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.)

Rachael Burnett (West Virginia University/Potomac Marlins) finished sixth in a timed finals of the women’s 800 freestyle in a time of 8 minutes 47.44 seconds.

Moving up one position, Jack Conger (RMSC) finished ninth in the “A” Final of the men’s 200 backstroke (2:02.27).

In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Jennifer Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) was able to improve upon her morning swim by over two seconds, finishing in 16th place, with a time of 2:33.25. RMSC’s Sarah Haase dropped several positions from her seed, finishing in 19th position, with a time of 2:35.48. George Mason’s Ashley Danner (Mason Makos) touched fifth in the “C” Final in a time of 2:35.57, 25th overall.

Janet Hu finished 13th in the women’s 200 butterfly (2:12.78).

Michael Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) finished second in his heat of the men’s 200 butterfly (2:02.01), improving on his morning swim by two seconds, finishing 22nd overall. Mark Sarman (Georgia Tech/Curl-Burke) finished in 30th place with a time of 2:05.94.

Make sure to catch the rebroadcast of the 2011 Winter Nationals finals on NBC, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.

2011 Winter Nationals: Day Three – Prelims

Swimmers were back in the water Saturday morning for the final day of preliminary qualifying at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta.

Jack Conger swimming backstroke (Courtesy of Bridget Conger)

Conger (RMSC) reached his second “A” Final of the meet in the men’s 200 backstroke in a time of 2 minutes 1.98 seconds.

After facing off in Friday night’s 100 breaststroke finals, Haase (RMSC) and Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) will meet each other in the “B” Final of the women’s 200 breaststroke. Haase is seeded 16th with a time of 2:35.13. Wilson is right on her heels, seeded 17th, with a time of 2:35.50. Finishing 24th in prelims, Danner (George Mason University/Mason Makos) will appear in the “C” Final, with a time of 2:36.65.

Curl-Burke’s Hu will appear in the “B” Final of the women’s 200 butterfly (2:14.78) as the 13th seed.

Also making it back in the 200 butterfly, Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) finished in 26th position with a time of a 2:04.38, as well as Sarman (Georgia Tech/Curl-Burke) in a time of 2:04.78, finishing in 30th position. They will swim Saturday night in the “C” Final.

For full results, click here.

In Friday night’s first heat, Rachel Burnett (University of West Virginia/Potomac Marlins) took second in the “C” Final of the women’s 400 individual medley (22nd overall) with a time of 4 minutes 54.07 seconds, improving her time from Friday morning by over five seconds.

Curl-Burke’s Janet Hu posted a time of 1:1.28 in the women’s 100 butterfly, finishing in 26th place.

Matt McLean (FAST/U-Va./SNOW) moved up one position in the 200 freestyle (1:49.66), finishing second in his heat and 12th overall.

In a “B” Final packed with local talent, Jennifer Wilson (Northwestern University/Curl-Burke) out-touched RMSC’s Sarah Haase in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:10.49, finishing 13th overall. Haase finished in 14th place, less than one-tenth of a second behind, in a time of 1:10.58. George Mason junior Ashley Danner (Mason Makos) finished ninth in the heat, 19th overall, in a time of 1:11.78.

The night concluded with the men’s 100 backstroke, where Jack Conger (RMSC) finished 56.10 for tenth place in an “A” Final won by the event’s 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Matthew Grevers (53.26).

For full results, click here.

Day Two – Prelims results

Day Two prelims concluded at the 2011 Winter Nationals in Atlanta with several area swimmers earning a lane in Friday’s finals, starting at 6 p.m.

This morning’s big-mover was RMSC’s Conger who jumped up ten spots to claim the fourth seed in the “A” Final of the men’s 100 backstroke in a time of 55.34 seconds.

Jack Conger swimming backstroke (Ricky Carioti/For The Washington Post)

After a strong 400 freestyle last night, McLean (FAST/U-Va./SNOW) reached the “B” Final of tonight’s 200 freestyle (1:50.72).

