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Posts from ‘Summer’
Weekly wrap-up: record fell like the rain on Saturday as teams fought for division supremacy
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012Pictures and summaries from the week ending 7/14 from all across the DMV.
Picture of the week: ‘rain can’t dampen spirit in MCSL’
Monday, July 23rd, 2012Picture of the week from the MCSL’s week six divisional championships.
Preview: Divisional championships on the line in MCSL and NVSL
Friday, July 20th, 2012Take a look at Saturday’s top match-ups in the MCSL and NVSL, as teams try to wrap-up their seasons and earn the right to hoist their division’s championship trophy.
2012 NVSL All Star Relays: Overlee repeats as champions on record setting night
Thursday, July 19th, 2012Four league records fell on Wednesday night at the NVSL All Star Relay Carnival at Lincolnia Park.
A Prince George’s pool builds an African American swimming powerhouse
Thursday, July 19th, 2012After going undefeated for three years, the Kingfish are swimming in their league’s most competitive division, defying stereotypes about the sport.
Five things to watch at NVSL All-Star Relays
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012The 2012 NVSL All Star Relay Carnival is scheduled to begin Wednesday, July 18, at 4 pm, hosted by the Lincolnia Park Lazers. The meet is one of the most exciting events of the season in the NVSL and will feature some of the area’s top swimming talent in the all-relay all star competition. Here [...]
Weekly wrap-up: recording breaking week for Conger; teams fight to keep perfect records (Picture of the week inside)
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012Recaps and pictures from some of the best meets from the DC area summer leagues.
Seven records broken at Coaches’ Invitational Long Course meet
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012Jack Conger set two of the seven records that were broken on Tuesday night at the 2012 MCSL Coaches’ Invitational Long Course meet.
Picture of the week: cutting through
Monday, July 9th, 2012Recognize this swimmer? He’s the subject of this week’s Picture of the Week submitted to us by Poplar Tree Pirates’ photographer Mark Hall. Take a look inside to see the winning submission.
Weekly wrap-up: NVSL kicked off in week 2; summer league teams undeterred by stormy weather in week 3
Wednesday, July 4th, 2012Recaps from week two and three of summer league action.
Week Two Preview: NVSL begins 2012 season; Divisional rivals meet in MCSL
Friday, June 22nd, 2012The Northern Virginia Swimming League has its first meets this weekend, plus an near-annual rivalry meet between MCSL opponents in week two.
Weekly wrap-up: Summer leagues roar back into action
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012Checkout snapshots and summaries from the first weekend of summer league swim meets in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia regions.
Penguins upset Dolphins in Week One matchup in Division F
Saturday, June 16th, 2012Sixth-seeded Little Falls take down second-seeded Damascus on the first weekend of MCSL competition.
As foreign students work summer jobs, what about Americans?
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012The government has issued new rules about how employers must treat foreign student workers, but some argue that companies are passing over qualified Americans because foreigners cost less.
Dona, Grimm drop NVSL records at All-Stars
Monday, August 8th, 2011Despite a slow Waynewood pool and some of the NVSL’s top talent off competing at national meets, All-Stars saw two league records fall on top of a number of exciting swims.
NVSL All-Stars preview
Friday, August 5th, 2011It’s a busy weekend of swimming nationwide with regional and sectional meets scattered about the country. But some of the nation’s best talent will be at Waynewood for NVSL’s All-Stars.
Crabb closes career with record-breaking meet
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011Virginia Tech-bound James Crabb pushed through a bout with mononucleosis this summer to turn in five team-record-breaking swims for Ben Lomond at his final PWSL meet on Saturday.
The weekend in pictures: Week 7
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011For many, the weekend’s meets brought the summer season to an end, meaning it’s finally safe to head out on that family vacation. Before you hit the beach, take a look at a selection of photos from around the area in the season’s final installment of this weekly feature.
NVSL Divisionals see records fall
Monday, August 1st, 2011Countless team records and a handful of NVSL records fell Saturday at divisonal meets across the league. And All-Stars is yet to come.
