By Katie Carrera

From the first day Megan Kenna Sharkey hopped in the Potomac Woods pool as a 6-year-old she was fast. She could keep up with most of the swimmers two years her senior in freestyle, but in butterfly she was the quickest in the entire 8-and-under age group. And she liked to race too.

Sharkey is 8 this summer, and will age up to the delight of Potomac Woods’ divisional counterparts, but not before leaving her mark in the Montgomery County Swim League record book.

In Potomac Woods’ meet against Germantown on June 19, Sharkey set new records in the 25-meter free (15.48) and 25 fly (16.96). The free mark of 15.89, set by Westleigh’s Candy Camacho, stood since 1982 and the previous fly record was 17.37 set by Catherine Mulquin of Mill Creek Town in 2003. Sharkey’s fastest time in the 25 back (19.11) came the same day, not far off the MCSL record of 18.58 set by Manor Woods’ Karla Wilson in 1982.

“She really likes to race and I think that’s a big reason why she does so well,” Potomac Woods Coach Jon Leong said. “She just wants to swim fast, do everything she can to get to that wall. But she doesn’t get overwhelmed, she just goes into her own little swim zone and has a good time.”

Entering the 2010 season, the free record Sharkey broke and the backstroke mark she’s closing in on were the two oldest MCSL records in races still being swum in summer league competition.

They are two records that somehow stood the test of time, ones swimmers had mentioned as untouchable. Between the two largest area leagues, the MCSL and Northern Virginia Swimming League, there are only a handful of records remaining from the 1980s or earlier. A few others stand from the 1990s, but in an era of faster suits and year-round swimming prodigies, many records don’t have a chance.

“It’s strange. If you have a local record that stands for an extraordinary amount of time it usually creates a reverse psychology effect,” said Austrian record holder and former NVSL swimmer Markus Rogan in a phone interview. “People grow up knowing that record and create a myth around it to the point where they’re almost afraid to break it.”

Rogan owns the NVSL’s 18-and-under 50 back record, with a time of 26.45 he swam in 2000. This summer’s fastest backstrokers are finishing in times almost a full second behind Rogan’s mark, surprising the former Olympic medalist.

“I think the fast suits must have made some of the biggest differences in summer leagues with some of the older kids,” Rogan said. “Mine wasn’t all that long ago but I’m glad it’s still around.”

Compared to the 28-year-old record Sharkey broke, Rogan’s is still in its infancy. As is the case in the MCSL, several of the enduring marks across the board occurred in the younger age groups.

In fact, one of the only 18-and-under records set before 1998 is MCSL’s girls’ 100 free threshold of 58.13 set by Darnestown’s Pamela Minthorn in 1988. But All-Met Katie Rogers, who swims for Quince Orchard, could come close by the end of the season if she posts times like her fastest this summer (59.93) or her personal best (58.33), which came last year at MCSL All Stars.

“We all live and die for records,” Rogers said. “But it would be cool to break a record that’s so old because you know that person was an amazing swimmer for a record to hold that long. Breaking a record like that would be a tremendous accomplishment.”

In the younger age groups, perhaps no league record is more well known and perhaps more untouchable, than the NVSL’s boys 8-and-under 25 free. Roger McLeod set the bar at 15.1 in 1965, swimming for Mantua.

Among the other durable marks in the 8-and-under age group are:

• Girls 25 free (NVSL); 15.48 by Amy Rymiszewski, Mansion House, 1985
• Boys 25 breast (NVSL); 20.5 by Matt Buckley, Long Branch, 1980
• Girls 25 breast (NVSL); 19.98 by Amy Rymiszewski, Mansion  House, 1985
• Boys 100 free relay (NVSL); 1:09.84 by Sleepy Hollow Bath, 1992
• Girls 100 free relay (NVSL); 1:11.80 by Chesterbrook, 1983

“There are a few reasons why the records among the younger kids stand,” Fort Belvoir Coach and longtime NVSL presence Mark Murray said. “Back then when some of those records were set the younger ones participated in winter swim. There’s a lot more sports that weren’t as organized previously for kids to take part in. Not that at that age they shouldn’t swim for fun, but you don’t see the serious commitment as early as you might have in the past.”

Murray was once part of an 8-and-under 100 free relay squad that set an NVSL record in 1975. The mark stood until Sleepy Hollow Bath broke it 18 years ago and it has remained untouched ever since. He believes that in the younger age groups it can be even harder to shave extra seconds off a time, with only 25 meters to do so in most cases.

“Whenever an 8-and-under breaks a record people should be astonished, it’s quite a feat,” he added. “But breaking anything that lasted even 10 or 15 years, regardless of event or age, is an accomplishment.”

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