On the final day at NCSA Junior Nationals, all the usual suspects could be found in the top heats, performing as they had all week, as area swimmers added more Olympic Trial cuts to an already large haul from the week’s meet in Orlando.

Rachel Bootsma (Aquajets) won her fourth gold medal of the meet in the women’s 50-meter backstroke, posting the fastest time in the world  this year. Her time of 27.84 seconds was over a second ahead of second place. Bootsma is a legitimate contender for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the 100 backstroke. The 50 backstroke is not swum in the Olympics. Curl-Burke’s Janet Hu finished in seventh (29.99).

Bootsma saw Hu again in the women’s 50 freestyle. In their second duel of the night, Hu got the better of the Minnesota star, finishing in second place earning her sixth OT cut. She finished in 26.09, .06 ahead of Bootma who was third. The event was won by Kristen Vredeveld (Baylor Swim Club) in 25.92. Caroline McTaggart (All Star Aquatics) was fourth in 26.31, earning her second Trials cut. McTaggart’s first OT cut came in the 100 freestyle earlier in the week.

Katie Ledecky Curl-Burke won the women’s 800 freestyle in a time of 8:33.48. It was not a best time for the 15-year-old distance star, and not even close to her converted National Age Group record in the 1,000-yard freestyle — 9:25.07 (SCY) converts to 8:24.53 (LCM) – set on the opening night of Junior Nationals, but is still good enough for the fifth best swim by an American this year. Ledecky’s personal best of 8:30.14, posted at the Missouri Grand Prix in February, is the third best time by an American in 2012.

Expect the rankings to change rapidly now that the NCAA short-course season is over and collegiate swimmers shift focus to long-course competitions and Olympic Trials.

Finishing in the top eight in the event, 13-year-old Megan Byrnes, another promising young distance swimmer, dropped 27 seconds off her personal best to finish in 8:55.68.

Jack Conger (RMSC) completed the sweep of the backstroke events, winning the 50 backstroke convincingly. His time of 26.06 puts him right behind National Teamers Eugene Godsoe, Matt Grevers and Nick Thoman — Conger’s likely competition in the 100 and 200 backstroke at Trials. Conger got his second win of the night — fifth of the meet — in the 50 freestyle with an Olympic Trials cut of 23.23. He tied Andrew Sansoucie (Rec-Plex Sharks) for first. Philip Hu (Curl-Burke) finished sixth in the 50 backstroke with a time of 27.60.

Conger and Ledecky earned Performance of the Meet awards for their inspiring swims in the 200-meter backstroke and 1,650-yard freestyle. Conger buried the competition in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.54, winning by over four seconds. Ledecky had an equally dominating performance in the 1,650 freestyle, setting the 15-16 National Age Group record in the event, as well as besting the NAG record in the 1,000 freestyle in her opening 1,000 split.

Sarah Haase (RMSC) finished third in the women’s 200 individual medley with a time of 2:18.74. She came in behind Emily Cameron (Lancaster Aquatic) and Bootsma, who finished in 2:16.13 and 2:17.82, respectively.

Charlotte Meyer (RMSC) was fifth, grabbing her second OT cut, in a time of 2:19.74. Rachel Canty (Curl-Burke) finished eighth in 2:22.69. Haase will swim next year at Stanford University.

Garrett Powell (RMSC) cruised to his second Junior National title and another personal best in the men’s 1,500-meter race, finishing in a time of 15:41.66, shaving another five seconds off his personal best. Powell had already qualified for Olympic Trials in the mile event. He has signed to swim next year at the University of Georgia.

Winnings his third event of the meet, Max Williamson (Northern Kentucky) took first in the men’s 200 individual medley in a winning time of 2:02.96.

Having a monster meet in his own right, Andrew Seliskar (Curl-Burke) placed third in the IM event with an OT qualifying time of 2:05.70. It was Seliskar’s third OT cut of the meet, making him the youngest male swimmer from the Potomac Valley to qualify for the Trials. Seliskar won the men’s 200 butterfly on the second time of competition.

Complete results

Ledecky swimming the 1,000 freestyle at the Tom Dolan Invitational (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Her time of 4 minutes 8.87 seconds was over five seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Ledecky lowered her previous personal best by .63 seconds, as she continues to inch towards Janet Evans legendary 15-16 NAG record of 4:05.45, set in 1988. It was the 15-year-old’s third win of the week for Curl-Burke.

Jack Conger (RMSC) continued to show why he is one of the most promising young swimmers in the country winning the men’s 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly on Friday night at the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando. It was Conger’s third Junior National title of the week, having already won the 200 backstroke on Wednesday night.

In the 100 backstroke, Conger hung with a tight pack for the first leg of the race  before turning it on in the final 25 meters to win in 55.45 seconds. Like in the 200 backstroke, Conger’s stroke was clinic in form, displaying a slightly higher turnover rate in the sprint event, but still maintaining a steady, even body roll, his shoulders meeting his chin on every stroke. He won the event by 1.43 seconds.

Conger then won the 100 butterfly with another well swam race, looking relaxed from start to finish. His time of 53.46 was a personal best by over half a second. Also in the race, 15-year-old Andrew Seliskar (Curl-Burke) finished seventh in 55.56, just .27 away from reaching his third OT cut.