Curl-Burke’s Hu finished 21st in the women’s 100 butterfly in a time of 1:1.11 seconds. She will be the top seed in tonight’s “C” Final.

The Potomac Valley will be well-represented in tonight’s “B” Final of the women’s 100 breaststroke. Former Curl-Burke swimmer Wilson (Northwestern) earned herself a center lane, finishing 12th overall in a time of 1:10.13. RMSC’s Haase is seeded 14th overall with a time of 1:10.54. Danner (George Mason/MAKO) finished 17th in a time of 1:11.22.

Burnett* (West Virginia/Potomac Marlins) narrowly missed appearing in her second finals of the meet in the 200 freestyle (2:03.97), finishing 31st, just three hundredths of a second behind 30th position. As the first alternate, she will swim if any finalists scratch before tonight’s races.

Michael Flach (University of South Carolina/FISH) did not return to the finals on his second day of competition. In the 100 butterfly (55:54), he fell well short of reaching the finals, finishing 42nd, despite being within half a second off his personal best time in long course. He is currently the first alternate in the 200 freestyle (1:52.63).

*Correction: Burnett earned the final spot in the “C” Final of the women’s 400 individual medley with a time of 4:59.58.

For full results, click here.

With 2012 Olympic trials just seven months away, swimmers are taking advantage of every opportunity to compete in long course meters as they hone their race skills and try to make Olympic trials cuts making Winter Nationals  one of the fastest meets between now and June 25, the first day of trials.

Winter Nationals will be broadcast, Sunday, 12/4, on NBC, 2:00 – 3:00 pm, and will be broadcast live on the USA Swimming website here, Friday through Saturday.

Former SNOW swimmer and University of Virginia graduate, Matt McLean is looking to defend his first place finish in the 400 free and improve upon his second place finish in the 200 free at the 2011 National Championships last August. He is seeded fifth in both the 400 free and 200 free. McLean swam for Potomac Falls High School in Sterling.

Final of the men's 200 freestyle in the FINA World Championships in Shanghai last July (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

McLean will likely see competition in the Friday’s 400 free from South Carolina swimmer, Michael Flach, formerly of FISH and Bishop O’Connell High School. Flach is seeded ninth. He is also scheduled to compete in the 200 butterfly and is hoping to make another “A” Final in the event after placing ninth at nationals in August.

Kate Ziegler, shown here after winning the women's 400-meter freestyle U.S. Nationals in 2007. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

On the women’s side, former FISH and O’Connell standout Kate Ziegler is seeded first in the 800 freestyle and second in the 400 freestyle. She is hoping to keep building momentum towards a second Olympic berth.

Ziegler holds the world record in the 1500 freestyle.

Also competing this weekend will be two-time Olympian, Ryan Lochte, who is is scheduled for six individual events. Lochte is the top seed in the 200 freestyle, 400 individual medley, and 200 individual medley, in which he holds the world record, set last July in Shanghai at the 2011 World Championships. It was the first world record broken since the ban on technical suits.

Other Potomac Valley swimmers hoping to make it back for a night session are Jack Conger, seeded 10th in the 200 backstroke, and 14th in the 100 back; Sarah Haase, seeded 19th in the 100 breaststroke; and Janet Hu, seeded 19th in the 200 butterfly.

One of the youngest swimmers in the meet, SNOW’s Carrie Lee, 14, is seeded 117th in the 100 backstroke. She is the only Potomac Valley participant who is still in middle school.

UPDATE: Curl-Burke’s Katie Ledecky is scratching from the meet due to illness. Ledecky was seeded fifth in the 800 freestyle and tenth in 400 freestyle. Ledecky recently broke the National Age Group record in the 500 free (4 minutes 35.14 seconds) and 1,000 free (9:29.81). In her first high school meet last month, she achieved an Automatic All-American time standard in the 200 freestyle (1:49.67).

