Barracudas Open Season With Best Times and 45 NAG Qualifiers

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio - Blazing Barracudas Swim Club opened the 2026-27 competition season across a full day of racing Saturday, Oct. 3, at Butler Aquatics Center at Hathaway Brown. The Barracudas also had 45 swimmers record their first National Age Group motivational times of the season, adding another measure of progress to an opener that included newcomers and experienced competitors.

The youngest swimmers began the morning at Ghosts, Ghouls & Goggles, with some getting their first experience in USA Swimming competition. In the afternoon, the Pentathlon swimmers took on a full slate of events. The two sessions gave the Barracudas opportunities to learn meet procedures, try unfamiliar races, and establish early-season benchmarks.

Best-time performances came throughout the day, ranging from substantial drops to improvements of fractions of a second. Those swims offered an early look at how practice work translated into competition and set starting points for the months ahead. Progress also extended beyond personal records, as swimmers completed early-season IMR or IMX events, pursued new standards, and gained experience racing events they had not previously tried.

For the Barracudas, the opener combined measurable improvement with the practical experience of navigating a meet, preparing behind the blocks and putting race plans into action. Coaches, officials, volunteers, parents, and families supported both the morning competition and the afternoon racing.