With Virginia’s Northern Region meet in the books and the WMPSSDL’s championship meet all wrapped up, Montgomery County joins the championship season this weekend with its divisional meets. The Montgomery County Championship meet will be held next Saturday at the Martin Luther King, Jr.  Swim Center.

In Virginia, the Region II meet will also be held this weekend at Fork Union Military Academy. For a look at some of the area’s title contenders, check out the recaps of last weekend’s AA Dulles and AA Evergreen District meets.

Here’s a quick look at this weekend’s schedule and what to watch for at each meet:

The Whitman girls and Churchill boys take their undefeated records into Saturday's Montgomery County Division I championships.

DIVISION I
Site: Martin Luther King, Jr. Swim Center
Diving: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Swimming: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s champions: Churchill boys, Whitman girls
What to watch for: The Churchill boys completed another unbeaten dual meet season and after missing an opportunity to test themselves against eventual Montgomery County Champions Wootton last season, the Bulldogs took full advantage of their Dec. 18 meet, claiming a 94-77 win in their closest meet of the season. The Bulldogs and Patriots should go toe to toe again Saturday as both try to position themselves to challenge for County and Metros titles. Walter Johnson‘s boys should also be in the mix. On the girls’ side, defending County and Metros champion Whitman goes in as the favorite following a perfect regular season, but if a Jan. 29 dual meet against Churchill was any indicator, the Vikings will need to be on their game to repeat. Whitman held on for an 88-83 win in that meet but boasts plenty of depth and versatility throughout its lineup. Two-time Metros 50 and 100 free champion Emily Ryczek will provide firepower for Sherwood and Walter Johnson senior Elizabeth Pepper – the lone swimmer to beat Ryczek in either event this season – has first-place finishes in the 200 IM, 100 and 500 free and 100 fly to her name.

The Blair Blazers are hoping to sweep the Division II championship meet (Photo by Kevin Team).

DIVISION II
Site: Germantown Indoor Swim Center
Diving: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Swimming: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s champions: Blair boys, Sherwood girls
What to watch for: The Blair boys managed to pull out a razor-thin victory last season despite not winning a single event. They’ll hope similar depth across the board can carry them to another title. Richard Montgomery – which dropped back down after competing in Division I last season – could not fend off the Blazers in a Jan. 29 dual meet, but went undefeated against the rest of the division and will look to give Blair a serious challenge. The Blazer girls eked out a one-point win over Northwest last month and earned another close victory over Poolesville one week prior. All three teams should be in the mix in a wide open field that appears primed for a close finish.

Katie Sweeney and the Magruder girls are the favorites in Division III (Photo by Arlene Alfano/Valerie Mayer).

DIVISION III
Site: Montgomery Aquatic Center
Diving: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Swimming: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s champions: Damascus boys, Magruder girls

What to watch for: Blake‘s boys bowled through the division with an unblemished record and an average margin of victory of more than 55 points and go into Saturday as the heavy favorites. Senior captain Spencer Sterling was a double-winner last season at the Division II championship last season (100 back, 50 free) and won every individual event in at least one dual meet this season. Magruder dealt the Blake girls their lone division loss of the season in their last dual meet led by a pair of victories from Katie Sweeney (50 free, 100 back). The Colonials and Bengals should battle it out again Saturday.

One of the top distance freestylers in the state, Gaithersburg junior Ellen Anderson won the 500 free and finished second in the 100 back at last year’s County meet and should score big for her team this weekend.

DIVISION IV
Site: Olney Swim Center
Diving: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Swimming: 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s champions: Clarksburg boys, Einstein girls
What to watch for: Clarksburg and Springbrook were the class of the division during the regular season and their dual split on Jan. 22 provided plenty of drama. Springbrook’s girls pulled out an 85-81 win but was denied the sweep as Clarksburg managed an 84-83 win. The Coyotes and Blue Devils should battle it out on both sides Saturday with Joshua Kiehl, Andrew Qian, and Justin Guo leading the Clarksrbugh boys while Georgia Corran, Georgia Howard and Samantha Bauer pace the Springbrook girls.

Tags: AAA Northern Region, Maryland High School Swimming, Montgomery County High School Swimming, Virginia High School Swimming

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