Complete list of Potomac Valley swimmers competing:

Ellen Anderson, RMSC (Gaithersburg)

Jack Conger, RMSC (Good Counsel)

Ian Decker, Curl-Burke (Bishop O’Connell)

Ashleigh Ferguson, RMSC (Holy Cross)

Sarah Haase, RMSC (Good Counsel)

Cyrus Hashemi, Curl-Burke (Marshall)

Alli Haufler, Machine Aquatic (Briar Woods)

Janet Hu, Curl-Burke (Oakton)

Carrie Lee, SNOW (14)

Claire McIlmail, RMSC (Urbana)

Abi Speers, Machine Aquatic (Langley)

Curl-Burke will also be represented by non-high school swimmers Hilary Fritz (21) from UNC-Wilmington, Zach Hayden (23), Chuck Katis (18) from Harvard, David Kiss (21) from George Mason, Anna Macedonia (22) from Marymount University, Joe Pascale (28), Mark Sarman (18) from Georgia Tech, Suzanne Schwee (22) from University of Alabama, and Kyle Tyrrell (18). Matt Haupt (31) and Matt Fedderly (25), will also be competing for SNOW. Former SDS swimmer Ashely Danner (21) will be competing for George Mason University.

For the 2011 Winter National Championship psych sheet , click here.

In one of the closest team competitions in years, Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club (222,262.20 points) edged Curl-Burke (218,946.40 points).

Katie Ledecky poses with her award for being the highest girls' point-scorer at the USA Swimming Junior National Championships last August.

Ledecky broke a 33-year-old record in the 500 freestyle, swimming a time of 4 minutes 35.14 seconds. She eclipsed the previous mark –held by 1984 Olympic silver-medalist 1984, Cynthia Woodhead – by more than four and a half seconds.

The next day, Ledecky broke another National Age Group Record, this time in the 1,000 freestyle, in a time of 9:29.81. That record was previously held by another 1984 silver-medalist, Michelle Richardson (9:33.39).

Ledecky”s previous best time in the 1,000 was 9:40.01. According to USAswimming.com, her time is fastest swum by an American this year. These were her first National Age Group records.

Ledecky has four Olympic Trials cuts — in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 freestyle events. She will swim her first high school meet as a freshman for Stone Ridge on November 15.

Curl-Burke placed first in the girls competition, winning for the first time in the meet’s five year history, and finished second in the men’s competition. RMSC won the boys side and finished second on the girls. RMSC has won the meet every year since its inception in 2007.

Ledecky earned Most Outstanding Performance recognition for the 500 free, alongside Curl-Burke teammate, Anthony Nguyen.  They set meet records in all four of their individual events.

Ledecky’s other meet records occurred in the 200 freestyle (1:47.76) and 200 IM (2:04.25), She also helped Curl-Burke in five first-place relay finishes. Anthony’s records were in the 100 butterfly (1:06.34), 100 breaststroke (1:17.29), 200 freestyle (2:12.81), and 200 IM (2:25.68).

The meet followed the USA Swimming Virtual Meet format and was scored using USA Swimming’s Power Points system, which awards 1,000 power points for a national record, and decreasing point values as the swimmers’ times increase.

“This puts the emphasis on swimmers’ times, rather than places, which is very positive in many coaches’ minds,” said Meet Director, Dave Kraft of RMSC.

All eight participating clubs, including Potomac Valley members  Curl-Burke, Machine Aquatic and RMSC, were ranked in the top 100 out of USA Swimming’s over 2,800 clubs.

In total, 44 meet records were broken out of a total of 134 events. Individual records set by PVS swimmers are listed below:

• Amanda Liu, age 9, (RMSC) – 100 back (1:11.35)
• Djordje Orcev, age 10 (RMSC) – 100 free (59.03); 200 free (2:06.03)
• Sanjay Wijesekera, age 11 (RMSC) – 100 free (54.65)
• Lea Gwennap, age 12, (CUBU) – 100 free (53.63); 200 free (1:54.18); 500 free (5:02.07)
• Timiothy Wu, age 12 (CUBU) – 100 free (52.28)
• Jaycee Yegher, age 12 (RMSC) – 100 breast (1:07.04)
• Cassidy Bayer, age 12 (CUBU) – 100 fly (56.54)
• Devin Truong, age 12 (RMSC) – 200 IM (2:05.95)
• Catherine Johnson, age 13 (RMSC) – 100 back (1:00.01)
• Dennis Lai, age 13 (CUBU) – 200 IM (2:01.17)
• Brooke Malone, age 14 (CUBU) – 100 breast (1:06.39)
• James Murphy (MACHINE) – 200 free (1:46.01); 200 fly (1:56.96)
• Brian Tsau (CUBU) – 500 free (4:39.48); 1650 free (16:09.32)
• Carsten Vissering (CUBU) – 100 breast (59.00); 200 breast (2:09.80)

