Powerhouse programs Churchill, Good Counsel, and Gonzaga got things done once again, winning their respective championship meets. Next week, it will be a different game for the Montgomery County and WMPSSDL teams, as they meet at the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships (Metros). Walter Johnson’s boys will match up with Gonzaga on the boys’ side of the meet.  Never count out Whitman’s girls in a championship setting either, as they challenge Churchill and Good Counsel.

Oakton’s boys and girls each won with a complete team effort on Saturday at the Northern Region championship at Oak Marr RECenter in Vienna. They will be off this weekend before getting back in the pool for the AAA Virginia championship meets, held in their backyard at George Mason’s Jim McKay Natatorium in Fairfax.

They will meet the best from across the state, including local teams out of the AAA Northwest Region. Before states, Cedar Run District champion Battlefield and Cardinal District champion Osbourn Park, will compete in their regional championship meet Friday, Feb. 10, at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas.

Quick Results: WMPSSDL Boys Championship, WMPSSDL Girls Championship, AAA Northern Region Championship, MCPS Division I Championship, MCPS Division III Championship, AAA Cedar Run District Championship, and AA Region II Championship.

Check back for previews for Metros and the AAA Northwest Region Championship later this week.

WMPSSDL: Katie Ledecky stars for Stone Ridge

“She’s on her way.”

That’s how Bob Walker, the head coach of Stone Ridge’s swim team, describes his star freshman, Katie Ledecky.

The freshman broke meet records in both of her individual events, and anchored the victorious Stone Ridge girls’ 200-yard freestyle relay team with a blistering 22.67 split. Holton-Arms was second, anchored by Caroline McTaggart, who split 22.75.

Ledecky’s record-breaking performances in the girls’ 200 (1:46.75) and 500 freestyle (4:37.65) events Saturday were made all the more special for the freshman because of the previous owner of those records is Olympian Kate Ziegler (O’Connell), the world-record holder in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

Despite Ledecky’s strong showing, Stone Ridge finished fourth as a team with 240 points. Good Counsel won with 344 points, followed by Holton-Arms with 294 points and Holy Cross with 261 points.

On the boys’ side, Gonzaga ran away with the meet, scoring 540 points and outpacing second-place Good Counsel by 185 despite a strong showing from Falcons junior Jack Conger. Georgetown Prep finished third with 268 points.

For the full Washington Post article, continue reading here.

Ledecky’s performances certainty had people talking, but she was far from the only one turning heads or breaking records.

McTaggart announced her presence to the rest of the league in her first WMPSSDL championship, breaking the league records in the girls’ 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. She finished in 23.07 in the 50 freestyle and in 49.99 in the 100 freestyle.

Reigning All-Met Swimmer of the Year, Sarah Haase, led three-time champion Good Counsel.

Haase set a new meet record in the girls’ 100 butterfly with a 56.91. She got her second individual win of the night in the girls’ 100 breaststroke, winning in 1:03.99.

Haase also teamed up with Catherine Mulquin, Katherine Cleary, and Makenzie Miller for a win in the girls’ 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:48.71.

For the boys, Conger continues to show why he is the best male swimmer in the region.

Conger broke league records in the boys’ 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, both area best times. He shattered U-Va. standout Brady Fox’s record in the 100 butterfly, with a new time of 47.43. He later set a new record in the 100 backstroke with a 47.47.

Conger was no less impressive in the relays, where he provided key splits to hold off two very fast Gonzaga relay teams. In the boys’ 200 medley relay, Conger split 21.19, as the butterfly leg of the relay, against Gonzaga’s Sean Sullivan (22.42). Brady Welch led off the winning Good Counsel relay; Evan Garfield was in breaststroke; and Ryan Edmunds anchored in free. Good Counsel finished 1:36.20 to Gonzaga’s 1:36.40.

Later, Conger and Sullivan battled again, this time in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay. Sullivan had the lead going into the final leg, but a 43.71 second split by Conger allowed Good Counsel to edge Gonzaga by the same .2 second difference as before, finishing 3:10.31 to 3:10.51.

Despite being bested by Conger in the relays, Sullivan was sensational for the winning Gonzaga boys, breaking his brother Patrick Sullivan’s meet record in the boys’ 50 freestyle, with a new time of 20.68. He was also the winner of the boys’ 100 freestyle in 46.54.

Led by Sullivan, Gonzaga’s boys packed the top heats all night with notable performances by seniors Madison Hardimon, Tim Barry, Sean Spata, and Patrick Reyes, and junior Paul O’Hara, winner of the boys’ 200 IM (1:57.63).

O’Hara, Barry, Reyes, and Hardimon would combine to win the boys’ 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.12.

Finishing the record-breaking night, Holy Cross’s Ashleigh Ferguson just missed the league record in the girls’ 100 backstroke, with a new meet record of 56.66.

Other winners were Matt Colket (Good Counsel) in the boys’ 200 freestyle (1:44.21), Bridie Burke (Georgetown Visitation) in the girls’ 200 IM (2:07.80), Gavin Springer (Sidwell Friends) in the boys’ 500 freestyle (4:37.65), and Don Tucker (O’Connell) in the boys’ 100 breaststroke (59.62).

Next week, WMPSSDL teams will meet the best from Montgomery County at the Metros.

Oakton boys and girls sweep Virginia AAA Northern Region swimming championships

On a night where few races were won without achieving an all-American cut time, Oakton‘s boys’ and girls’ teams outlasted the competition to once again stand tall as the AAA Northern Region champions.

Oakton’s boys beat Woodson, 281.5 to 250, at Oakmarr RECenter, despite not winning a single event until the final relay of the night. The girls’ side was more decisive, with Oakton’s girls pulling away from a top-loaded West Potomac team to win 245 to 190.

Janet Hu on her way to breaking the girls' 100 freestyle region record. (photo by Wayne Stocks)

They were led by sophomore Janet Hu, who set two new regional records in the 100-yard freestyle (49.52 seconds) and 100 backstroke (53.76 seconds), both in automatic all-American times, before delivering a come from behind victory in the girls’ 400 freestyle relay.

Where Hu was impressive, no one could outshine the duo of Seliskar brothers from Thomas Jefferson.

Freshman Andrew Seliskar finished with four all-American cuts – three automatic – and a regional record.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

Area teams finish strong at Region II championship

At the Virginia AA Region II swimming championships, the Western Albemarle (Crozet, Va.) ran away with the girls’ meet, piling up 148 points over second-place finisher Potomac Falls.

Dulles District champion Potomac Falls came up short in the boys’ meet as well, finishing behind Brentsville, 85 points to 68 points.

Brentsville was powered by relay wins in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, as well as individual wins by Justin Doyle in the 50 and 100 freestyle evnets.

Doyle was outstanding for the Tigers all night. He led off the winning 200 medley relay (1:42.92), and held off Potomac Falls’ anchor, William Lin, to help win the 200 freestyle relay for Brentsville in 1:31.60. Doyle was joined by Naoki Sugiura, Sam Maranto, and Ben Cumberland in both relays.

Doyle finished nearly a full second ahead of the field in the 50 freestyle, winning in 21.85. He outpaced the crowd again in the 100 freestyle in 48.47.

Lin was a double winner for Potomac Falls with impressive swims in the 200 freestyle (1:47.02) and 500 freestyle. It was a tight race in the 500 freestyle with Dominion‘s Aidan O’Hara who finished less than a second back, 4:49.71 to 4:50.31.

After the tough loss in the 500 freestyle, O’Hara would not be kept out of the top-spot in the 100 backstroke, winning in 56.00 over Briar Woods‘s Brennan Maxwell. Maxwell won easily in the 100 butterfly earlier in the meet with a time of 54.70.

Potomac Falls finished the meet strong with a win in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay. The team of Gavin Saunders, Sean Hurrell, Jamison Riley, and Lin accelerated past the rest of the region to win in 3:24.24.

