Malta Swim Team holds Fundraiser

The Malta Swim Team has had a busy week to go with an already busy summer.

Last Wednesday, the team held a Swim-A-Thon, raising over $5,000 to help with the costs of running the team. The event featured music, alumni, and 200 laps that were swam by Malta Swim team members from the past and present.

Originally scheduled for July 13, 2021, the swim-a-thon was postponed due to weather.

“The fundraiser is held to help offset the cost of entry fees, coaches, and equipment needed to practice daily,” said Dara Wilke, Treasurer of the Malta Swim Team. “The team members went out to the community and gathered pledges. The pledges could be per lengths swam or a flat donation. The goal was to swim 200 lengths of the pool in 2 hours.”

The event started at 6 PM, with 14 swim team members and 3 alumni participating.

The top swimmers were: Jahmiah Huffman-LaBrie 200 Lengths=3.1 miles, Silas Young 180 Lengths=2.8 miles, and Danika Wilke 170 Lengths=2.6 miles.

“I think that it went pretty well,” Coach Darrow Messerly said. “Everyone swam as much as they possibly could at their own speed for two hours.”

His father, Malta Swim Team President Grant Messerly, shared monetary specifics.

“This is our first time hosting a swim-a-thon in a long time and we didn’t know what to expect,” Grant said. “The kids did an amazing job raising pledges and swimming lengths of the pool. With the help of parents and alumni, we swam 20 miles and raised $5,500.”

Coach Messerly couldn’t swim in the event that night because he was just getting over a sickness, but he jumped in later during the alumni vs current swim team race.

“It kind of stunk sitting at the end of the pool watching the team swim and not being able to do it with them,” Coach Messerly said. "But I was pretty proud of how they did and how far they went.”

As far as the race went, the current team lost to the alumni in a relay swim.

“They beat us, unfortunately,” Coach Messerly said. “I didn’t have my goggles on, so that was my excuse.”

Though they lost the race, Coach Messerly and his team were encouraged by the support from several former members of the Malta Swim Team.

“I thought it was really amazing,” Coach Messerly said. “It shows how much they care about this sport and how much they care about this team still, to show up and even swim with us.”