For full meet results, click here.

Katie Ledecky, 14, poses with her award for being the highest girls' point-scorer at this week's USA Swimming Junior National Championships.

By the time Ledecky accepted the silver plate as the meet’s highest girls’ point-getter on Saturday night, she had surpassed even her own lofty expectations. The Curl-Burke swimmer emerged as the star of the five-day meet in Palo Alto, Calif., winning three events — including the girls’ 1500 free in record time — to help her team to a second-place finish on the girls’ side.

“I guess I may have surprised a few people,” Ledecky said. “I surprised myself a little bit with my times. I was expecting to come here and go fast, but maybe not quite like that.”

Ledecky, a 14-year-old who will be a freshman at Stone Ridge in the fall, started the week strong and kept up a torrid pace. She won the 800 free (8:36.05) on Monday, dropping her seed time by more than seven seconds to take the event by more than three seconds. If she swam that time in the same pool at Nationals earlier in the month she would’ve finished fourth.

Two days later, Ledecky captured the 400 free in 4:10.39, winning by more than three seconds again, and added a fourth place finish in the 200 free on Thursday. She saved her best for last Friday night, establishing a new meet record in the 1500 free (16:24.46) to beat her closest competition by 14 seconds.

She bettered her seed time by 18 seconds in the race, capping a meet in which she finished with 91 individual points — 14 more than any other girl in the field.

“I wasn’t sure how I was doing, but I felt really good,” said Ledecky, who had just hoped to break the 16:40 mark. “I felt like I swam a very controlled race. I was pretty sure I had a best time, and I was just in shock when I saw I had a 16:24.”

With the summer winding down, Ledecky, who battled swimmers several years older than her in each event, said the breakout performance offers motivation to drop even more time.

“I’m just going to keep working harder, building off this excitement,” Ledecky said. “I’m going to keep training harder and find little ways to get better.”

Ledecky’s performance paced a strong showing by Curl-Burke at the meet. The team’s girls finished behind only home-standing Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics in the meet — helped by three top 13 event finishes from 15-year-old Janet Hu. Meanwhile, the boys placed 10th to ensure the team ended up fifth in the final combined standings.

Chuck Katis, 18, finished in the top five of three different events at the USA Swimming Junior National Championships.

Chuck Katis, a recent Langley grad who will swim at Harvard, led the boys’ charge, placing sixth individually with 62 points. He won the 100 breast (1:03.31), while finishing third in the 200 breast (2:17.33) and fifth in the 200 IM (2:05.00).

In his first appearance at the meet, Katis met the Olympic Trials cut time standard in each of those events. The 18-year-old declared his performance a success as he readies to head off to college and his next challenge in the pool.

“I think the energy here is really incredible,” Katis said. “I flew in to see the last night of Nationals, and the energy at that meet was inspiring. You walk around and see all these Olympians, and it makes you realize that they’re one step further than you. It kind of makes everything seem like it is within your reach.”

OTHER AREA TOP FINISHERS: Abigail Speers, a 16-year-old swimmer from Machine Aquatics, placed 8th in the 50 free… On Friday, Curl-Burke’s girls’ 400 medley relay (Ledecky, Hu, Hellen Moffitt, Rachel Canty) finished third in 4:16.96. The team’s boys’ 400 medley relay (Katis, Kyle Tyrrell, Mark Sarman and Cyrus Hashemi) placed third with a time of 3:50.78.

