Several area YMCA swimmers are heading to their final big meet of the winter season, the YMCA National Championships, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. next week.

The group heading to Florida this weekend includes Eric Palmer of the Bangor YMCA Barracudas; Tae Chung, Nick Perkins, twin brothers Dan and Jim Soucie, and Kate Kovenock, who will represent the Old Town-Orono YMCA’s Canoe City Swim Club; Aran Lawrence of the Waldo County YMCA’s Bay Area Swim Club; and Rebecca Stein, who swims for the Camden Area YMCA Sailfish.

“This is the last big one,” said Chung, who is a Bangor High teammate of Palmer and the Soucies. “We’ll have a fun time no matter what.”

The festivities (including awards presentations and coaches meetings) started Friday at the Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex but the actual meet goes from April 9-12.

Palmer, a Bangor sophomore, will swim the 100 and 200 breaststroke in his first time at the meet.

Bangor seniors Chung, Dan Soucie and Jim Soucie, along with Old Town freshman Perkins, will make up a Canoe City team for the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 200 and 400 free relays.

Chung is also swimming the 50 free and 100 breaststroke.

Dan Soucie will swim the 200 Individual Medley, the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 100 breaststroke. Jim Soucie is entered in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 back. Perkins won’t be swimming any individual events but is going along for some time trials and to round out the relays.

Kovenock, who was undefeated in four years of high school competition for Orono High in the 50 and 100 free, will swim those two events, along with the 200 free.

Stein, a Camden Hills student who was second to Kovenock in the 100 free at the Class B state meet in February, will compete in the 50 and 100 free at YMCA nationals.

Belfast High student Lawrence is entered in the 50 and 100 free.

Jim Soucie and Kovenock have the highest seeds of the group. Soucie is ranked 25th out of 200 swimmers in the 50 free. Kovenock is 11th of 207 in the 50 free and 18th out of 202 in the 100.

The Bath, Boothbay Region, Casco Bay and Northern York County YMCAs are also sending swimmers.

Last year 198 teams attended the YMCA national championships. The meet drew 1,396 athletes and 1,213 spectators.

Crocker to world championships

Fresh off his stellar performance in the NCAA championships, Ian Crocker of Portland won the 100-meter butterfly at the Phillips 66 National Championships April 1.

The win gives him a berth on the national team that will represent the U.S. at the 2001 Fina World Championships from July 22-29 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Crocker’s time of 52.46 seconds was just two one-hundredths of a second off the American record he set at the Olympics last summer.

Crocker, the Big 12 Rookie of the Year helped the University of Texas win its second straight NCAA title last month. He was the NCAA champion in the 100-yard fly and was a member of the 400-yard medley relay team that posted the American and NCAA record (3:05.37) and the winning 400-yard free relay.