Tigersharks win several titles at meet

Lauren Costella, Justin Barber and Tara Theilemann all came away with several titles to lead another outstanding effort for the Carson Tigersharks.

The Tigersharks' efforts came on Sunday as the Tiger Aquatics January Juniors Plus Short Course Swimming Championships concluded at the University of Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Costella and Barber each won titles in the 400-yard individual medley, the 1,650 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. Costella won the 400 I.M. in four minutes, 24.74 seconds while Barber won in 4:15.83.

In the 1,650 free, Costella won in 16:36.40 and Barber won in 16:24.77. In the 200 fly, Costella won in 2:07.87 and Barber won in 2:03.37. Theilemann won the 100 free in 53.26 and the 50 free in 25.42.

In addition, Costella placed second in the 200 breaststroke in 2:24.49 while Barber took third in 2:17.37. In the 100 backstroke, Theilemann placed second in 1:02.32 and Barber took second in 57.69.

Other results for the Tigersharks were: 100 free -- Andy Sturgess, 50.39, second; 200 breaststroke -- Ryan Theilemann, 2:21.46, eighth; 50 free -- Karen Burke, 27.24, seventh and Sturgess, 23.67, seventh. 1,650 free -- Kyle Costella, 18:04.07, fifth.

Also placing in the meet for the Tigersharks was Adrian Zeh. Thirteen-year-old Sean Costella competed in the meet as well and Tigershark coach Jim Puleo said Costella had an outstanding meet.

Puleo said the conditions in the meet's outdoor pool were adverse, especially on Saturday.

"You could hardly see the other end of the pool," said Puleo about the steam that was rising from the pool. "It was just bitter cold."

Puleo said he wants his swimmers to be able to overcome adverse conditions as well as the competition. With all of the events the Tigersharks competed in, Puleo said he wasn't as concerned with his swimmers times, but wanted to them to focus on their racing. "I thought they all did a great job on that," Puleo said.