SNOW’s Matt McLean takes title in 400 Free

With his victory in the 400-meter freestyle, Matt McLean of SNOW Swimming earned his first USA Swimming national title.

Stopping the clock at 3:47.33, McLean broke Tom Dolan’s 1996 Potomac Valley Swimming resident record.  The former All-Met from Potomac Falls produced the second-fastest time in the event for an American this year.

Former Potomac Falls All-Met Matt McLean won his first USA Swimming national title with a win in the 400-meter freestyle. (Michael Ledecky)

McLean, 23, also re-broke his own resident record in the 200-meter freestyle, placing second to Olympic gold medalist Peter Vanderkaay.

McLean viewed Nationals as an opportunity to work on “process goals”—technical aspects and race details that he hopes to perfect in the final months leading to the 2012 Olympic Trials in Omaha.

“Any time that you’re able to compete at the highest levels and learn how to hone racing skills is a positive experience,” said McLean.

McLean has trained primarily with Coach Jon Urbanchek of Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) in California this summer.  But he continues to work with Mike Pliuskaitis of SNOW and Mark Bernardino of U-Va.

“I have three awesome coaches at my disposal,” said McLean.  “They’re all able to provide me with their own unique perspectives and things I can focus on.”

Earlier this year as a senior for the University of Virginia, McLean won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I Championships.  He has qualified to represent Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China.  The swimming events, which will be held August 14-19, will follow an Olympic prelims-semifinals-finals format.

“It should be a good platform for me to work on,” said McLean.

Conger breaks NAG record in 100 back

After winning the bonus final of the men’s 100-meter backstroke with a time of 55.09, RMSC’s Jack Conger had not quite clinched a 15-16 national age group record.

Conger had surpassed a mark set by a contemporary, Ryan Murphy of Jacksonville.  As Conger climbed out of the pool, Murphy prepared to swim in the faster consolation final.

Murphy swam a personal best time, but Conger retained the record.

“I guess you can call us rivals, but he’s a good guy and went fast in this pool,” said Conger of Murphy.

Conger’s highest finish at the meet came in the 200-meter backstroke.  Winning the consolation heat to place 11th overall, he turned in a time of 1:59.98.

Conger and teammate Sarah Haase will travel with USA Swimming’s national junior team to compete at FINA’s Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru. The meet will be the Good Counsel standouts’ second international competition.  Conger and Haase swam on the National Club Swimming Association all-star team at the 2010 Irish Nationals in Dublin.

“I like the competitive atmosphere of international meets,” said Haase.  “I like having people to push me and make me realize that I need to go faster and work harder during practice.”

Haase qualified for the team with a 20th-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:10.15).

Ed Moses satisfied with rate of progress

While Athens and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Brendan Hansen made headlines with multiple victories in his return to the national stage, another former breaststroke world record holder swam in a national championship for the first time in years.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Curl-Burke swimmer and Lake Braddock graduate Ed Moses earned silver in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke and gold with the United States’ 4 x 100-meter medley relay team.  But in 2004, Moses failed to make the Athens team and retired after he graduated from UVA months later.

Now, Moses, 31, seeks to return to his Olympic form as 2012 approaches.

2-time Olympic medalist Ed Moses (center) examines the scoreboard after the consolation final of the 200-meter breaststroke. (Michael Ledecky)

At Nationals, Moses failed to qualify for the top heats in his specialties, placing 17th in the 100-meter breast and 16th in the 200-meter breast.  Nevertheless, he is pleased with the rate at which he has progressed.

“I’m real satisfied with my training.  My times here were pretty good,” said Moses.

Earlier this year, Moses joined Dave Salo’s Trojan Swim Club at USC.  His training group includes 4­-time Olympic gold medalist breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima and breaststroke American record holder Eric Shanteau.

“I went every morning long course, swimming hard with the best in the world.  I got in there and mixed it up with them and got my butt kicked every day,” said Moses.  “It’s something I wasn’t used to.  I was used to being the best every day, every practice.”