Swimming the same double as Conger, Aquajets’ Rachel Bootsma added two more golds to the one she had already earned this week, winning the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. She won the former in a lightning 1:00.02, less than half a second off her own NAG record. She was equally impressive in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.63.

Bootsma chose to go unrested for this meet. Instead, she is swimming through this meet to prepare for Olympic Trials, where the 18-year-old senior has a very real chance of earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in the 100 backstroke event if she can sneak past the two-time Olympic Gold medalist in the event, Natalie Coughlin, and 200 backstroke world record holder, Missy Franklin.

Curl-Burke’s Janet Hu finished behind Bootsma in both events, touching in fifth in backstroke (1:03.56) and fourth in butterfly (1:01.53). She already had achieved OT cuts in each. Caroline McTaggart (All Star Aquatics) was eighth in the butterfly event with a time of 1:03.26.

It was not all smooth sailing for local swimmers, who entered the night’s finals seeded first in five of the eight events.

After qualifying first out of prelims, Garrett Powell faded to fourth in the men’s 400 freestyle after Reed Malone, winner of the 200 freestyle on Thursday, stunned everyone by taking the race out in a blistering 1:54.25. Malone brought it home under two minutes to win the event in 3:52.3.

Powell could not hang with Malone during the first half of the race and never mounted a charge, finishing in 4:01.15. Powell was hoping to add a second event to his Olympic Trials schedule, having already made the cut in the 1,500 freestyle, but missed the cut in the 400 freestyle by just over one second.

Sarah Haase (RMSC) entered the final of the women’s 200 breaststroke looking like the swimmer to beat. She was the top qualifier out of prelims with a new short-course yards personal best. She had already won the 50 and 100 breaststroke events earlier in the meet as well.

But like Powell, the top-seeded RMSC swimmer slipped to fourth, as Haase finished in 2:35.72, well behind the event’s winner Anne Lazor. Haase was pushed early by Lazor, as the pair took the first 100 out in 2 minutes 12 seconds. Haase faded, while Lazor kept going to finished in 2:31.47.

Carsten Vissering (Curl-Burke), Bo Ilgenfritz(Machine), and Gregory Song (Curl-Burke) represented the PVS in the men’s 200 breaststroke, although none were in the top heat. Vissering moved up two positions from his seed to finish 22nd overall in 2:26.84. Ilgenfritz and Song were in the heat before, finishing 27th and 29th overall in 2:27.61 and 2:28.73, respectively.

Out of the ‘C’ Final of the women’s 100 backstroke, RMSC’s Catherine Mulquin made her first OT cut in a time of 1:03.98, getting under by .01 seconds.

Jack Conger rocked the competition Wednesday night in the men’s 200-meter backstroke, bringing the crowd to their feet in the Orlando YMCA Aquatic Center and sending the announcers scrambling to determine how close the 17-year-old phenom was to the National Age Group record.

(Ricky Carioti/For The Washington Post)

His time of 1 minute 58.54 seconds was well off two-time Olympic gold medalist Aaron Peirsol‘s mark of 1:55.15, but good enough for the seventh fastest time by an American this year, according to USASwimming.org. He won the finals heat at NCSA Junior Nationals by a whopping 4.45 seconds against the nation’s best swimmers under 18 years old.

Conger won the event in the same way he has all year, with powerful underwaters off every wall and near-perfect technique, eliciting cheers from teammates and admirers alike.

With his head locked in place, shoulders and hips guiding his rotation an almost complete 180 degrees from side-to-side, the young star’s lanky arms propelled him through the water with a steady turnover rate from start to finish.

Conger, still a long-shot to make the U.S. Olympic team this summer, will face tough competition at Olympic Trials in his best event, the 200m backstroke, from Olympians Ryan Lochte and Matt Grevers, as well as national team members Nick Thoman and Tyler Clary, and age group rival Ryan Murphy in one of the Americans’ best events.

Conger’s RMSC teammate, Sarah Haase (17), won the women’s 100 breaststroke in impressive fashion, leaving the field in her wake by a full 1.5 seconds. She lowered her long-course best by .03 seconds to maintain her 16th place ranking among U.S. swimmers.

15-year-old Andrew Seliskar (Curl-Burke) swam a gutsy race to win the men’s 200 butterfly in 2:01.80, achieving his first Olympic Trials cut. He was out in a blistering 57.74 for an early lead over the finals heat. He hung on during the final 100 meters to out-touch New Trier’s Reed Malone (16) and Aquazot’s Corey Okubo (16) by .06 and .24, respectively.

Andrew Seliskar swimming butterfly at the Va. AAA Northern Region Championships (Preston Keres/The Washington Post)

It was Seliskar’s second final of the night. After qualifying first in the men’s 100 breaststroke, the rising star finished fourth in 1:05.71. Machine’s Bo Ilgenfritz was seventh in 1:06.18.

Caroline McTaggart (All Star Aquatics) picked up her first Olympic Trials cut in the women’s 100 freestyle. She finished second behind Rachel Bootsma (Aquajets), 56.02 to 56.63. Katie Ledecky (Curl-Burke) was third in 56.71 seconds. Janet Hu (Curl-Burke) was fifth in 57.43. Ledecky broke two NAG records on the opening night of competition in the 1,650 and 1,000-yard freestyle events.