Western Albemarle had plenty to cheer about on the girls’ side of the meet. They grabbed five individual and two relay wins to distance themselves from Loudoun and Prince William county teams, but that did not stop local teams from shining in the regional meet.

Potomac Falls kicked off the girls’ meet with a big win in the girls’ 200 medley relay. The team of Karen Hood, Ariana Staffen, Carson Newton, and Kiri Harvey beat a compact field for first with Tuscarora, Western Albemarle, Dominion, and Heritage to win in 1:55.35.

Kaleigh Rosenburgh shined for Heritage, winning the 200 IM (2:08.28) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.37), breaking her own school record in the breaststroke event.

Dominion’s Jalyn Marks pulled away from Briar Woods’s Lizzie Mittan in the 500 freestyle to win 5:16.09 to 5:20.95.

Jalyn Marks racing to a win in the girls' 500 freestyle (photo by Gemma Rosenburgh)

Other winners were Western Albemarle’s swimmers, Remedy Rule in the girls’ 200 free (1:52.33) and 100 free (52.02), Alex Rayle in boys’ 200 IM (2:01.36), Katherine Sheppard in the girls’ diving with 401.14 points, Natalie Cronk in the girls’ 100 fly (57.95), and Katie Lesemann in the girls’ 100 backstroke (1:01.44).

Also winners, Kelsey Dingman from Sherando High School in the girls’ 50 free (25.40) and Fluvanna’s Bryce Campanelli in the boys’ diving (461.10 points).

Teams will compete next at the A/AA Virginia State Championship, February 9-11, 2012, at the Christiansburg Aquatics Center.

Magruder girls, Damascus boys stand tall

The Damascus’ boys stole the Division III crown, in a closely contested divisional championship meet, held on Saturday, at the Martin Luther King Swim Center. Damascus finished with 391.5 points, just ahead of Springbrook, which finished with 383.5.

On the girls’ side, it was all Damascus and Magruder, which each racked up over 400 points. Magruder pulled away to win with 487 points over the Hornets’ 440 points. Complete meet results available here.

Although not a factor in the team competition, Gaithersburg seniors Ellen Anderson – committed to Northwestern University – and Tyler Pham stood out individually in the divisional championship meet.

Anderson was in a class of her own in the mid-distance freestyle events. She won the 200 freestyle in 1:55.46, nearly 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Later, she would just miss breaking five minutes in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 5:00.23.

Her teammate Pham was equally matchless, outpacing the competition in the 200 IM by a wide margin. He finished in 1:58.50. In the 100 backstroke, Pham would have a much closer race. The Trojan senior won the event in 53.30, but was quickly followed by Damascus’s Samuel Trible in 55.44 and Kennedy’s Duncan Johnson in 55.90. Trible also won the boys’ 100 butterfly in 55.25.

Other event winners were Zachary Eisig in the 200 freestyle (1:51.88), Lauren Gil in the girls’ 200 IM (2:18.59) and 100 breaststroke (1:10.67), Gregory Ridgway (23.58) and Abigail Triau (26.25) in the 50 freestyle, Nicole Polen in the girls’ 100 butterfly (1:04.30), Kohler Sukachevin in the boys’ 100 freestyle (51.91), Katie Sweeney in the girls’ 100 freestyle (57.68) and 100 backstroke (1:05.73), James Hisnanick in the 500 freestyle (4:58.68), and Scott Powell  in the boys’ 100 breaststroke (1:04.14).

Battlefield defends Cedar Run titles

The Battlefield girls and boys successfully defended their Cedar Run District titles Friday night at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas. Though they took first in only one individual event and one relay, the Battlefield boys were powered by a deep roster, winning by just one point, 397 to 396, over runner-up Patriot High School. The Battlefield girls were dominant, outscoring runner-up Freedom High School 455 to 357 while winning six individual events and two relays. Patriot was third.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

MCPS Division I: Walter Johnson boys, Churchill girls win titles

Powered by their depth and divers, Churchill girls won the Montgomery County Division I Championship, beating out Wootton and Whitman, with 443 points to 416 and 392 points, on Saturday morning, at Germantown Indoor.

Walter Johnson won the closely contested boys’ meet, after winning both freestyle relays and dominant performances by stars Garrett Powell and Barry Mangold. They finished with a score of 428 to edge Churchill by 10 points.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

The Battlefield High School girls and boys successfully defended their Cedar Run District titles Friday night at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas.

Though they took first in only one individual event and one relay, the Battlefield boys were powered by a deep roster, winning by just one point, 397 to 396, over runner-up Patriot High School.

Battlefield team marching in prior to the meet. (photo by Marianne Thiede)

It took a win in the final event of the night, the boys 400 freestyle relay, to seal the victory for Battlefield. Battlefield won handily in 3:20.43. Ford Whitticar provided the Bobcats with their other first-place finish, taking the 100 free in 48.54.

Osbourn’s boys took third place overall, but won both the 200 medley relay (1:42.47) and the 200 free relay (1:31.81), as well as four individual events. Henry Campbell edged out Whitticar in the 200 free, 1:45.50 to 1:45.86. In the 200 I.M., Adam Mustafa posted the top time of 2:00.68. Reilly McGrory won the 50 free in 22.07, and Campbell was first in the 500 free with a 4:44.52.

Jacob Leidy during the 100 butterfly. (photo by Marianne Thiede)

Broad Run’s Jacob Leidy was the only double winner in the boys’ meet. Leidy captured first in the 100 fly (52.62) and the 100 back (55.20). Patriot’s Andrew Proper won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.11.

The Battlefield girls were dominant, outscoring runner-up Freedom High School 455 to 357 while winning six individual events and two relays. Patriot was third.

Senior Natalie Martin and freshman Sofia Revilak each won a pair of events for the Bobcats. Martin set district records in both of her races, taking the 200 I.M. in 2:09.18 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.48. Revilak won both of the freestyle sprints by nearly 2 seconds, posting a 54.56 in the 100 free and a district record 24.80 in the 50 free.

Battlefield’s Holly Criscuolo took first in the 100 fly (59.77), while her teammate Nina Tremols won the 100 back (1:01.00). The Bobcats were impressive in both freestyle relays, where they set new district standards and won by nearly 20 seconds in the 400 free relay (3:41.97) and by nearly 5 seconds in the 200 free relay (1:41.22).

Broad Run’s Caroline Ruttenberg was first in the 200 free (2:02.86), while Osbourn’s Heidi Turner won the 500 free (5:20.69). In the 200 medley relay, Freedom captured the top spot with a 1:56.86.

Battlefield and the rest of the Cedar Run District will meet Cardinal District powerhouse Osbourn Park next weekend at the AAA Northwest Region championship meet at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas.

That’s how Bob Walker, the head coach of Stone Ridge’s swim team, describes his star freshman, Katie Ledecky. Instead of swimming at the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving championships next weekend, Ledecky will head to Columbia, Mo., to swim in the Missouri Grand Prix. She has already qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha.

The schedule ahead could have made Saturday’s Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim and Dive League Championships, held at the Takoma Aquatic Center, appear to be a steppingstone for Ledecky, but she didn’t take the night off. The freshman broke meet records in both of her individual events, and anchored the victorious Stone Ridge girls’ 200-yard freestyle relay team.

“She’s the next American great, hopefully, distance swimmer,” Walker said of Ledecky. “She’s moving towards Olympic trials. High school swimming’s done next weekend, so she’ll move on to training for the Olympic trials, which will be the end of June. That puts things in perspective.”

Ledecky’s record-breaking performances in the 200 and 500 freestyle events Saturday were made all the more special for the freshman because of the previous owner of those records is Olympian Kate Ziegler (O’Connell), the world-record holder in the 1,500-meter freestyle.