Moses will have to drop a significant amount of time in Omaha to put himself in contention for an Olympic spot.  Brendan Hansen, who won both breaststroke events in Palo Alto, swam 2.37 seconds faster than Moses in the 100 and 4.92 seconds faster in the 200.

Moses, nevertheless, remains unfazed.

“It’s obvious that I got a long, hard year in front of me,” said Moses. “It’s a big mountain, but I’m prepared.  I’m ready for it.”

Less than 11 months remain before Olympic Trials.  But Moses has a penchant for rapid improvement: in only two years, Moses progressed from 1998 second team All-Met swimmer to 2000 Olympic champion.

Notes

Curl-Burke’s Ellyn Baumgardner turned in the highest finish by a Potomac Valley woman with a third-place finish in the 100 breast. The University of Arizona NCAA finalist will represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico….2008 All-Met swimmer of the year and 2011 NCAA champion Eric Friedland placed 2nd in the 200 breast and 8th in the 100 breast for Longhorn Aquatics….Michael Flach, a 2009 first team All-Met from Bishop O’Connell, placed 9th in the 200 fly en route to five Olympic Trials cuts….RMSC and U-Va. swimmer Brady Fox won the bonus final of the 200 back….Curl-Burke’s Joe Pascale earned his second Olympic Trials cut with a 50.69-second time trials swim in the 100 free….2009 All-Met swimmer of the year Amanda Kendall swam to a 7th­­-place finish in the 100 free….Curl-Burke’s women’s 400 medley relay broke an open age PVS resident record by 2.76 seconds.  The team of Janet Hu, Ellyn Baumgardner, Kaitlin Pawlowicz and Katie Ledecky placed 12th with a time of 4:13.35.

–Michael Ledecky

Late Sunday night, 50 or so age groupers sat waiting to enter the water at the Fairland Aquatic Center in Laurel. The stands were slowly emptying. The coaches were on their last legs, sweat droplets common on many of their brows. But the last two heats of the PVS Long Course 14 & Under Age Group Championships stood behind the blocks preparing for a particularly daunting event: the 800-meter freestyle relay. Exhausted and battered from four days of toil in the sometimes 100-plus degree conditions, everyone was almost done with the marathon meet.

But four 11-12 year-old girls smiled and chattered amongst themselves before racing in the 14 & Under 800-meter freestyle relay. Isabella Rongione (11), Joanne Fu (12), Michelle Owens (12), and Emily Meilus (12) of FISH placed second — coming in only eight-tenths of a second behind Curl-Burke’s much older and more seasoned team.

The FISH's Isabella Rongione, Emily Meilus, Joanne Fu and Michelle Owens pose with assistant coach Steven Benecki. (Danielle Schulkin)

Both training partners and competitors, the four girls swim in FISH’s “serious, focused training group for athletes who have high goals and high aspirations,” according to Coach Ray Benecki.

The young swimmers certainly proved their worth this past weekend.

On Saturday, a day most of the athletes generally take off to swim with their summer leagues, Meilus swam the 14 & under 400-meter IM, 11-12 400-meter free, and the 14 & under 1500 – back to back to back. She won the mile, her last event, with an 18:27.04, beating her field by 17 seconds. Meilus also won the 14 & under 800-meter freestyle and the 12 & under 200-meter backstroke.

“It was definitely a success,” Meilus said of her performance this weekend.

Her 11 year-old teammate Isabella Rongione also swam that Saturday afternoon, winning the 14 & under 400-meter IM. The day before, Rongione broke Janet Hu’s PVS Resident Record in the 11-12 200-meter fly, winning with a 2:26.92. She will swim the event next year as a 12 year-old.

More of Hu’s records fell to both Megan Byrnes (12) and Lea Gwennap (12) of Curl-Burke. Gwennap broke Hu’s record in the 11-12 200-meter IM, racing to the wall in 2:25.31. Gwennap also won the 11-12 100-meter free, 200-meter I.M., 50-meter back, and 50-meter free. Byrnes topped Hu’s 11-12 200-meter freestyle record with a time of 2:08.76, breaking both the PVS Resident and Open records. Byrnes also won the 11-12 400-meter freestyle (4:29.30) with a time that would have won the 13-14 400-meter freestyle the day before.