Thomas leads MCSL All-Stars
Monday, August 1st, 2011Manor Woods 18-year-old Matt Thomas won both of his races at Sunday’s MCSL Individual All-Star Meet, including a record-setting performance in the 100 free. Westlake’s Anthony Nguyen, 9, headlined the PMSL All-Star Meet.
Potomac Glen breaks through
Friday, July 29th, 2011Potomac Glen, the smallest team in the MCSL’s Division B, clinched its first division title on Saturday. Swimmers take the pool for divisional meets in the NVSL this weekend.
The weekend in pictures: Week 6
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011Another sweltering Saturday brought another round of competitive action to area pools. Enjoy a selection of photos highlighting the sixth weekend of the 2011 summer season.
Sizzling All-Star Relays
Thursday, July 21st, 2011With the mercury nearing 100 degrees in Hayfield Wednesday, NVSL’s All-Star Relays got underway. Division 1 teams dominated the team scores, but a number of lower division teams took home relay titles as well.
Demystifying division assignments
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011What is the best method to compare more than 80 rapidly changing teams? The area’s two largest summer swim leagues, the MCSL and the NVSL, employ two different, complex methods to assign teams to divisions.
The weekend in pictures: Week 5
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011The summer continued to speed along with another weekend of competitive action in the pool. Check out a selection of photos highlighting the season’s fifth week of area summer swimming.
Division 1 thriller
Monday, July 18th, 2011Overlee held off Tuckahoe in a down-to-the-wire NVSL meet, while Rockville completed a perfect MCSL Division A dual meet season by taking down Tilden Woods.
Battle in MCSL Division B
Friday, July 15th, 2011Westleigh leads the MCSL’s Division B, but the Barracudas have had plenty of competition in one of the league’s most evenly matched divisions. And in NVSL, there is a potentially division-deciding meet brewing between Highlands Swim and Lee-Graham.
Recap: Coaches Long Course
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011With clear skies and large crowds lining the 50-meter Olympic-sized pool, nine records were broken at the 2011 MCSL Coaches Long Course meet at Rockville Swim Center. The USA Swimming-sanctioned summer league meet allows for fast times to count for elite qualifying events — including the U.S. Olympic Trials. MCSL invites the top eight swimmers [...]
U.S. Olympians in town
Monday, July 11th, 2011Meet records, medals, Olympians, and all on a Friday at Kingston Chase in Herndon. Elsewhere, MVP Dolphins halted Takoma Park D.C.’s PMSL Division A winning streak.
Division races heat up
Friday, July 8th, 2011There will be plenty at stake in the fourth weekend of competition for Maryland teams. Chevy Chase Recreation Association battles Kentlands for control of the MCSL’s Division F, while Severn Crossing hosts King’s Landing in a matchup of PMSL Division E heavyweights.
The weekend in pictures: Week 3
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011Check out a selection of photos that tell the story of the third week of summer swimming action.
Chesterbrook cruises
Monday, July 4th, 2011Chesterbrook won in convincing fashion against Oakton, while the PWSL reached its halfway point. Elsewhere, Cedarbrook hung on in the MCSL.
Guest post: My first swim meet
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011Matthias Early, 13, reports on his first swim meet with the Greenbelt Municipal Team, otherwise known as “The Barracudas.”
The weekend in pictures: Week 2
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011Swimmers from the Northern Virginia Swim League kicked off their summer season on Saturday, while others across the region continued with their second dual meets. Check out a sampling of photos from the weekend’s best action.
At Parkland, a mitzvah in the pool
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011With midweek meets and a small-but-tight-knit roster, Parkland has earned a reputation as one of the Montgomery County Swim League’s most distinctive summer swim teams.
20 Questions with Clay Miller
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011From the Pooldeck: Clay Miller of Woodley Gardens on his 39 years in MCSL
The weekend in pictures: Week 1
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011In a new weekly feature, check out photos from the opening weekend of summer meets.
We’re coming back for the summer!
Thursday, May 26th, 2011The summer swim season is fast approaching and we’re excited to announce that we’ll be back out covering area swim leagues all summer long with some fresh faces and some savvy veterans anchoring our wide-reaching content.