“It’s a great honor. I grew up looking up to Kate Zeigler, seeing her at all the big meets,” Ledecky said. “When she broke her world record, I saw it. It was really amazing. She’s a great swimmer and it’s a great honor.”

Despite Ledecky’s strong showing, Stone Ridge finished fourth as a team with 240 points. Good Counsel won with 344 points, followed by Holton-Arms and its freshman star, Caroline McTaggart, with 294 points and Holy Cross with 261 points.

On the boys’ side, Gonzaga ran away with the meet, scoring 540 points and outpacing second-place Good Counsel by 185 despite a strong showing from Falcons junior Jack Conger. Georgetown Prep finished third with 268 points. Complete meet results available here.

With a national meet on her schedule for next week and Olympic trials approaching this summer, Ledecky said she was happy with her performance on Saturday. The freshman said she swam at around 85 or 90 percent, a good sign as she makes her way into bigger meets. “Right now our ultimate goal is Olympic trials,” Ledecky said. “We just look at these meets as steps along the way, and I guess this one that will get some momentum going for some other meets.”

Complete synopsis can now be found in this week’s high school wrap-up, found here.

On a night where few races were won without achieving an All-American cut time, Oakton‘s boys’ and girls’ teams outlasted the competition to once again stand tall as the AAA Northern Region champions. Oakton’s boys beat Woodson, 281.5 to 250, at Oakmarr RECenter, despite not winning a single event until the final relay of the night.

The girls’ side was more decisive, Oakton’s girls pulling away from a top-loaded West Potomac team to win 245 to 190. They were led by sophomore Janet Hu, who set two new regional records in the 100-yard freestyle (49.52 seconds) and 100 backstroke (53.76 seconds), both in Automatic All-American times, before delivering a come from behind victory in the girls’ 400 freestyle relay.

OAKTON, VA - FEBRUARY 4: Oakton's Janet Hu (top) leads Langley's Abi Speers in the girls 100-yard freestyle. Hu would set a record with a time of 49.52 in the race. (Photo by Preston Keres/For The Washington Post)

Where Hu was impressive, no one could outshine the duo of Seliskar brothers from Thomas Jefferson.

Freshman Andrew Seliskar finished with four All-American cuts – three Automatic – and a regional record.

A. Seliskar first AAA cut came in the boys’ 200 medley relay, where he and his brother, senior, Stephen Seliskar, delivered key legs to take first in a time of 1:35.10, along with Reese Frerichs and Miles Oakley. The brothers would achieve an All-American Consideration cut in the 200 freestyle relay, as well.

“I didn’t expect to swim like this,” said A. Seliskar. “It’s really great that I get to swim alongside my brother and the rest of the [Jefferson] team. We’re all pumped to go to states in a couple weeks and compete.”

Individually, A. Seliskar outpaced the field in the boys’ 200 individual medley, where he set a new regional record of 1:50.14, and the 100 butterfly (49.71), both in AAA cut time. Stephen ended the impressive night for the siblings with an AAA cut in the 100 backstroke, winning in 50.05. He had set the regional record in the event the night before at prelims in 49.97.

Also setting a new regional record was the West Potomac team of Reanna Dona, Maxine Clifford, Sara Bertram, and Hellen Moffitt in the girls’ 200 medley, with a time of 1:46.19, in an AAA cut. Oakton had the early lead thanks to Hu, but after that it was a dog-fight between West Potomac and Woodson. Moffitt provided the knockout punch for the Wolverines to beat out Woodson, both in AAC qualifying times.

Other AAA swims came from Brandon Fiala in the boys’ 200 IM (1:51.52), finishing second to A. Seliskar, Abi Speers (Langley) in the girls’ 50 freestyle (23.32) and Jenna Van Camp in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.49). Speers and Fiala would also get their AAC cuts in the 100 freestyle (51.55) and 100 breaststroke (57.54), respectively.

No less impressive were the number of All-American Consideration qualifying swimmers. Including, Cyrus Hashemi, winner in the 200 freestyle (1:40.09) and 100 freestyle (45.85), Falls Church’s Laura Schwartz in the 200 IM (2:03.93) and 500 freestyle (4:57.80), Chantilly’s Chris Grimmett-Norris behind Cyrus in the 200 freestyle in 1:40.85, Oakton’s Laura Branton in the 100 butterfly with a 56.49, Carli Molano in the 50 freestyle, despite falling to second behind Speers, finishing in 23.80, Langley’s Ryan Natal in the 100 butterfly (50.47), Philip Hu in the 100 backstroke (50.78), as well as Michael Herrmann (South County) in 51.16, Moffitt in the 100 backstroke (55.96), and Bo Ilgenfritz (57.20) and Rachel Canty (1:04.98) in the 100 breaststroke, not to mention the many relays that achieved their AAC times as well.

Read more about the 2012 High School Championship meet season here.

Walter Johnson won the closely contested boys’ meet, after winning both freestyle relays and dominant performances by their stars Garrett Powell and Barry Mangold. They finished with a score of 428 to Churchill’s 418 [complete scores and results available].

“We’ve been wanting this all season,” said Walter Johnson coach Jamie Grimes, about the win. “Our boys were energized and ready to go.”

Mangold  started them off with an impressive swim in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.56 ahead of B-CC’s Jamie Stevenson in 1:46.38. Blair’s Brian Tsau moved up from heat two to grab third in 1:47.59.

Mangold earned his second win of the day over Churchill’s Austin Cole, winner of the 50 freestyle (21.66), in the 100 freestyle. He swam from the front the entire way to win in 47.19. Cole was second in 47.87.

His teammate, Garrett Powell (University of Georgia*) raced no one but himself, winning the 500 freestyle (4:32.19) and 100 backstroke (52.25) with open water between him and second place in both races.

Churchill was led by senior Natalya Ares (University of Richmond*), who led a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle for the Bulldogs to get the ball rolling in the individual events. Ares finished in 1:54.56, ahead of freshman teammate Elaina Gu (1:55.38). Gu also placed second in the 500 freestyle, picking up key points for the Bulldogs.

In her second win of the day, Ares cruised to an easy win in the 100 butterfly in a time of 57.94.

Kali Becker (freshman) won girls diving with a final score of 288.95. Churchill would go 1-3-4 in diving to give them a big cushion against Wootton and Whitman.

In the loss, Whitman stars Charlotte Meyer and Reia Tong dazzled.

Meyer swam strong in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle, winning both events in commanding fashion. She finished in 2:04.59 in the medley and 5:03.50 in the 500 freestyle.

Tong impressed in the sprint freestyle events. She was able to out swim the fast heat winning in 24.37, despite a slow start in the 50 free. In the girls 100 free, it was close for the first lap before Tong broke away from the field right off the turn, finishing in 52.22.

They combined for a spectacular win in the 400 freestyle relay, in one of the most exciting races of the day. Tong delivered an early lead for the Vikings, but Whitman was able to whittle the lead away, giving Ares a slight lead going into the final leg.

It looked like the Bulldog senior would pull away from Meyer, anchoring for the Vikings, but Meyer surged in the second lap to out-touch Ares, 3:34.03 to 3:34.39. Meyer and Tong were joined by Victoria Kuhn and Audrey Gould for the win.

“We’re really looking forward to next week at Metros,” said Tong. “The competition at that meet is really fast, and we’re excited to race all those great teams.”

Tim Faerber (University of Michigan*) finished his MCPS career on top, winning boys diving with an impressive 313.75 point score.

Other winners were Wootton sophomore Kristina Li who remained undefeated in the 100 backstroke, winning in 58.06, and Churchill’s Harrison Gu, who won the 100 breaststroke in 59.92. Gu also won the 200 IM in 1:56.03. Patrick Scordato placed first in the 100 butterfly in 52.44. Gould won girls 100 breaststroke in 1:07.65.

* Swimmers have signed their National Letters of Intent to swim next season for the respective university’s program.