Hellen Moffitt (Curl-Burke) narrowly missed reaching her second Olympic Trials cut in the women’s 200 backstroke. Her time of 2:18.12 was good enough for eighth overall. Jillian Vitarius of Blue Tide Aquatics won the event in 2:12.69. At the conclusion of the night’s finals, Moffitt was allowed to swim the 200 backstroke again in a time trial against two other swimmers who had missed the OT cut. In her second try, the 16-year-old went a personal best 2:17.32. to achieve her second Trials cut — she had already qualified in the 100 backstroke event.

To conclude the women’s events on Wednesday night, NOVA Aquatics’ Emma Nunn stunned Bootsma to win the women’s 200 butterfly, 2:12.02 to 2:14.67. After a strong first 100 meters, Hu faded to 5th in 2:15.91. Nunn’s unconventional stroke was on display at the Tom Dolan Invitational in December where she was beat out by Hu in the short-course meet. But tonight, Nunn came out on top, splitting 33.96 in her final 50 to pull away from Bootsma.

No Potomac Valley swimmer qualified for the top heat of the men’s 100 freestyle, which was won by New Trier Swim Club (Northfield, Illinois) swimmers Jonathan Grodecki (17) and Malone in times of 50.92 and 51.06. Sean Sullivan (Curl-Burke) was the highest area finisher in a time of 53.07. He finished 21st overall.

Day One recap: “Ledecky breaks two NAG records in first event as a 15-year-old”

Complete live results

Curl-Burke swimmer Ledecky led the way, breaking two 15-16 National Age Group records during the girls’ 1,650-yard freestyle. RMSC’s Powell won the boys’ 1,000 freestyle. To conclude the first night of competition, both local squads placed relay teams in the top three during the girls’ and boys’ 200 medley relays.

Starting today, the tough part of the meet begins for swimmers with morning prelims swam in short-course yards with long-course finals taking place less than six hours after prelims conclude. The added pressure of making finals makes for an even more exciting night environment for swimmers who qualify for a second swim and a chance at dropping time to move up in the rankings.

For live results from preliminaries and finals, click here

Over the next four days of competition, here are RFTW’s four storylines to watch:

1. Last chance to qualify for Olympic Trials

Potomac Valley LSC will already be well represented at this year’s Olympic Trials, but there are still many swimmers on the edge that are eager to make what is arguably the fastest meet in the world, including the Olympic Games.

While some swimmers will travel to one of the remaining three Grand Prix meets scheduled over the next four month, for most, this meet is the last chance to swim against top-notch competition in the long-course format. But swimmers will only get that chance if they are able to qualify for one of the four finals heats, swam in the long-course format.

Olympic Trials time standards
Complete list of PVS Olympic Trials qualifiers (as of Feb. 14)

2. Local teams battling for national title

Although often an afterthought in the highly individualized swimming world, the team competition will be hard-fought between local powerhouses Curl-Burke — last year’s champion — and Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club, as well as 2010 winner NOVA Aquatic (Richmond) and an Aquajets Swim Team (Eden Prairie, Minn.) led by U.S. National Team member Rachel Bootsman.

Curl-Burke and RMSC bring their largest squads ever to this year’s meet, with approximately 90 and 60 swimmers each. Among those swimmers are superstars such as Ledecky and Powell — who have already proved they can win at this meet — as well as Jack Conger and Janet Hu.

Outside of the top stars, and more significant to the team competition, are the number of entries each team boasts in the top 20. Entering the meet, Curl-Burke has 50 individual entries in the top 20, as well as 14 relays in the top five, while RMSC has over 30 individual entries in the top 20, plus 12 relays in the top five.

3. Brutal schedules for the biggest stars of tomorrow

Jack Conger (RMSC) and Janet Hu (Curl-Burke) are two of the best all-around age group swimmers in the country. Each has multiple Olympic Trials cuts and will probably add to their current total this week at Juniors. Conger is currently entered in 11 individual events — including eight as the top seed — and can swim on all five of RMSC’s relay teams. Hu has nine events on her schedule, all seeded in the top five, and will certainly contribute in several of Curl-Burke’s relays.

Do not expect either swimmer to swim every event they are entered in, but the question still remains — can this pair of 17- and 16-year-olds hold up against these Phelpsian schedules that few swimmers undertake? Hu will face competition in nearly every event from Aquajets’ Bootsma, but it is conceivable that Conger could win any of the 11 individual events he swims due to his unique combination of top-end speed, endurance, and untouchable underwaters — not to mention a chance at grabbing a few NAG records on the way.

4. How low will Katie Ledecky go?

While Conger and Hu’s Olympic Trials goals are geared towards making it to an elusive finals heat, reserved for the top eight swimmers in the country, 15-year-old Katie Ledecky has her sights on an even bigger goal — making the U.S. Olympic Team. 

She has already taken down two NAG records held by former Olympian Kate Ziegler, but can she inch towards taking down Janet Evans‘ untouchable records of 4:05.45 in the 400-meter freestyle and 8:17.12 in the 800-meter freestyle.