2010 summer top girls’ times
Saturday, August 14th, 2010Here are the area’s girls’ individual top times this summer
2010 summer season boys’ top times
Friday, August 13th, 2010Here are the area’s boys’ individual top times this summer (girls coming tomorrow):
Fletcher adds another record at NVSL All-Stars
Monday, August 9th, 20102009 All-Met Swimmer of the Year Sean Fletcher set his 17th NVSL record on Saturday atin his final meet, while nearly two dozen swimmers won multiple titles in two season-ending all-star meets.
Record-breaking is a family affair at ODSL All-Stars
Friday, August 6th, 2010Kaleigh Rosenburg won the family battle of setting league records at last weekend’s Old Dominion Swim League All-Star meet. She set two, and her older brother, Damon, had one.
11-year-old finds challenge is dangerous
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010One of the area’s top younger swimmers, 11-year-old Neal McElhattan had a dangerous experience when he tried to swim 50 meters underwater last week.
Summer swimming takes a new turn in college
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010Once most swimmers get to college they no longer swim for local club teams. Does that mean that summers in the pool become more relaxing for them? Hardly.
Records fall as seasons wane
Monday, August 2nd, 2010With all-star and divisional meets in full swings, times — and records — keep dropping.
Coming down the stretch with an eye on next year
Friday, July 30th, 2010While teams are looking to finish the season strong, how they perform at Divisional meets could have a big impact on next season.
Chesterbrook comes up big at the right time
Monday, July 26th, 2010The place was packed. Old swimmers came out to cheer. Chesterbrook didn’t disappoint, turning in its best performance of the season in its biggest meet.
Sudley keeps rolling along
Friday, July 23rd, 2010Sudley might be difficult to find based on its location, but the Seahorses can almost always be found atop the Prince William Swim League.
Plombon makes a fundraising splash
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010Vienna Woods swimmer Sarah Plombon has conducted a fundraiser this summer to help pay for a “sprayground” that is scheduled to open next year. The facility will be tailored to children with special needs.
Record times in the pool … and on the road
Monday, July 19th, 2010On the same day, you have the Potomac Valley Swimming Long Course Championships as well as a dual meet against your team’s biggest rival. Which meet do you choose? For a couple of Rockville Rays, there wasn’t a choice. Do both.
Olney Mill showers its seniors
Friday, July 16th, 2010Summer swim teams find different ways to honor their recently graduated team members. At Olney Mill, the seniors receive laundry baskets full of items they can take to college.
Pepper spices up MCSL record book
Thursday, July 15th, 2010Five meet records fell Tuesday night at the MCSL Coaches’ Long Course Invitational, an annual event, including one that had stood since 1986.
MCSL swimmers take the long way
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010Montgomery County Swim League competitors will test their endurance Tuesday night in the Coaches’ Invitational Long Course meet, in which event lengths are doubled. Ten meet records fell last year.
A CSL tie and undefeated match-ups in the NVSL
Monday, July 12th, 2010Chantilly Highlands and Ashburn Village swim to a tie in the CSL, and four meets that pitted 2-0 teams in the NVSL go a long way toward determining a division champion.
Standing the test of time
Friday, July 9th, 2010Megan Kenna Sharkey bested one of the two oldest MCSL records on the books, and she may break the other. We take a look at some of the oldest summer league records and the allure of league-marks that endure.
Divisional races intensify across the area
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Division races heat up quickly in the summer season, where winning a close meet in week 2 could turn out to be the difference between a division title and second place.
Upsets abound in week 3 in PWSL
Monday, July 5th, 2010Lower division teams toppled their upper division foes in four PWSL meets this weekend, close meets continue to occur in the PMSL and another strong swim by Carderock Spring’s Charlotte Meyer sets up a showdown between undefeated swimmers next week in MCSL’s Division J.
Promoted teams adjust to tougher competition
Friday, July 2nd, 2010Top divisions in the NVSL, MCSL and Prince-Mont Swim League welcomed new teams into the fold for the 2010 season. It’s a welcome promotion for each club, but competing with some of the area’s fastest doesn’t come without growing pains.
