Evanston Masters kicked off the 2005 Central Masters Swimming Association season with their Wild Catfish New Year Invitational on January 16. Deerfield's Coho Masters took home top honors with 278 points, followed by Palatine's Buehler Breakers with 122 points and Chicago's Blue Dolphins with 62 points. A total of 257 swimmers representing 26 teams participated.

The meet was held at Evanston high school and began with the 500-yard freestyle, a race that tests endurance and speed over 20 lengths of the pool. Charles Groen, 44, of New City Orcas was the men's overall winner in 5:24.54 while Andrea Block, 43, of Coho Masters touched first for the women in 5:39.84.

After first-time competitor Rueben Figueres finished his 500, he said he was tired but still had a lot to learn. The 30- year-old triathlete who swims for Lakeshore Athletic Club said, "The first 300-yards went really well but I really slowed down in the last 200." Figueres likes the idea of swimming different races throughout the meet and hopes the experiences will pay off in future triathlons. "I'm not sure what I'm really good at in the pool, but that's why I'm here . . . to see how it feels."

Marcia Cleveland of Northwestern Aquatic Swim Association is racing for a different reason. Cleveland is currently training to swim California's 21-mile Catalina Channel this August. She is an accomplished open water swimmer who conquered the English Channel on July 24, 1994. Cleveland also authored the book Dover Solo, a personal memoir of the process leading up to her channel-swim. She says that pool swimming is good because it helps keep her fast. The 40-year-old went on to a second place finish in the 500 freestyle with a 6:12.62, and then swam to a first place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:35.41.

The fast swimming continued right into the 50-yard breaststroke with great races by seniors Ann Stevens, 71, and Mary Kurz, 62, of Evanston Masters. The two swimmers were teachers together at Evanston High School and say they have a lot to add to the sport. Kurz says, "When it comes down to meets, we are usually the ones who score the most points because there is less competition in our age-group." Kurz and Stevens both went on to win every event they entered based on their age-group-dominance alone.

Evanston's Zsejke Tusa, 26, made her presence known by also winning every event she entered. Tusa was the 2004 X FINA Long Course World Masters Champion in the 100-meter butterfly and also helped set a masters world record in the 120-159 age group of the 200-meter freestyle relay back in July of 2004.

Two events that brought the men and women together in competition were the mixed 200-yard medley relay and the mixed 200- yard freestyle relay. Mixed relays consist of two men and two women from each team, divided by age groups. The overall winner of the 200-yard medley was Evanston's relay comprised of Zsejke Tusa, 26, Heather Lingner, 28, Karl Kriegsmann, 35, and Ed Allen, 33.

Their biggest challenge came from 10 years away. Coho's Lisa Schwartz, 41, Jim Tuchler, 39, Andrea Block, 43, and Chris Lutz, 37, finished in 2:01.60, just behind Evanston's 1:56.39.

The mixed 200-yard freestyle relay was as competitive as it gets. Forty eight mixed and matched competitors raced one last time to see who had the faster swimming combinations. Coho's firstplace finish in 1:54.29 was barely noticeable. The 35+ relay comprised of Dave Bigg, 47, Lisa Schwartz, 41, Jane DelGreco, 48, and Chris Lutz, 37, just out touched the 45+ Evanston pairing of Barbara Delanois, 49, Kirk Bennewitz, 50, Phil Dodson, 51, and Leslee Vittone, 52, by just over two-tenths of a second. That's like snapping both fingers one directly after the other.

With that same snap, the CMSA State Championships will be here in no time, Set for April 14-17, 2005. Masters swimmers from around Illinois will gather at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle pool. Evanston's Head Coach, Heidi Toft, says her team wants to recapture the state crown they lost to The Naperville Waves in 2004, but adds, "It's going to take a lot of dedication from our swimmers and everyone on this team knows that Naperville is our biggest threat."

For more information about swim events and clubs in Chicagoland, check out the Central Masters Swimming Association Web site: www.cmsaswim.org.

Mark Urban swims for the Mount Greenwood Masters Team and can be reached at mark&kim@hotmail.com.