Kehoe-France Northshore Blast swimmers Kara Kopcso and Griffin Guzan were voted Louisiana Swimming’s 12 and under Swimmers of the Year at the recent Louisiana Swimming Association meeting.

Kopcso, from Abita Springs, who also won the honor last year, was voted unanimously by the Association members.

“I think it was special winning the award two years in a row. It’s really nice to be selected because there are so many talented swimmers in Louisiana, who could have been chosen,” Kopcso said.

Louisiana 12 and under Swimmers of the Year Kehoe-France Northshore Blast swimmers Kara Kopcso of Abita Springs and Griffin Guzan from Hammond, were voted Louisiana Swimming'€™s 12 and under Female and Male Swimmers of the Year for the 2007-2008 season. Both swimmers train and compete with the BLAST team year round and are coached by Bill Babcock and Emmett Smith.

The 13-year-old, an eighth-grader at Fontainebleau Junior High, said she doesn’t give much thought to awards.

“I just concentrate on what I can do to get better with my swimming. My teammates push me and help me be the best I can be.”

Kopcso credited her older sister Jessica, also a competitive swimmer who attends Fontainebleau High, with being a good role model.

“She pushes me when I don’t think I can do it anymore. She helps out a lot because she is my ride to practice. She is a big motivator for me,” the younger Kopcso said.

In the 2007-08 season, Kopcso set 14 individual state records, earned 10 national top 10 finishes in her best events and won the Damon McCoy Female Swimmer of the State Championship meet at both long course and short course state meets.

In her nationally ranked events, Kopcso is currently ranked first in the nation in the 11-12 girl’s 100 meter butterfly. Her time of 1:04.75 tied the Southern Zone meet record and broke the Louisiana state record. Her other top 10 rankings for long course were in the 400 meter individual medley, 5:10.89 (second), 400 meter freestyle, 4:31.49 (third), 200 meter individual medley, 2:25.69 (third), 800 meter freestyle, 9:29.54 (eighth), and 200 backstroke, 2:29.36 (tenth). The 400 IM, 400 free, 800 free and 200 backstroke were also Louisiana State Long Course Records.

Kopcso also set state records in the 200 meter freestyle, 2:10.69, the 1500 meter freestyle, 18:45.56 and the 200 meter butterfly, 2:28.77.

In the Long Course National Individual Medley Xtreme Challenge (IMX)

Competition, Kopcso finished third nationally and was the overall Southern Zone winner.

In short course swimming, Kopcso garnered four National Top Ten rankings. She was fourth in the 400 yard individual medley, 4:35.35 (state record), fourth in the 500 yard freestyle, 5:08.27, seventh in the 200 yard freestyle, 1:56.00 (state record), and ninth in the 1650 freestyle, 17:50.76 (state record). She also set records in the 200 backstroke, 2:14.94, 1000 freestyle, 10:48.83 and the 100 IM, 1:01.80.

In the National IMX Short Course Challenge, Kopcso was 29th nationally and eighth overall in the Southern Zone.

Hammond’s Guzan, 10, who finished as last year’s runner-up, won the award beating out the state’s best 10 and under and 11 and 12 year-olds. In the 2007-08 season, Guzan dominated the competition winning the overall individual high point award for 10 and under boys in both the long course and short course state championship meets.

Guzan won state championships in all four competitive strokes plus the individual medleys, capturing 13 state championships and earning 18 individual all-state selections out of a possible 18.

In the National IMX Short Course Challenge as a 9 year-old, Guzan finished 12th nationally and fourth in the Southern Zone. He finished nationally ranked fourth in the 100 yard fly (1:09.26) and ninth in the 50 yard fly (31.34). He also had top 20 times in both the 100 and 200 individual medley events. In the National IMX

Long Course challenge as a 10 year-old, Guzan finished ranked 26th nationally and 11th in the Southern Zones. He also achieved top 16 times in both the 50 meter fly and 100 meter fly.

The swimmers are coached in the BLAST program by Bill Babcock and Emmett Smith.

For more information on the BLAST program go to www.blastswimteam.com.