Hitting times like those would go a long way towards securing herself a spot on the 2012 London squad. We might not see it this week in Orlando, but after the drops she has been able to make over the last six months, I do not think anyone would rule it out at Trials in June/July.

Ledecky’s current best in the events are 4:09.30 and 8:30.14, respectively, the latter ranking her fourth in the world in 2012. She will also be in the mix for the top spot in the 200 freestyle event where she is currently seeded third.

For live results from preliminaries and finals, click here

Katie Ledecky set two National Age Group records on the opening night of the NCSA Junior National Swimming Championships at the Orlando YMCA Aquatic Center.

In her first race as a 15-year-old, Ledecky eclipsed the 15-16 NAG records in the girls’ 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle, held by 2008 Olympian and FISH swimmer Kate Ziegler, during the timed final of the 1,650 freestyle event on Tuesday night.

The Curl-Burke star took her first 1,000 yards of the 1,650 freestyle event out fast, splitting 9:25.07 to break the 1,000 freestyle record, set in 2005, by .44 seconds.

Her pace barely slowed as she pushed through to break her second NAG record in the same race, for a new 1,650 freestyle record of 15:40.38, finishing a full 50 yards ahead of second place.

Ledecky burst onto the national spotlight four months ago when she broke two NAG records in the 13-14 500 and 1,000 freestyle. She later surprised many by winning the women’s 800-meter freestyle at the Missouri Grand Prix in the fourth fastest time swam in 2012 — fastest by an American.

Graduating senior Ellen Anderson (RMSC) finished eighth in 16:37.33. Ledecky’s Curl-Burke teammate Megan Byrnes (13) finished 11th in 16:41.94.

On the other side of the pool deck, RMSC’s Garrett Powell (17) won the boys’ 1,000 freestyle in a time of 8:57.28. Teammate Brady Welch (15) was 17th in 9:18.12.

Tuesday’s events individual events were swam timed finals because neither are Olympic events. Wednesday will be the first day of the short-course preliminaries, followed by long-course finals, where many many young swimmers are still hoping to achieve their Olympic Trials cuts during finals.

Complete results

Complete meet results

Timothy Wu (Curl-Burke) stepped into the spotlight over the weekend, walking away with the boys’ high point award and five records at this year’s PVS 14 & Under Junior Olympics, which took place Mar. 15-17 at Fairland Aquatic Center.

Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club won the team competition with a total of 5469.5 points. Curl-Burke was second with 5098.5, followed by FISH (1862.5) and Machine Aquatics (1412).

Wu set PVS resident records in all three breaststroke distances, including the open record in the 200 breaststroke event, on his way to six individual and four relay wins for Curl-Burke.

During prelims of the boys’ 11-12 50 breaststroke, Wu broke Carsten Vissering’s resident record of 29.436 by over half a second to win in 28.72. Wu then broke Devin Truong’s (RMSC) resident record in the boys’ 11-12 100 breaststroke for a new time of 1:02.43.

Wu also led off Curl-Burke’s record-setting boys’ 11-12 400 freestyle relay, which eclipsed the previous records by over 1.5 seconds to win in 3:34.65. Wu was joined by Will Cumberland, Andrew Rothstein, and Andrew Alarcon. The same foursome would also set a PVS resident record in the boys’ 11-12 200 freestyle relay, finishing in a time of 1:37.64, and won the 200 and 400 medley relays in 1:48.74 and 4:02.18, respectively.

Wu finished his record-setting campaign by setting the boys’ 12 & under 200 breaststroke resident and open records with a time of 2:15.51, over 14 seconds ahead of second place. Wu also won the 50 (24.02), 100 (51.45) and 200 (1:52.19) freestyle events.

Wu was not the only one breaking records, continuing to show just how deep and talented the PVS is right now in the 11 to 14 year-old age groups.

Cassidy Bayer (12) went under Curl-Burke teammate Janet Hu’s — who will compete this week at Junior Nationals — resident and open records in the girls’ 200 butterfly during prelims. She would later blow away the competition in finals to set a final record of 2:03.82, shattering Hu’s old mark by 1.5 seconds.

Bayer also took first place in the 50 freestyle (24.52), 50 backstroke (28.13), 50 butterfly (25.72), 100 freestyle, (52.77), and 100 butterfly (57.07). Bayer earned the meet’s girls’ high point honors.

Bayer also teamed up with Emily Meilus, Sydney Mathis, and Mimi Baker to break the girls’ 11-12 200 freestyle relay, for a new mark of 1:41.57. Bayer was also a member of the winning 200 medley, 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Isabella Rongione (12) won the girls’ 11-12 500 freestyle in record-breaking time. The FISH swimmer lowered Katie Ledecky’s (Curl-Burke) previous PVS records — both the resident and open record — by over a second to finish in 4:56.58. She was also a winner in the 200 and 1,000 freestyle events in 1:54.36 and 10:06.76, respectively, as well as the 200 IM in 2:08.71.

Thomas Brown de Colstoun (RMSC) stole Kurtis Ratcliff’s six-year resident record in the boys’ 12 & under 200 butterfly, setting a new mark of 2:06.29. He was also a winner in the 100 butterfly (58.45), 200 individual medley (2:09.10) and 500 freestyle (5:04.23).