COLLEGE PARK, MD February 2 : Maryland junior Megan Lafferty practices the butterfly on February 2, 2012 in College Park, MD (Photo by JonathanNewton/The Washington Post)

Instead, Lafferty tapped into the discipline encoded in the DNA of elite swimmers and threw herself into her junior season for the Terrapins with the same determination she had used to throw herself into the pool for thousands of pre-dawn workouts since she was 7 years old.Her teammates have done the same, refusing to let the specter of their teams’ elimination interfere with their athletic goals. Meanwhile, out of the pool, a booster group spearheaded by parents has been equally vigorous in trying to raise the $11.6 million that university officials say is needed to spare the teams.

With Terrapins athletics hemorrhaging money, Maryland President Wallace D. Loh decided to cut eight of 27 varsity teams to address a deficit that’s projected to balloon from $4 million this year to more than $17 million by 2017 unless spending is dramatically curtailed. Cutting the teams will pare $5 million from the athletic department’s $57.7 million annual budget, according to university projections.

Soon after, Anderson unveiled fundraising targets that each team had to meet by June 30 to win a reprieve. In the case of men’s and women’s swimming and diving, that figure was $11.6 million — 59 percent more than the $7.3 million that Maryland’s chief athletic fundraising group, the Terrapin Club, had raised for the entire athletics department the preceding year.

While the parent-driven booster group Save Maryland Swimming and Diving has made impressive strides in the last two months — raising $1 million in pledges, identifying prospective donors capable of giving $3 million more, crafting a business plan that pares spending and generates $250,000 in new revenue — it’s nowhere near reaching the $11.5 million goal.

‘It can’t be done!’

And with less than five months to go, some are questioning whether the university’s formula for saving the teams (with each team required to raise eight years of annual operating costs, including scholarships) was developed in good faith or is merely a public-relations ruse.

“To raise eight years of operating costs in four months is ludicrous! It can’t be done!” Maryland Del. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery) said in a recent telephone interview. As a university, “you’re going to pat yourself on the back and say that you gave everybody an opportunity. But it’s absolutely insincere.”

Anderson said eight years of operating costs is reasonable because it reflects two full recruiting cycles, giving coaches and prospective athletes confidence in the teams’ financial stability. According to Anderson, the plan to cut sports initially offered no route for teams to save themselves. He said he lobbied hard to develop the fundraising option — based on a successful campaign waged to save certain athletics programs at the University of California — as an alternative.

In a Feb. 1 letter to Loh, Kramer characterized the university’s fundraising goal as “disingenuous” and argued that a more reasonable standard would be asking teams to raise one year of operating costs by June 30.

“The heavy handed, unrealistic proposal, as it currently exists, is an embarrassment to all of us who serve the citizens of this state in our legislature,” Kramer wrote in the letter, which was co-signed by 50 fellow delegates.

According to university spokesman Brian Ullmann, Loh met with several Maryland delegates in Annapolis on Thursday and plans to continue talks on what he called a “complex and emotional issue.”

“We remain committed to working with the swimming and diving group, as well as the other affected teams,” Ullmann wrote in an e-mail. “The athletic department put a lot of thought into the Save our Sports fundraising campaign, but we are open to other options, provided they are fiscally responsible and address [the athletic department’s] persistent budget deficits.”

While Maryland’s swimmers may be among the first casualties, they may not be the last. The recommendation to cut eight teams (men’s and women’s swimming and diving; men’s tennis; men’s cross-country; men’s indoor and outdoor track; women’s water polo; and acrobatics and tumbling) — made by the President’s Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, approved by Anderson and endorsed by Loh — is predicated on the assumption that Maryland’s football and men’s basketball teams will soon become more profitable.

That in itself is a leap of faith, with football coming off a 2-10 season under first-year Coach Randy Edsall and basketball in rebuilding mode following Gary Williams’s resignation.

“Swimming is just the canary in the coal mine,” says John Tynan, a Save Maryland Swimming and Diving board member whose son, Matthew, swims for the Terrapins. “Today it’s swimming or it’s track or water polo. But you could make the argument: ‘What kind of funding does dance bring in? Or theater? Or philosophy? No one has paid attention to philosophy in 200 years, so let’s whack those!’

“If anyone thinks they’re safe from this, they’ve got their head in the sand.”

‘I still have high hopes’

There are other issues that make supporters question whether the university wants to save its swimming and diving teams, which have helped raise the academic profile of Terrapins athletics. The women’s swimming and diving team graduated 100 percent of its athletes, according to the most recent NCAA data, while the men’s squad graduated 80 percent.

Instead of being regarded as an asset, the teams have been deemed a drain on the budget.

Maryland charges its swimming and diving teams $330,000 per year to use the university’s state-of-the-art pool, an accounting arrangement virtually unheard of among NCAA Division I swim teams, insiders say.

That represents more than 20 percent of the teams’ combined annual budget of $1,544,595.

Anderson said discussions about whether the charge can be waived or reduced are ongoing with Campus Recreation Services, which levies the fee.

Nonetheless, Coach Sean Schimmel said he’s optimistic about the swim teams’ future, even though he has lost next season’s recruiting class because he is precluded from extending scholarships. “I’m hoping the university takes a good look at what we’ve done in the last 10, 12 weeks and sits back and says: ‘This is viable. Let’s step forward and work together,’ ” Schimmel said.

Maryland’s swimmers are preparing for their final home meet of the season, Saturday against Georgetown. Without a reversal, it will be the last home swim meet in Maryland history.

COLLEGE PARK, MD February 2 : Maryland junior Megan Lafferty gets ready for practice on February 2, 2012 in College Park, MD (Photo by JonathanNewton/The Washington Post)

It will also be the last college meet for Lafferty. Although she has one year of eligibility remaining, she has decided against transferring to a school that offers swimming. She’d lose too many credits, she said, and would face two more years of school in order to swim competitively for one more season.

So the college swim career she has loved so much will likely end prematurely. “Everyone says their senior year is the pinnacle of their success,” Lafferty says, the disappointment evident in her voice.

“I still have high hopes. And I have a lot of trust in all these people that we’ll be able to save our program.”

Defending state champion Carl Buergler (Washington-Lee) took first on Wednesday night with a score of 491.40. Cory Bowersox (Robinson) was second with 472.00, followed by Joe LeBerre (Oakton) with 461.40. Taking fourth through sixth, Woodson got a boost from Ben Schiesl, Eric Pavord, and Matt Hubbard heading into swimming prelims.

For the girls, Thomas Jefferson‘s Emily Saitta took first (286.85) over Marshall‘s Katherine Van Winkle (263.65). Hayfield teammates Anise Muir (253.20) and Haley Adducci (245.60) were third and fourth.

Swimming prelims begin Thursday night for the girls and Friday night for the boys, with combined finals on Saturday, Feb. 4, starting at 5:30 p.m.

Also in Virginia, the AAA Cedar Run District championship will take place at the George Mason – Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas. Patriot High School, in its inaugural season, will face off with Battlefield, Freedom-South Riding, and Broad Run for the district title. They will see Cardinal District champion, Osbourn Park the following week at the AAA Northwest Region championship meet.

In Maryland, Montgomery County high schools will hold their division championship meets. Divers will be up bright and early, with diving beginning at 7:30 a.m. Swimming starts at 9:30 a.m. For the county’s top squads, this weekend will be a warm-up for their showdown with the WMPSDDL schools, Feb. 8-10, at the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving championships. Also in action, Anne Arundel County championship meet will be on Friday at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center, starting at 3:00 p.m.

WMPSSDL schools will be in the water on Saturday at their league’s championship, with morning prelims (7 a.m.), followed by evening finals (5:30 p.m.), held at Takoma Park.

