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by Keith Peters
Palo Alto Online

Palo Alto sophomore Jasmine Tosky will be missing six days of school next month, but the talented swimmer won't be on vacation. She'll be traveling to Sweden and Germany as a member of the U.S. Swimming National Youth Team.

Tosky was one of 23 girls named to the select 18-under team, which will accompany a 23-member boys' squad to meets in Stockholm and Berlin on the World Cup circuit.

Tosky is one of only six swimmers from Northern California and one of only two from the Central Coast Section (Valley Christian's Shane Fleming is the other) named to the team that will compete in two short-course (meters) meets against some of the best swimmers in the world.

Tosky qualified by being ranked No. 1 in the 400 IM and No. 2 in the 200 IM following the U.S. Open meet during the summer in Washington. Tosky missed qualifying for the Senior National Team in the 400 IM by just a tenth of a second. Tosky also swam on PASA's 400 free relay team that broke a national age-group record at the U.S. Open. That team included Katie Howard from Sacred Heart Prep plus Maddie Schaefer (St. Francis) and Megan Fischer-Colbrie (Monta Vista).

Tosky will represent Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics (PASA) and will be accompanied by PASA coach Tony Batis, who has been named one of the team's assistant coaches. They'll depart for Europe on Nov. 7 and return on the 16th. Tosky will compete in Stockholm first (Nov. 10-11) and then in Berlin (Nov. 14-15).

Tosky competed for the USA in Canada last spring but this will be the first international trip for Batis, who will miss a big quad meet hosted by PASA at Palo Alto High on Nov. 14-15.