Swimming notebook
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010A handful of new league records were set this weekend, including a few by some of the youngest members on summer swim teams, and Palisades’ Katie Ledecky extended her success in 2010 to the summer season.
Relay drama highlights NVSL openers
Monday, June 28th, 2010As the NVSL opened its summer season, several meets came down to teams’ success in various relays with some going down to the wire and other clubs breaking records as their relay squads determined the outcome of the meets.
NVSL opens while others adjust for Week Two
Friday, June 25th, 2010While the NVSL prepares to kick off this weekend, other leagues like the MCSL and DCCL are preparing for their second weekend of meets, with coaches around the area adjusting lineups and swimmers beginning to get into the rhythm of the summer season.
Swimming notebook
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010Swimmers prepare for the first NVSL weekend as well as a long-course meet for their clubs. Curl-Burke’s Kaitlin Pawlowicz and Andrew Gyenis do well in open water competition and a clinic brings two Olympians to Ashburn.
Close meets highlight opening weekend
Monday, June 21st, 2010As the opening weekend of summer swim kicked off for leagues across the area, several meets in those leagues came down to just a few points — highlighting the importance of every swimmer and every place in each event.
Swimmers ready to dive into 2010 season
Friday, June 18th, 2010It’s commonplace for community pools to hold pasta dinners and pep rallies on Friday nights and those surely will begin tonight as the 2010 summer season finally gets underway.
Send in and post your pictures, suggestions
Thursday, June 17th, 2010With just a few days left until the opening weekend of summer swimming, we at reachforthewall.com are reaching out to you the readers for help. With so many pools across so many leagues throughout the entire area, you can help us recognize your community and your team. A major key to coverage this season will depend on photographs, please post them on your team wiki pages and/or send them to info@reachforthewall.com and our reporters will be able to use those pictures to supplement articles when they write about that pool.
Conger, Haase teammates year-round
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010Sarah Haase and Jack Conger have seen plenty of each other over the past year. The two swim together year-round for Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club and at Good Counsel, where they combined for four individual wins at Metros en route to All-Met honors this winter. Both also headed to Ireland as part of the NCSA All-Star team in the spring. And if they didn’t know each other well enough through all of that, they’ll get a chance to learn more this summer.
The All-Met standouts, considered two of the top swimmers in the region, both swim and coach together at Flower Valley in Division A of the Montgomery County Swim League.
Getting ready for summer
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Until the summer league season starts up, we at reachforthewall.com will be considering ways to make this site more user-friendly and accessible, and finding ways so that more readers begin consistently writing stories, shooting videos and taking photos to be posted on team pages and to be displayed the homepage. If you or anyone else you know would be interested in contributing content for this summer contact us at info@reachforthewall.com. No prior experience is necessary. And, beginning in June we will once again have results from all of the region’s major summer swim leagues, NVSL, MCSL, Prince Mont, PWSL, DCCL, CSL, CNSL, ODSL and CCSDA. If your league is not on this list and would like to be contact us at info@reachforthewall.com.
Monday Pool: All Stars
Monday, August 3rd, 2009The summer league all-star meets provide a unique opportunity for the top-tier swimmers from across the league to compete directly against each other. No more duals, no more checking the Internet to compare times, just straight-up competition. Here are some of the highlights from the MCSL and PMSL individual all-star meets that were held this weekend.
Monday Pool
Sunday, July 26th, 2009And thus the summer season ended for thousands of young swimmers across the DC-metropolitan area. Local leagues held their divisional meets Saturday, as teams jostled for next year’s divisional placement and local pride. Records throughout the area fell as swimmers saved their best for last, while fighting it out for first.
Best Posts of the Month
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Today, reachforthewall.com turns one month old. We launched June 22, and since then, we’ve received lots of submissions on our wiki-style Team Pages. We’ve featured many of them on the left sidebar on our home page, under “Updates and Best Posts,” but on our one-month anniversary, we’d like to highlight some of the best submissions we’ve received thus far.