Swimmers to watch this weekend:

At WMPSDDL’s, check out Good Counsel’s unstoppable pair, Sarah Haase and Jack Conger, last year’s All-met Swimmers of the Year. Haase will have competition this year for the meet’s best female swimmer however, as Stone Ridge freshman Katie Ledecky will be competing in her first prep league championship. Also keep your eye on Gonzaga’s Sean Sullivan, hot off a big team win at National Catholics, where he was the meet’s high point scorer.

In the Northern Region, Cyrus Hashemi (Marshall) seems to be unmatched in the freestyle events, he’ll swim the 100 and 200 free, with his sites set on Bradley Phillips’ 200 freestyle record. Stephen and Andrew Seliskar are also hoping to have big meets for Jefferson individually and in the relays. For the girls, Janet Hu continues to be the one to watch at every area meet she participates. She’ll face stiff competition in the 100 freestyle, however, in one of the fastest fields in years. Top five could all be under 52 seconds.

Montgomery County’s best will square off in the Division I championship. Wootton’s Kristina Li and Churchill’s Austin Cole hope to continue the success from the regular season into the first championship meet. They will have to race again next week at Metros, as well as further down the road at Maryland states.

Out in Prince William County, Battlefield star Ford Whitticar is ready to roll in the freestyle events. The competition will only get exponentially harder after this weekend. Nina Tremols, Natalie Martin, Holly Criscuolo, and Sophia Revilak also hope to impress for the Bobcats. They have their sites on the girls 200 medley relay title at states this year.

Round-up: Jan. 24 through Feb. 1

Gonzaga wins National Catholic High School Championship; Josh Klotz named Coach of the Meet

Led by the meet’s high point winner, Sean Sullivan, Gonzaga took down four-time defending champions Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.), to win this year’s National Catholic High School Championship swimming meet, 465-434. Georgetown Prep was third with a score of 254.

First-year Gonzaga coach, Josh Klotz, was named Coach of the Meet.

Sullivan was untouchable in the sprint events, beating out all four of Loyola Blakefield’s sprinters to win the 50 freestyle in 21.04. Loyola Blakefield would take second through fifth place behind him, led by James Cameron (21.97). Teammate Tim Barry was sixth (22.76).

Barry would win the boys 100 backstroke (53.35) later in the meet. O’Connell’s Conor Chamness (55.69), Georgetown Prep’s Andrew Gibson (55.74), and Gonzaga’s John Rozier (55.99) went 4-5-6 in the top heat.

Sullivan would follow up the earlier performance with a win in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.39, again over Loyola Blakefield senior Cameron who trailed by just .65 seconds. Gonzaga swimmer Madison Hardimon and Chamness would come in third (48.45) and sixth (49.83), respectively.

Sullivan would cap off his impressive individual races by anchoring the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:27.19), alongside Paul O’Hara, Barry, and Hardimon. Connor McGarvey, JP Clancy, Trey Perry, and Alex Bennett from Loyola Blakefield would finish in second in 1:29.12. Georgetown Prep would finish fourth (1:30.63); Bishop Ireton fifth (1:32.15).

Gonzaga out shined everyone at finals on Saturday, right from the beginning. An all senior relay won the boys 200 medley relay in 1:38.12 to start the meet off right for Gonzaga. The team of Barry, Sean Spata, Nick Brooks, and Patrick Reyes would beat out Loyola Blakefield’s relay (Thomas Brennan, Kendrick MacDonald, Clancy, and Cameron), who finished in 1:39.00. O’Connell finished third in 1:39.20; Georgetown Prep fifth (1:41.60).

They would use the momentum from the relay to score a second through fourth sweep in the boys’ 200 freestyle. Andrew Valentine finished second in 1:46.33, quickly followed by Madison Hardimon in 1:46.49. Billy Cowden was fourth (1:48.03).

O’Hara placed second in the 200 IM in 1:57.83. Spata was sixth in 2:06.03, just behind Georgetown Prep’s Carl St. John (1:59.82). Prep freshman Grant Goddard placed first in the boys 100 butterfly, winning the event in 52.38.

It was a tight race between first through fifth in the boys 500 freestyle. Valentine led the way for area swimmers, taking second in 4:48.00. Prep’s Joey Snodderly touched just behind in 4:48.19. Gonzaga’s Brennnan Novak was fifth in 4:50.52.

To end the meet, Carsten Vissering (Georgetown Prep) won the boys 100 breaststroke in 59.52. Don Tucker (O’Connell) was fourth in 1:01.09; fifth was O’Hara in 1:01.39; sixth was Spata in 1:01.82.

For the girls, Emma Merrill (Paul VI) placed third in the girls’ 100 butterfly (59.63) and fourth in the 200 IM (2:12.28). Kara Osborne would place fifth behind her in 1:02.73. Senior Morgan Whyte (St. John’s) took a close second in the girls 50 freestyle (24.66). Later, she would drop to fourth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.70, less than one second behind first place. Holy Cross senior Ashleigh Ferguson placed second in the girls 100 backstroke (1:00.31). Maddie Zeigler (Bishop Ireton) was fourth (1:02.62). Sarah Cahill (O’Connell) finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.70. Elena Marsili (O’Connell) finished third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.29. Kelly Palmer (Bishop Ireton) was sixth (5:26.05).

Complete results can be found here.

Osbourn Park repeats as AAA Cardinal District Champions

There are wins that are lopsided and then wins that are lopsided. Osbourn Park‘s performance Saturday night at the Chinn Aquatic was definitely the latter.

The Yellow Jacket boys won all three relays on their way to racking up 221.5 points, including several first through third sweeps, doubling up runner-up Woodbridge Senior in points.

The girls’ team had a tougher fight after finishing second in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. They would win the final relay of the night to seal a 192.5 to 116 over the Vikings and the rest of the AAA Cardinal Districts [Complete scores and times available here].

After swimming on the same relay in the opening 200 medley, Gregory Stoffa and Peter Lord battled it out, just three events later,  in the boy’ 200 individual medley. Stoffa would get the win over Lord, just out-touching his teammate 1:58.46 to 1:58.81.

Stoffa would later win the 500 freestyle in commanding fashion, with a time of 4:39.05. Lord would get an individual title in the 100 backstroke (53.84), blowing away teammates Cameron Young (56.38) and Kenny Parker (57.01). Parker also finished third behind fellow Yellow Jacket Samuel Stronko in the 500 freestyle.

Osbourn Park’s boys could not be slowed from the get-go. In the first individual event, the boys’ 200 freestyle, they swept first through fourth. Stronko finished first in 1:46.60, quickly followed by Joseph Worrick in 1:47.43.

Anthony Shields soared to a first place finish in the 100 butterfly (56.55). Forest Park’s Jordan Kiernan was second in 58.03.

Kiernan’s teammate Jordan Murrin was the big winner in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.42) over the Osbourn Park duo, Kenneth Poague (1:07.54) and Sean Rouffa (1:08.46).

Woodbridge shined in the boys’ sprint freestyle events, where Harrison Sweeney swept both the 50 free (23.19) and 100 freestyle (50.55). Teammate Joseph Handy finished second in the 50 freestyle in 23.34. Hylton’s Shaka Kuykendall was second in the 100 freestyle in 51.50.

On the girls’ side of the meet, Osbourn Park girls picked up where the boys left off, taking huge points with top five finishes in nearly every event.

A first through third sweep came in the girls 200 freestyle from Emma Skelley (1:55.41), Audrey Kula (1:58.19) and Jillian Stevens (2:00.89), as well as a first through fourth sweep in the 100 butterfly kicked off by Kula, who finished with a winning time of 59.80. Skelly and Stevens would go 1-2 in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 5:07.02 and 5:16.01, respectively.

Despite the depth of the Osbourn Park ladies, the rest of the district did a better job keeping them off the podium than they did the Yellow Jacket boys.

In the girls 200 IM, Gar-Field swimmer Kelly Henry was able to break up an Osbourn Park sweep, taking second in 2:11.75 behind Courtney Mizerak (2:11.12).

