Husky Invitational Recap

Written by Ryan Stratton on January 13th, 2011

The sun has finally set on 2010, and along with it, the 62nd Edition of the Husky Invitational. The Husky Swimming Foundation made a commitment to revive this meet as a way to preserve one of many proud traditions of Husky Swimming. We faced a stiff challenge, but the resolve of this group successfully re-established one of the great meets in the Pacific Northwest.

We had a modest goal of 300 swimmers and a handful of teams. Instead, we welcomed 450 collegiate and club swimmers representing 30 teams. We welcomed teams from Arizona, Montana, Oregon, California, Idaho, Washington and Alaska. We witnessed incredibly fast swims, countless standards surpassed, unbelievable sportsmanship, and an undeniable buzz about the long-term objectives of the Husky Swimming Foundation and the future of this meet.

It was wonderful to see so many former Huskies at the meet as well—participating, coaching, helping. Cat Clark, Ryan Stratton, Kelsey (Keller) Stratton, Robert Roosa, Fergus Hudson, Brian Nelson, Brandon Drawz, Jody Braden, Tommy Hannan, Joann Brislin, Mark Prothero, Bill Patterson, Genevieve Patterson, Julie Massey, Jana Vincent and others… And we all enjoyed seeing Coach Earl Ellis walk the deck, stop watch in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

There is a long list of people to thank and we’ll start with the those whose sponsorships made this meet happen:

The Jeker Family Trust
Sylvia’s Swimwear
The Law Offices of Catherine C. Clark
Stratton & Associates PLLC
The Jody Braden Family
Crane Dunham LLC
Olive Garden
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Ivars
Zeeks Pizza
Quiznos

We also need to recognize many of our volunteers whose commitment to Husky Swimming was unwavering over the course of a long meet:

Brandon Drawz (Meet Director)
Ron Van Pool (Meet Referee)
Bill Patterson (Hospitality)
Mark Prothero (Announcer)
Cam Gravrock (Sponsorships)
Kiko Van Zandt (Clerk of Course)
Joann Brislin (Clerk of Course)
Patty Stratton (Clerk of Course & Entries)

And last, but certainly not least, our many volunteer timers and officials. We could not have done it without these people!

So hats off to everyone for helping the Husky Swimming Foundation put together a truly wonderful event. We have received a lot of positive feedback and perhaps most importantly, commitments from our attendees to compete again in 2011 at the 63rd edition of this great meet. Mark your calendars—we’re already looking forward to it!