Owen van Krimpen (Curl-Burke) set a new record in the boys’ 13-14 100 freestyle, with a blazing fast 46.87. He broke Craig Ammon’s 1983 resident record of 47.02, one of the oldest 14 & under records in the books. Van Krimpen also won the 400 IM in 4:11.99.

James Murphy (Machine Aquatic) set the PVS open record in the boys’ 13-14 200 freestyle with a time of 1:42.64, missing Ammon’s resident record of 1:42.01. Murphy also won the 200 butterfly (1:54.60) and 500 freestyle (4:37.87).

Complete meet results

Faerber wins 1 & 3-meter events at USA Diving Spring Region 2 Championships

Complete meet results

Weeks after winning his first Maryland state title, graduating senior Timothy Faerber (Dominion Dive Club) swept the 1-meter and 3-meter boards in the boys’ 16-18 division, winning by a wide margin in each. His final scores were 539.25 and 535.45. Faerber will dive for Michigan next year.

12-year-old Hailey Fisher (Alexandria Dive Club) won the girls’ 12-13 1-meter competition with a score of 265.80. She was second on the 3-meter board with a score of 278.15.

Faerber and Fisher advanced to East Nationals, hosted by Montgomery Dive Club at the Montgomery Aquatic Center, April 12-15.

DDC and ADC each qualified five divers for East Nationals, who will be joined by any pre-qualifiers based on scores. Montgomery Dive Club had only one diver, Kali Becker, compete, and she advanced as well.

Complete meet results

Katie Ledecky wins first Grand Prix gold

After missing Winter Nationals due to illness, Curl-Burke swimmer and Olympic hopeful Katie Ledecky needed race experience in the long course format. She got her chance over the weekend at the 2012 Missouri Grand Prix, in Columbia. The 14-year-old has burst onto the national scene over the last six months as one of America’s premier female distance freestylers.

Ledecky swam three events during the three day meet, and seemed to get stronger and more confident with each race. On Day One, the high school freshman finished fifth in the women’s 200-meter freestyle in 2:00.01, in a personal-best time. The next morning Ledecky qualified first in the 400 freestyle, but would drop one spot during the night final, finishing second in 4:09.30, another personal best.

She saved her best for last. In the women’s 800 freestyle timed final, Ledecky set the pace from the start, going out in 2:04.86, less than five seconds off her personal best in the 200 freestyle event, set two days before. She would continue to pull away from the rest of the field to finish nine seconds ahead of second place in 8:30.14, beating 16-year-old Leah Smith (8:39.52) and Olympic open water swimmer Chloe Sutton (8:41.65), who finished second and third.

The time was good enough for fourth best in the world this year, and it was the second fastest time by a 13-14 year-old in history, just missing the National Age Group record set by Cynthia “Sippy” Woodhead in 1978, with a time of 8:29.35. Ledecky owns the NAG records in the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle events, set in November.

Great Britain’s Rebecca Adlington (8:22.35), the 2008 Olympic Gold medalist in the 800 and 400m freestyle, Denmark’s Lotte Friis (8:27.93), the event’s bronze medalist, and Great Britain’s Eleanor Faulkner (8:29.70) hold the top three spots in the world, currently.

While the time ranks Ledecky as the fastest American in the event this year, she will have stiff competition next June at Olympic Trials from Olympians Sutton, Kate Ziegler, Katie Hoff, and Allison Schmitt.

Conger, Gonzaga excel at Metros [Updated w/ Video Highlights]

At what was one of the fastest Wash. Metro Interscholastic championship meets in recent memory, 13 meet records were broken, as well as a slew of participating teams’ league and team records.

Gonzaga rolled to a team scoring record in the boys’ meet, while MCPS rivals Churchill and Whitman battled each other till the end in the girls’ meet. Churchill started the swimming portion of the championship meet with a 54 point lead, thanks to a dominant performance by the Bulldog divers.

Whitman tried its best to make up the difference with top finishes in nearly every girls event, but Churchill was able to hold them off. Saving the win for the Bulldogs was senior Natalya Ares, who picked up big points for her team by winning the 100 butterfly and later staving off Sarah Haase in the girls’ 400 freestyle relay, to pick up vital second-place points for Churchill to seal the victory.

While Good Counsel fell behind in the team competition, its leaders, Jack Conger and Haase, provided some of the best highlights of the year with their swims in the boys’ 500 freestyle and girls’ 100 breaststroke, both Independent High School National Records.

Read more from the 2012 Metro Swimming & Diving Championship here [highlight videos within].

Rosenburg, Doyle shine among area teams at Va. AA/A state championship meet [updated to include Tuscarora High School]

Northern Virginia teams traveled to the Virginia AA/A Swimming and Diving championship meet, held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Christiansburg, Va., on Friday to go up against the best AA and A schools from across the state. Brentsville District finished seventh in the boys’ competition, just ahead of ninth place Potomac Falls. On the girls’ side, Potomac Falls was seventh; Dominion ninth; Tuscarora tenth.

Top performers from area teams were Kaleigh Rosenburg (Heritage) and Justin Doyle (Brentsville District), who collected am individual state title each.