Taylor Vincent (Woodbridge) impressed in the 50 freestyle, winning easily in 24.52, as did teammate Victoria Coughlin in the 100 freestyle with a time of 54.95.

Woodbridge was not done reaching the top-spot that night, as Emily Kelly and Courtney Laird each took first in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke, respectively. Kelly won the breaststroke event in 1:01.33, just ahead of Osbourn Park’s Ashley Clark (1:01.67). Laird pulled away from a trio of Yellow Jackets to win in 1:07.72.

The top performers for Woodbridge were able to secure two relay wins for the Vikings in the 200 medley (1:50.44) and 200 freestyle (1:39.86) relays. Taylor, Kelly, Madison West, and Victoria Coughlin combined for the win in the 200 freestyle relay, beating out an Osbourn Park’s team that set a new team record in 1:40.91. Clark, Natalie Tabor, Mizerak, and Christine Souther broke the record for the Yellow Jackets.

The third try would be the charm for Osbourn Park, however, who won the final relay of the night. The team of Clark, Kula, Tabor, and Skelly finished first in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:48.52 over Woodbridge (3:52.19).

Despite the great performances by the Viking ladies, it was not enough to compete with the depth the Yellow Jackets were able to bring to the meet.t

They will meet again in two weeks at the AAA Northwest Regional Championship meet at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas.

Potomac Falls wins AA Dulles District

The departure of last year’s boys’ champion Broad Run, and girls’ and boys’ runner-up Freedom, did n0t slow down the AA Dulles District one bit. Five district records went down on Friday night at Claude Moore Rec Center in Sterling, including one by the boys district champions, Potomac Falls.

The Panthers team of Gavin Saunders, Sean Hurrell, Riley Jamison, and William Lin broke the record in the 400 freestyle relay with a  new time of 3:25.84. The record was set just last year by Broad Run, now in the AAA Cedar Run District.

Lin would lead Potomac Falls scorers with standout performances in the 200 IM (1:59.94) and 500 freestyle (4:55.52).

The record was just icing on the cake for Potomac Falls who finished with a team score of 433.5 points in the boys’ meet.

The girls team slipped by defending champions, Briar Woods, to win 349.5 to 343 [Complete results available here].

They were led by Kiri Harvey, winner in the girls 200 freestyle (1:57.23) and 100 backstroke (1:02.11). Kiri would also anchor the winning 200 medley relay, with Karen Hood, Ariana Staffen, and Carson Newton, finishing in 1:55.42.

Heritage High School’s Kaleigh Rosenburgh set a new girls 200 IM record with a new time of 2:10.49. She would later break shatter the girls 100 breaststroke record by 1.5 seconds, in a new time of 1:06.30.

Kaleigh Rosenburg swimming to a new district record in the girls 200 IM (photo provided by Gemma Rosenburg)

Not to be left out, Dominion teammates, Ashley Brock, Maura Mazurowski, Casey Tinius, and Rachel Williams from Dominion, broke the girls 200 freestyle relay record with a new time of 1:43.04.

Their teammate, Aidan O’Hara, got in on the action by setting a new record in the boys 100 backstroke record with a time of 54.33, breaking the previous record by .8 seconds. O’Hara also won the 200 free in 1:48.78.

Other winning performances came from Eoghan Foley (Potomac Falls) in the 50 freestyle, Sophie Newton (Loudoun County) in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and Briar Woods teammates, Eric Guessford in the boys 100 free, Erica Comm in the girls 100 free, and Lizzie Mittan in the 500 free.

Bulldogs finish dual meets at top of Division I

*excerpts from Churchill Swim & Dive summary

Click here for complete results.

Everyone was greatly anticipating the meet between the Lady Bulldogs (4-1) and the undefeated Wootton Patriots. They had to wait a long two weeks thanks to the ice storm.

Two years ago the Patriots and Bulldogs unfortunately were not able to make up their  meet that was cancelled due to snow.  This year everyone was excited that the two powerhouses would get to race and dive against each other at the Germantown Aquatic Center. 

On the boys’ side, the Churchill boys class of 2012 had not lost a dual meet in their four years. They kept the streak alive, as they finished their career undefeated, beating the Patriots 97-72.

The Bulldog girls had not lost an event since 2011, but they were not able to keep that streak going against a very fast Patriots team.

In the end, the Bulldogs won 87-84. At 4-1 both the Bulldogs and Patriots are at the top of Division I, with powerhouse Whitman just one victory behind. They will all meet again at the Division I Championship meet next week, Feb. 4, at Germantown Indoor. Diving begins at 7:30 a.m.; swimming at 9:30 a.m.

In the opening event, the Patriots demonstrated just how good they are. The Patriots’ team of Kristina Li, Jessica Chen, Scarlett Sun, and Emily Zheng went a blistering 1:49.53 to beat a stacked Bulldog team (1:52.25).

The Patriots then won the first two individual events. Li dominated the girls 200 freestyle in 1:54.75. She was followed by Sun, who led the way in the 200 IM (2:13.93). The Bulldogs kept the meet close by going 2-3 in both events. Li would win convincingly in the 100 backstroke, as well, with a time of 58.39.

Natalya Ares got the Bulldogs first win in the final event before the break for diving. She beat Wootton’s Chen, 24.47 to 24.88. Teammate Michelle Illig finished third in 25.18. 

Going into diving, the Bulldogs were down 35-29. Kali Becker and Mashal Hashem went 1-2 in the diving, and the Bulldogs closed the gap to just one point.

In the first event of the second half, Natalya Ares won her second event of the meet, winning the event in 58.56 over Sun (1:00.31). Emily Andrews and Laurie Wei would take third and fourth to put the Bulldogs up by five. 

Natalya was the only Bulldog swimmer to win an event. The Patriots won the final four individual events.

Zhang would win the 100 freestyle (53.57), just out-touching Churchill’s Alicia Tiberino (53.77). Zhang would get her second win of the day in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.12) ahead of teammate Chen (1:09.51).

Leah Hubert placed first in the 500 freestyle with a winning time of 5:15.47 for the Patriots. Hot on her heels were the Bulldog’s duo of Elaina Gu (5:16.47) and Bridget Dromerick (5:17.03).

Even though they won only two swimming races, the Bulldogs were down by just 3 points going to the 400 freestyle relay, thanks to the team’s great diving and incredible depth.

That depth proved too much for the Patriots in the final relay. Dromerick, Emily Andrews, Gu and Illig won big, with a time of 3:42.20.

In the boys’ meet, the Patriots showed themselves be a formidable foe in the opening event. Against every other Division I opponent, the Bulldogs had gone 1-2 in the 200 medley relay.

However, the Wootton team of Daniel Yook, Austin Dickey, Kenneth Ke, and Michael Fu got the win for the Patriots, with a time of 1:40.10. The deep Bulldogs nonetheless went 2-3.

Wootton’s Kevin Fu took first in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.78. Christopher Wysocki fell to second, despite a season best 1:49.81.

Harrison Gu managed the only win for the Bulldogs in the first half, taking the 200 IM in 2:00.97.

Michael Fu continued to shine for the Patriots in the sprint events, winning the 50 freestyle in 22.03.

At the end of the first half, Wootton was up 34 to 30. Like the  Churchill girls, the Bulldog had kept the meet close with their depth.

Tim Faerber  and Ryan Coran went 1-3 in the diving, and the Bulldogs were able to take the lead.

In the first event of the second half, Eric Eig (54.94), Kevin Gu (55.69), and Andy Rosenthal (56.47) went  1,3,4 in the butterfly to outscore the Patriots 11-5. Sawyer Hazel was able to break up the sweep, taking second in 55.35 for the Patriots.

In the second half, Churchill’s ace, Austin Cole was brilliant. He won both his individual events and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay for the Bulldogs to secure the win.

