placed 1st in both breaststroke events, and also picking up wins were Daniela Linares and Natalie Mak.
Linares, 14, clocked 55.39 in the 100 back to lead the field, just shy of her 55.13 PB set in February. She also came within two seconds of her PB in the 200 back (2:00.39), and set new bests in both IMs.
Mak, 16, topped the field in the 200 back (1:59.41) and 400 IM (4:18.58), just over one second shy of her lifetime best in the former and less than four-tenths off her PB in the latter.
On the boys’ side, 12-year-old Ayden Tan was on fire, setting personal bests in the 200 free (1:52.34), 100 fly (54.60) and 200 IM (2:01.48). Tan moves to 41st all-time in the boys’ 11-12 age group in the 200 IM and 56th in the 100 fly.
Other notable performers for the Sharks at the meet were Ethan Wang, Jeremy Ting and Kaden Wong for the boys, and Sage Searle and Katrin Otaegi.
Coach Natina is joined on the Sharks’ coaching staff by Matt Paige, Thomas Pearson, Maddie Wittowske, Long Gutierrez and RJ Scott.
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Congrats. Always does an outstanding job of producing top high school aged swimmers!