Rosenburg won the girls’ 100 breaststroke in 1:03.21. She was also fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:06.55).

Kayleigh Rosenburg swimming to a state title in the 100 breaststroke. (Photo provided by Gemma Rosenburg)

Doyle was the big winner in the boys’ 50 freestyle, finishing in 21.76. He would follow that performance up with a third in the boys’ 100 freestyle (48.19). Brentsville teammate Ben Cumberland was eighth in 50 freestyle in 22.31.

Rosenburg and Doyle were the lone state champions for the teams from Prince William and Loudoun counties, but area swimmers were in abundance in the top heats all night.

William Lin (Potomac Falls) was fourth in the boy’s 200 individual medley (1:58.19).

In the boys’ 100 butterfly, Brennan Maxwell (Briar Woods) was fifth in 53.67. Jake Koenig (Loudoun County High School) was eighth in 54.89.

Aidan O’Hara (Dominion) placed sixth in the boys’ 500 freestyle with a time of 4:52.90. O’Hara was sixth (55.41)  in the 100 backstroke as well, ahead of Lucas Cherry (George Mason) who finished eighth (55.76).

On the girls’ side, Sophie Newton (Loudoun County) was third in the 50 freestyle in 24.63. Newton was also fifth in the girls’ 100 butterfly (58.54), ahead of Rachel Williams (Dominion), who was seventh in 1:00.15.

Another fifth-seventh finish came in the girls’ 500 freestyle, where Lizzie Mittan (Briar Woods) in 5:16.89, two spots ahead of Jalyn Marks (Dominion) in 5:21.50.

Amanda Presgraves was fifth behind Rosenburg in the girls’ 100 breaststroke, finishing in a time of 1:06.82.

Osbourn Park repeats as Northwest Region champs

Osbourn Park boys’ and girls’ swim teams successfully defended their AAA Northwestern Region Championship titles on Friday at the Freedom Aquatics Center in Manassas. The Yellow Jacket girls scored 319 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Albermarle (256) and third-place Stafford (230.50). Osbourn Park’s boys compiled 334 points to finish more than 100 points ahead of runner-up Albemarle (238.50) and third-place Mountain View (202).

Read more from the 2012 AAA Northwest Region Swimming Championship here.

But swimming revved up the year before the 2012 Summer Olympics, again drawing the attention of fans beyond its immediate circle of swimmers, parents, and coaches.

Ryan Lochte took down the first world record in the post-super-suits era. Sixteen-year-old phenom Missy Franklin stepped out as a contender for Olympic gold. Swim suit manufactures unveiled their newest textile speed-suits. And gold medalist breaststrokers Brendan Hansen and Ed Moses ended their retirements in hopes of tasting Olympic glory one last time.

The DC, Va., and Md. metro areas saw their own swimmers making headlines locally and nationally. Let’s look back at RFTW’s top stories of 2011.

1. November 14 – Katie Ledecky shines at National Age Group Team Challenge

In a meet stacked with nationally ranked age group swimmers, 14-year old Kate Ledecky smashed two 13-14 National Age Group yards records at the 5th Annual National Age Group Team Challenge. Ledecky now finds herself in an elite category of American distance freestylers heading into 2012.

Katie Ledecky in the 1000 freestyle final (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

2. February 27 – Whitman girls repeat at metros; Gonzaga boys victorious

On a night when six meet records fell, depth proved to be the deciding factor for both the Whitman girls and the Gonzaga boys. The Purple Eagles won just one individual event and one relay but picked up enough points to capture their first Metros title since 2003. Whitman used nine top-five finishes to pile up enough points to pull away from Good Counsel and Churchill.

3. February 19 – Langley girls, Westfield boys win Va. AAA titles

After finishing in second place in district, regional and state competition last year, Langley senior Jayme Katis wrote on her team captain application that the Saxons would win region and state titles this winter. The team outdid that forecast, taking Liberty District and Northern Region titles on their way to the Va. AAA state title.

Madison senior Kelly Corish helped completed the sweep for the Warhawks at the AAA Northern Region diving championships (Photo courtesy of Sandy Corish).

4. March 22 – Locals shine at Junior Nationals; Curl-Burke wins

In a testament to the hotbed of swimming talent that is the greater Washington region, Curl-Burke Swim Club, a member of Potomac Valley Swimming, brought home the boys’ title as well as the combined team crown.

5. November 11 – On signing day, no letters to sign for three Maryland high school swimmers

On the eve of the early signing period for NCAA National Letters of Intent, three area high school swimmers — verbally committed to swim for the University of Maryland next year — were contacted by the school’s athletic department and told that Maryland would not be sending out letters to swimming recruits, and they should pursue offers from other institutions.

6. July 13 – Recap: MCSL Coaches Long Course Meet

With clear skies and large crowds lining the 50-meter Olympic-sized pool, nine records were broken and two Olympic Trials cuts were achieved at the MCSL Coaches Long Course meet at Rockville Swim Center.

The 15-18 women line-up for the 200m breaststroke at the 2011 MCSL Coaches' Long Course meet. (Danielle Schulkin)

7. February 19 – Churchill boys, Whitman girls take MCPS titles

Churchill’s boys team mounted a comeback after trailing early in the MCPS championship meet to beat defending champion Wootton. Sparked by dominant performances in both freestyle relays, the Whitman girls went on to claim a second consecutive championship.