Cole beat M. Fu in the 100 freestyle, 48.75 to 49.35. He would later win the 100 backstroke in 55.14. Teammate Sammy Lee took second in 55.51. Yook fell to third with a time of 56.09.

After falling behind early, Wysocki was able to swim himself back into the race in the 500 freestyle to steal it from Wootton’s Nikos Tragotsis, just out-touching him by .2 seconds, 5:00.24 to 5:00.44.

Dickey gutted out a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.37), beating Harrison Gu by just .07 seconds.

The Bulldogs finished their dual meet season by winning the 400 freestyle relay. Joey Bieda, Colin Asbury, Chris Wysocki and Austin Cole combined for the win in 3:22.10.

Gaithersburg drops close meet to Rockville girls, 87-85; boys lose 99-67

The meet started with first place finishes from both the boys’ and girls’ medley relay teams. The boys’ team finished a bit over six seconds faster than 2nd place Rockville with team members: Tyler Pham, Kieran Mahoney, Jacob Ado, and Adam Foreman. The girls’ relay team finished a bit over 10 seconds faster than 2nd place Rockville with relay team members were: Madison Williams, Melissa Brown, Nicole Polen, and Victoria Zemil. The Gaithersburg team took several firsts and swept one event. Tyler Phamtook first in the 200 Free and 500 Free. Ellen Anderson took first in the 100 Fly and 500 Free. Victoria Zemil took first in the 50 free and 100 free. Jacob Ado took first in the 100 Free. Melissa Brown took first in the 100 Breast. Gaithersburg girls swept the 100 fly with Ellen Anderson, Nicole Polen, and Melanie Lyons.

Ellen Anderson broke her older record in the 100 fly with a new time of 1:01.12.

Cavaliers charge into regionals with Patriot District win

Led by the strength of its upper class, Woodson girls’ (7-0) rebounded from a third place finish last year, to win the 2012 AAA Patriot District Championship. They beat West Springfield 414 to 353. Woodson boys would not be denied a third championship in a row, winning 525 to 476 over the Spartans. Lake Braddock finished third in both meets. [Click here to continue reading...]

Oakton boys reclaim Concorde District title; girls repeat

Oakton’s girls repeated as Concorde District champions on Saturday night, Jan. 28, at Cub Run RECenter. Led by sophomore Janet Hu, Oakton’s girls did not let runner-up Chantilly get even close, winning 483 to 371.5. The Cougar boys were even more dominant, racking up 506 points over the Chargers [Click here to continue reading...]

Yorktown girls’ dominate, W-L boys’ repeat as National District champions

The Patriot ladies (7-0) won their 19th consecutive National District championship by nearly 300 points, over second-place Washington-Lee. In a much closer decision, Washington-Lee’s boys’ team was able to beat Yorktown to repeat as district champions, winning 404 to 399. [Click here to continue reading...]

Langley, Madison repeat as Liberty District champions

Langley girls and Madison boys’ again claimed the district title, Madison for the third year in a row. The Saxon ladies racked up 407 points, while the Madison points crushed with a whopping 490 points. [Click here to continue reading...]

Other meet results:

1/24 – Maret girls and boys lose to National Cathedral (128-39) and St. Alban’s (126-9) [Click here complete results]

1/25 – Georgetown Prep beat St. Alaban’s 102-68 [Complete results available here]; Holy Cross wins over National Cathedral, 96-70 [Complete results available here]

1/27 – Holton-Arms wins ISL Championship

1/28 – Magruder, Damascus split meet. Damascus boys win 105-66; Magruder girls win by same score. Samuel Trible and Nicholas Mannella duked it out in the boys 100 butterfly in the race of the night [Complete results available here]

2/1 – Georgetown Prep wins IAC Championship

Bradley will head to ACCs, hosted by Virginia Tech, in three weeks, where Virginia has its sights on the men’s championship title. SECs begin in three weeks at the University of Tennessee for Amanda and the LSU Tigers.

The ACC and SEC championship meets are two of the fastest and most competitive meets in the country. Brad and Amanda will be pushed to their limits over four days, competing in multiple individual events and relays, with conference championships and NCAA championship berths on the line.

This week, our athlete bloggers remind us that endless hours in the swimming pool and weight room may not be enough to prepare you to perform at the high level expected of an elite level swimmer. In order to be successful, training must be viewed as more than a single activity you undertake during specified hours in the day.

Training more than what you accomplish in the pool. It includes how much sleep you are getting, what you are eating, how you stretch, and most importantly, paying attention to what your body is telling you, including when to take a step back.

While Amanda and Bradley are focused on all the little things they need to do to prepare for the next six weeks of championships, Michael Flach, who took an Olympic redshirt this fall, is taking this opportunity to do something new with his training. Click below to read more from our athlete bloggers.

Michael Flach

“…this part of the season gives me a unique opportunity to “experiment” with my training in ways that I’ve never had the luxury of doing before. The biggest difference in my workout schedule doesn’t involve anything I’m doing in the water, however. It’s all focused on what I’m doing outside of it, which is a part of the sport that is often overlooked even though it is an essential key to success…”

[Keep reading Michael's blog post...]

Amanda Kendall

“Being the competitive person that I am, I was going to push through the pain and swim anyways, but after talking to our trainer and head coach, I was reminded that my health for SECs and NCAAs was more important than this meet. I was lucky that our trainer was on the trip, and I was able to receive treatment everyday…”

[Keep reading Amanda's blog post...]

Bradley Phillips

“I met with our nutritionist at the beginning of the year because I was interested in improving my eating habits, and also just to take advantage of the resources I have at my disposal. We discussed the foods I was eating everyday and what was good and bad about those. He suggested some tweaks in my diet to help me feel better and give me more energy for practice…”

[Keep reading Brad's blog post...]

]]> http://reachforthewall.com/2012/01/31/behind-the-blocks-making-strides-beyond-the-pool/feed/ 1 http://reachforthewall.com/2012/01/30/cavaliers-charge-into-regionals-with-patriot-district-win/ http://reachforthewall.com/2012/01/30/cavaliers-charge-into-regionals-with-patriot-district-win/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:19:19 +0000 Bryan Flaherty http://reachforthewall.com/?p=13302 Led by the strength of its upper class, Woodson girls’ (7-0) rebounded from a third place finish last year, to win the 2012 AAA Patriot District Championship. They beat West Springfield 414 to 353.

The Cavalier boys’ team (7-0) could not be slowed down again this year, winning the district championship for the third straight year. They were chased by West Springfield all night, but the experienced group of senior boys for Woodson would not be denied in a 525 to 476 win. Lake Braddock finished third in both meets.

Woodson got off to a blazing start with a win in diving from Ben Schiesl. Woodson divers would take first, third, fourth, and seventh on Friday morning, its second highest scoring event behind boys’ 100 breaststroke.

Bo Ilgenfritz stood out for the Cavaliers, winning both the 200 IM (1:59.43) and 100 breaststroke (58.74). Ilgenfritz broke the district record in the 100 breaststroke, set in 2003 by Andy Pelenberg (Annandale). He beat senior teammate Nathan Pease, who was over a second ahead of third, with a time of 1:00.01. Cory Hansen and Reid Penzler would complete the sweep for Woodson in 1:01.32 and 1:01.42.

Ilgenfritz fueled the second place 200 medley relay (1:38.58) and the winning 400 freestyle relay (3:18.38). They lost to West Springfield’s 200 medley relay (1:37.15), who broke the Patriot District record set by Woodson in 2010. The team of Sean Mayer, William Bryan, Colin Stephenson, and Jacob Anderson combined for the record.

South County‘s Evin Rude came up big for the Stallions in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. He cruised in the longer event to an easy win in 4:42.96, ahead of Woodson’s Colin Chartier (5:04.76). The 200 freestyle was a much closer race with West Springfield’s Mayer. But Rude was too much for Mayer in the end, winning 1:44.17 to 1:45.42.