Monday Pool
Monday, July 20th, 2009The final weekend of regular season summer swimming was highlighted by another nail-biter in the MCSL’s most heated rivalry, Rockville vs. Tilden Woods. Plus, the PWSL’s Sudley Seahorses, who won their 68th consecutive meet Saturday and wrapped up their 10th undefeated regular season. But the team needs to win its divisional championship, which will be at Sudley next weekend, to shore up an unprecedented 10 years without a loss.
Records Fall at MCSL Coaches Invitational
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009MCSL’s Coaches Invitational Long Course meet featured many new records and a Hall of Fame ceremony honoring league founders, coaches, volunteers and swimmers who helped shape the league in its early years.
Making the Most of Lessons Learned
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009Devin Truong’s parents made him learn to swim after he nearly drowned in a Florida pool four years ago. Now he’s one of the best young swimmers in the country.
Monday Pool
Monday, July 13th, 2009Last weekend might have been a little slow due to the holiday, but this weekend was anything but. A “friendly rivalry” meet between D.C.’s only two summer league swim teams (which also happened to be a key PMSL A Division contest), an “almost impossible” tie meet in the MCSL, and closely contested meets from the PWSL and CNSL are all included in today’s roundup of the weekend’s meets.
Monday Pool
Monday, July 6th, 2009While some leagues took a break this holiday weekend, MCSL and PMSL competed at full speed on Saturday. There was plenty of red, white and blue to be found at pools in the region, as teams celebrated the Fourth of July before the meet and a win (hopefully) after.
For Old Georgetown, It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Friday, July 3rd, 2009Swimmers from Old Georgetown Pool in Bethesda gave up weekly doughnut days to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which they donate to a Washington organization that feeds the city’s poor.
Bridlewood To Celebrate Fourth With A Bang
Friday, July 3rd, 2009The Bridlewood Bridalwaves, a team in the Prince William Swim League, will celebrate the Fourth of July with a charity fund-raiser involving about 700 kids from nearly all 24 of the PWSL teams.
Summer Leagues: Not Just for Swimmers
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009Summer swimming is becoming a popular way for high school athletes to stay in shape for fall, winter and spring sports. The low-impact total-body exercise, they say, provides a more enjoyable and thorough workout than running in the blistering summer heat.
Monday Pool
Monday, June 29th, 2009Meets across the Washington metro area Saturday were marked by fast times and close final scores. Nine meets were decided by fewer than 12 points. Upper County of MCSL and Belair Swim and Racquet of PMSL were among the teams to eke out close victories.
A week after meets across the region were canceled, halted or just plain miserable during a tremendous thunder storm, weather was not a factor for meets on Saturday.
Here’s how some local teams fared when they were only competing against each other, and not Mother Nature.
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Teach Your Children Well
Friday, June 26th, 2009Local summer swim leagues rely on their teenage team members to help train the next wave of talent. Joanna Ladas and Julie Pinero, from Strathmore Bel Pre of the PMSL, are two who came up through the team’s developmental program and are now giving back to it.
Weekend Roundup
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009Rain affected almost all of the meets in the region this weekend. Though many were canceled, some teams were able to get their swims in or partially in before the storms set in. Here’s a look at some of the action from Saturday.
Montgomery County Coach Has Influenced Generations of Swimmers
Friday, June 19th, 2009Joe Flaherty has been coaching teams in the Montgomery County Swim League for 34 years. He’s taught countless swimmers in that time, always challenging them to “Have an impossible dream, dare greatly to achieve it and don’t quit until you do.” Those students have now become coaches, parents and board members in MCSL, sprinkling Coach Joe’s lessons throughout the league.
The Nation’s Talent Pool
Saturday, February 7th, 2009The Greater Washington region has become the most successful youth swimming hub in the nation, in large part because of a pair of decades-old clubs anchored in Maryland and Northern Virginia. The Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club (RMSC) and Curl-Burke Swim Club (CUBU) are for the second straight year ranked first and second nationally among more than 2,000 swim clubs in the nation, according to a USA Swimming computer ranking that evaluates the results of club swimmers ages 11 to 18.