8. July 7 – Joe Pascale: a swimmer and a fighter

Last summer at the 2010  Senior Nationals, Joe Pascale made his first Olympic Trials cut in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 23.20 seconds.  He attributes his recent success in the water to a swimming regimen supplemented with mixed martial arts.

9. August 8 – McLean, Conger impress at Nationals

Matt McLean broke Tom Dolan’s 1996 Potomac Valley Swimming resident record in the 400 freestyle.  The former All-Met from Potomac Falls produced the second-fastest time in the event for an American this year. Jack Conger breaks 15-16 year-old NAG record.

10. January 19 – “The Magic of Miracles”

In the summer of 2010, Chuck Katis (current Harvard swimmer) and twin sister Jayme founded a non-profit organization, which they named The Magic of Miracles, to bring wonder and joy to the lives of young cancer patients receiving treatment at local hospitals

11. December 12 – Records tumble at Tom Dolan Invitational

The year ended with a record setting meet held at the beautiful University of Maryland Eppley Center. The PVS record books were rewritten over the four day meet, including several National Age Group records.

Michael Andrews sets NAG record in 100 IM (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Lea Gwennap raises up at the start of the girls 11-12 200 backstroke.

Seeded first going into tonight, Sanjay Wijesekera (11) from RMSC went a personal best to remain in the top spot of the 11-12 200 backstroke in 2:08.56. Lea Gwennap, age 12, Curl-Burke, matched her seed time of 2:04.65 to win the girls event.

Sanjay Wijesekera cruises into the finish of the boys 11-12 200 backstroke.

The boys 1,000 held much of the same, the top two seeds remained unchanged in both the open and 13-14 events.

Brian Tsau (14) and Gregory Song (14) went one and two in the 13-14 1,000. Tsau won in a time of 9:25.91, with Song right behind with a time of 9:31.32. Both swim for Curl-Burke.

RMSC’s Garrett Powell (17) broke the PVS record in the boys open 1,000, holding consistent splits to beat Tyler Harris (23) from Trojan Swim Club, in a time of 9:00.87. Harris finished second in 9:04.12.

On what was largely an uneventful night with little change between seed and final positions, the girls mile saw the biggest changes in position and time.

17-year-old Kaitlin Jones (Quest Swimming) took second in the girls open 1,650 (17:02.24), dropping 22 seconds. Bailey Hall from NOVA took third (17:14.87). The biggest movers in the event were RMSC’s Leah Hubert, who dropped 40 seconds to take fourth-place (17:16.35), and Kayla Iverson, also from Quest, who dropped 55 seconds to take fifth-place (17:17.50).

Despite losing her cap mid-race, 14-year-old star, Katie Ledecky (Curl-Burke), won the event. She finished the race in 16:24.20, over 50 yards ahead of teammate Megan Byrnes (14), who finished second overall, winning the 13-14 girls event in a time of 16:59.02.

Katie Ledecky races ahead in the 1,650 despite losing her swim cap (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Ledecky opened up a body length lead over the top heat of the event’s timed final in the race’s first 200 yards. She never let up, building a wide lead before losing her cap with over 500 yards left. Her split times barely slowed, remaining under 31 seconds per 50 for the entire race.

Ledecky is recovering from an illness that knocked her out of the 2011 Winter Nationals last weekend in Atlanta.

Curl-Burke swimmers placed first in five of the eight events on Thursday night, but local rival RMSC was able to place several swimmers highly behind Curl-Burke’s winners.

Swimmers from out-of-town club teams Quest and North Carolina Aquatic also placed high on the first night of competition.

Prelims start Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. (13 & over) and 2:00 p.m. (12 & under). Finals will begin at 6:05 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For more information, click here.

To read more about the 2011 Tom Dolan, click here.

For complete results, click here.

“The last several years this has become a destination event for a lot of clubs. We are just about the fastest winter meet on the East Coast, many of our senior events require a USA senior national [qualifying] time to get in to finals,” said meet director, Brian Pawlowicz. “Many of our age group swimmers are listed in the top ten of their events according to USA Swimming.”

Prelims will begin at 8:45 a.m. (13 & over) and 2:00 p.m. (12 & under) Friday through Sunday. Finals sessions will begin nightly at 6:05 p.m for all age groups. The meet’s name-sponsor, two-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Dolan, will be in attendance on Sunday to present awards. The meet will be streamed live at SwimmingWorld.com.

For a second straight year, the meet will feature the Fran Crippen Memorial Mile, in honor of Fran Crippen, who lost his life in an open water swim in October 2010. Crippen was a former Germantown Academy standout and University of Virginia swimmer. Fran’s sister Madeleine Crippen will be presenting the mile awards on Sunday.

Here are some of the swimmers to key an eye on when they step up on the blocks.

Up-and-coming Curl-Burke star Lea Gwennap (12) is the top seed in all seven of her individual events — 200 backstroke (2 minutes 4.65 seconds), 100 back (58.74), 200 individual medley (2:09.21), 200 butterfly (2:09.05), 100 IM (59.86), 200 free (1:54.18) and 400 IM (4:27.61).