Rude’s teammate Michael Herrmann was also a double winner, earning individual titles in the 100 butterfly (51.72) and 100 backstroke (51.96). He got an impressive win in the butterfly early in the meet over Stephenson (52.80), Jesse Kane (53.41), Cole McGarry (53.75), and Eric Chestnut (53.87), all with strong swims.

Herrmann was even better in the backstroke, crushing the field with a 51.96. Mayer was second for the second time that night in 54.55. He was followed by Woodson’s Alex Saffran (55.72) and James Chung (55.99).

Despite Ilgenfritz being their lone winner, Woodson’s boys kept getting on the wall in the top five all night.

The girls’ meet was won in similar fashion, capitalizing on the depth that has propelled them all season.

Woodson finished first in the girls’ 200 freestyle relay (1:40.98), second in the 200 medley relay (1:50.10), and third in 400 freestyle relay (3:42.22). Freshmen Lead Rogers and Rachel Ward were crucial ingredients in those relays, as was junior Morgan Bui and senior Rachel Rogers.

Leah Rogers was the only individual winner for the Cavalier ladies. She gutted out a tough win in the 100 butterfly (58.39), just ahead of Sara Bertram (58.69), Lauren Yi (58.95), and Jordan Parry (58.96).

Brooke Malone was one of only two double winners on the girls’ side of the meet. The South County sophomore earned an impressive win in a hotly contested girls’ 200 individual medley with a winning time of 2:11.33. She beat out West Potomac‘s Bertram (2:11.58), L. Rogers (2:12.14), and TC Williams Abigail Cox (2:12.43).

Malone also won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.51, beating Sophie Chase (Lake Braddock) and Rachel Rogers (Woodson), who finished in 1:07.68 and 1:08.40.

The other big winner on the girls side was Reanna Dona, senior at West Potomac, who finished her Patriot District career as the winner in the 50 freestyle (24.43) and 100 backstroke (57.95), the latter a new district record.

In the girls’ 200 freestyle, Robyn Dryer beat out West Potomac’s Hellen Moffitt and Lake Braddock’s Alyssa McGarry. Dryer finished in 1:55.63, pulling away from Moffitt (1:56.44) and A. McGarry (1:56.91) for the win.

Dryer and Moffitt would meet again in the 100 freestyle. This time Moffitt came out on top, winning in 53.89. She combined with teammate Maxine Clifford (54.01) to go 1-2 in the event. Robyn fell to third with a time of 54.08. TC Williams’ Gloriya Mavrova finished fourth in 54.62. Ward was fifth in 55.06.

Dona, Clifford, Bertram, and Moffitt got together to break the 200 medley relay record in a new time of 1:47.02, shattering the previous record of 1:50.50, set in 2008 by Lake Braddock. The same relay team would later win the 400 freestyle relay in 3:37.51.

In one of the few non-contests of the night, A. McGarry swam to a commanding lead in the 500 freestyle, winning by 11 seconds, with a time of 5:16.76, over Colleen Cox (TC Williams), who finished second in 5:27.96.

It will be a different game for the Cavaliers next week when they meet the winners from the Concorde, Liberty, and National Districts.

Defending girls’ regional and state champs Langley got an impressive win Saturday night, making a case for why they are still the team to beat, as did perennial challengers Yorktown and Oakton.

The boys’ regional meet will be a horse race between Woodson, Madison, and Oakton, who will stack up their super stars side by side next weekend at Oakmarr RECenter.

The AAA Northern Region championship meet gets started on Tuesday, Jan. 31, with girls’ diving. Boys’ diving will follow the next night, Feb. 1. Swimming relims this year will be split up, with the girls on Thursday and the boys on Friday. Finals will take place Saturday night with two heats in each event.

 Read more about the 2012 High School Championship meet season here.

The Cougar boys were even more dominant, racking up 506 points over the Chargers. Chantilly finished second with 412 points. Westfield was third on boy sides with 334.5 (girls) and 332.5 (boys) points. Their top end talent will be hard for the likes of Woodson and Madison to compete with next week at the regional championship.

It was automatic for Hu, who won convincingly in the girls’ 200 IM (2:02.79) and 100 backstroke (55.17). She is the defending state champion in the 200 IM and 50 freestyle, and also the Northern Region record holder in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Logan Coulson-Moore blew away the field in the 200 freestyle, winning by nearly five seconds, in 1:55.51. She finished second to Hu in the 100 backstroke in 58.66.

Carli Molano made a case for why she is the area’s best sprinter. The Westfield senior won the 50 freestyle in 23.94 and the 100 freestyle in 52.19, surging ahead of runner-up Laura Branton, who finished in 24.63 and 53.93, respectively.

Rachel Anderson (Centreville) got the win in the 100 butterfly (59.11) over Oakton’s Gillian Crews (59.41). Crews teammates, Julia Capobianco and Gabriela Galvez, would clean of the top four in 1:00.22 and 1:01.43.

It was that kind of night for Oakton’s girls, who did a great job on Friday night of placing their swimmers in the top heats on Saturday.

In one of the few races that didn’t feature an Oakton swimmer, the girls’ 500 freestyle came down to the wire between Chantilly’s Maggie Shaw and Robinson‘s Kathleen Dodson. Shaw would best Dodson by less than half a second, winning 5:15.41 to 5:15.80.

Finishing up the individual events was Jenna Van Camp (Herndon). The Olympic Trials qualifier finished in 1:03.89. She is in a league of her own in the breaststroke event this year.

Oakton’s boys were bolstered by wins in the 200 medley (1:38.04) and 200 freestyle (1:29.90) relays. They would disqualify in the 400 freestyle relay, where they would most likely have finished second to Chantilly’s winning squad of William Schulte, Evan Baker, Christopher Grimmett-Norris, and Brian Rothschild, who finished in 3:15.41.

Chantilly may have come up short in the team competition, but junior Grimmett-Norris did not leave empty handed. He took first in the boys’ 200 freestyle (1:42.26), beating out Oakton’s Philip Hu (1:43.79).

While the top-dogs fought for first, the race for third was even more thrilling. Conor Cudahy (Herndon) touched first, just ahead of Oakton’s Brian Phillips (1:46.96) and teammate Johnathan Nguyen (1:47.08), to take third in 1:46.81.

Grimmett-Norris had a much closer race in the 500 freestyle, as Phillips refused to shrink from the competition. Grimmett-Norris got the win in 4:42.10, just ahead of Phillips in 4:42.83. Cudahy finished third in 4:45.55.

Hu showed Robinson’s Matthew Jones and Westfield’s Richard Xue why he’s still one of the best butterfliers in the region, winning the 100 butterfly event in a blazing 50.58. Jones finished second in 52.10; Xue was third in 53.50.

Xue was the big winner in the boys’ 200 IM (1:56.85), in a close race with Oakton’s Denny Nguyen (1:56.94). Rothschild faded to third in 1:58.28.

Xue’s teammate Brandon Fiala continued to impress winning both the 50 freestyle in 21.47 and the 100 breaststroke in a blistering 57.78. It was not even close. Jones was second in 22.05, just .04 seconds ahead of Carter Sharer (Oakton) in third.

Sharer got the win in the 100 freestyle with a 48.28. His only challenger was teammate Conor Murphy, who took second in 48.45.

Murphy would take first later in the meet, winning the 100 backstroke by a wide margin, with a time of 52.73. Matthew Glowacki was second in 55.71.

The AAA Northern Region championship meet gets started on Tuesday, Jan. 31, with girls’ diving. Boys’ diving will follow the next night, Feb. 1. Swimming prelims will be split up this year, with the girls on Thursday and the boys on Friday. Finals will take place Saturday night with two heats in each event.

 Read more about the 2012 High School Championship meet season here.