She will face stiff competition in several events from teammates Emily Meilus (12) and Cassidy Bayer (12). Bayer is the top seed in the 100 free (54.42), 50 fly (26.79), 50 free (25.18), and 100 fly (56.54). Meilus is seeded first in the 500 free (5:07.04).

Two events you won’t want to miss are the boys open 200 freestyle and the girls open 100 butterfly. For the boys, ten swimmers are under 1 minute 42 seconds in their 200 freestyle, which should make for a blistering “A” Final. The girls butterfly event will feature area standouts Natalya Ares (17) from RMSC, Alli Haufler (17) from Machine, and Curl-Burke teammates Janet Hu (16) and Hellen Moffitt (16).

Between them, Curl-Burke’s Anthony Nguyen (10) and RMSC’s Djordje Orcev (10) may walk away with nearly all of the 10 & Under boys awards. Nguyen is seeded first in the 50 fly (29.15), 100 breast (1:17.94), 200 IM (2:25.68), 100 IM (1:09.26), 100 fly (1:04.13), and 50 breast (36.27). Orcev holds the top spot in the 100 free (59.03) , 100 back (1:06.95), 50 free (27.16), 50 back (31.10), and 200 free (2:06.03). The only events in which they are seeded second, they are positioned behind the other.

The strongest all-around swimmer in the boys 11-12 age group, Devin Truong (12), RMSC, will challenge for seven first-place finishes and is currently the top seed in the 100 back (58.90), 200 breast (2:18.52), 200 IM (2:05.51), and 500 free (5:11.20).

Central Bucks’ Allie Szekely (13) is seeded first in four events — 100 breast (1:04.53), 400 IM (4:26.67), 200 breast (2:16.65), and 200 back (2:04.42) – but will challenge for first in each of the six events she has entered.

Carsten Vissering (14) from Curl-Burke has a shot at winning as many as five events and is currently seeded first in the 100 breast (58.30), 400 IM (4:13.87), 200 breast (2:07.19), and 200 IM (1:59.73).

The other half of the 13-14 boys events may be won by Machine’s James Murphy, the top seed in the 200 free (1:46.01), 100 fly (53.67), and 200 fly (1:56.96).

All-Met Swimmers of the Year, Sarah Haase (17) and Jack Conger (17) will be swimming just one week after representing RMSC at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta. Conger is the top seed in both the 100 back (47.95) and 200 back (1:43.16). Haase holds the top seed in the 100 breast (1:00.44).

Curl-Burke’s Katie Ledecky (14) is scheduled to swim up in seven girls open events. She is the top seed in the 500 freestyle (4:35.14), 1,000 freestyle (9:29.81), and 1,650 freestyle (16.07.33). Her times in the 500 and 1,000 free are 13-14 National Age Group Records, set last month at the National Age Group Team Challenge. Ledecky may scale back her meet schedule as she recovers from an illness that knocked her out of Winter Nationals last week.

In the 10 & Under girls events, Greenwich YMCA star Alex Walsh holds the top position in five events — 100 breast (1:15.92), 50 free (28.29), 100 IM (1:09.11), 50 breast (36.57) and 100 free (1:01.87). She is seeded second in her sixth event, the 200 IM (2:28.20).

An unknown on the east coast, Michael Andrew (12), swimming unattached for the Missouri Valley-LSC, is a clear favorite to win out in all of his events, which include the 50 breast (28.25), 100 free (49.58), 50 fly (24.57), 100 breast (1:02.08), 50 free (22.08), 100 IM (56.01), and 100 fly (56.31).

Other swimmers to watch are Curl-Burke’s Gregory Song (14), Zach Hayden (24), and Timothy Wu (12); Delaware Swim Team’s Tanner Kurz (18) and Lily Dubroff (14); and RMSC’s Jaycee Yegher (12), and Garrett Powell (17).

In previous years, RMSC and Curl-Burke have dominated this meet, taking first and second place in the team overall each year. Curl-Burke has 454 athletes currently entered in this year’s meet; RMSC 417. They will account for over fifty percent of the 7,144 individual entries.

Live results for both prelims and finals will be posted here as soon as events have concluded.

For a complete psych sheet, click here.

Teams from outside of the Potomac Valley-LSC participating include Central Bucks Swim Team (Doylestown, Pa.); Chesapeake Bay Aquatic Club (St. Mary’s City, Md.); Delaware Swim Team (Wilmington, Del.); Greenwich YWCA Dolphins (Greenwich, Conn.); North Carolina Aquatic Club (Chapel Hill, N.C.); NOVA of Virginia Aquatics (Richmond, Va.); Pine-Richland Aquatics (Gibsonia, Pa.) ; Poseidon Swimming (Richmond, Va.); Prince Williams Swim Club (Woodbridge, Va.); Quest Swimming (Midlothian, Va.); Rivertown Aquatics Rays (Pleasantville, N.Y.); Suburban Seahawks Club (Elwyn, Pa.); Tidewater Aquatic Club (Chesapeake, Va.); Tri-City Aquatic Club (Virginia Beach, Va.); and Trojan Swim Club (Los Angeles, Ca.)