Video: Curl-Burke’s Cassidy Bayer wins the 11-12 girls’ 100-meter butterfly.

Other repeat winners include 10 year-old Sinead Eksteen (10 & under 200 IM, 100 free, 50 back, 200 free and 100 back), 12 year-old Jaycee Yegher (11-12 50 breast, 100 breast and 200 breast) and 14 year-old Caroline McTaggart (50, 100, 200 freestyle).

“I’m exhausted from everything.  I just want to go home,” RMSC’s Yegher sighed, happy but tired from her races at the end of the night.

A hot and humid environment marked this year’s Age Group Championships. With indoor temperatures in the 90s, there was little relief from the sticky weather outside.

“Everybody would have been faster if Age Group Champs were held in better conditions,” Benecki said on Sunday night. “It’s hard enough coaching in these conditions with the humidity and the heat. I can imagine how hard it is for the athletes to swim!”

Coaches and athletes took precautions. Large fans were stationed in several corners. RMSC’s Dave Crocker even brought a hose mister for his athletes. There was a constant rippling wave of heat sheets in the stands, as dedicated parents tried to cool off.

The officials put in several long days, working 16 hours on Thursday, 15 hours on Friday, six hours on Saturday, and then finally 14 hours on Sunday. Without breaks.

Among those was meet referee Art Davis, who lost his voice by Sunday night thanks to the chlorine. Davis, who did not have any children in the meet, reported allergy-like symptoms from being at the pool. But, nevertheless, he enjoys this type of work.

“I find it relaxing. The crazier it is, the more relaxing it is, and that’s the truth,” Davis croaked.

 - By Danielle Schulkin

CUBU Boys: 3 Records, 1 Day

On the boys’ side, no relay record was safe.  Five male Potomac Valley resident and open relay records in three different age groups fell at the Fairland Aquatics Center this weekend.

The Curl-Burke 13-14 boys went three for three on the final day of the meet, breaking resident and open records in the 200-meter freestyle relay, the 400-meter medley relay and the 800-meter freestyle relay. 

Curl-Burke's Carsten Vissering, Brian Tsau, Andrew Seliskar and Graham Baird broke Potomac Valley Swimming's open and resident record in the 13-14 boys' 800-meter freestyle relay by more than 11 seconds. (Danielle Schulkin)

In the medley, the Curl-Burke team of Andrew Seliskar, Carsten Vissering, Graham Baird and Owen von Krimpen broke the resident and open record by  5.39 seconds.  The RMSC boys finished second in the event but also posted a time faster than the previous record. 

Similarly, in the 800-meter freestyle relay, the Curl-Burke A-team (Seliskar, Brian Tsau, Vissering, Baird) shattered the resident and open record by 11.09 seconds before Curl-Burke’s B-team also finished under the previous mark.

“After four days of waking up at 5 in the morning and going to bed at 10, I think it was a pretty good swim to end the meet,” said Carsten Vissering after the 800 freestyle relay, the final event of the weekend.  On Friday, Vissering had set a new LSC standard in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:07.82.

Ten year-old Timmy Ellett also had a banner weekend.  Ellett won all six of his individual events and helped RMSC to two victories in the 10 & under boys’ 200-meter freestyle and medley relays.  On Sunday his time of 29.94 in the 50-meter freestyle surpassed Sean Stewart’s 2001 PVS resident record. 

“Timmy loves to race himself and the clock, and he just goes out there and hammers away,” said Ellett’s coach, Dave Crocker. “For him to step up like that at 10 years-old, it’s pretty cool.”

Earlier in the weekend, Ellett re-broke the resident and open record in the 10 & under 200-meter freestyle relay with teammates Djordje Orcev, Jeffrey Qin and Aaron Stanton.

Video: RMSC’s Timmy Ellett breaks PVS resident record in the 10 & under boys’ 50-meter freestyle.

Rockville-Montgomery 12 year-old Devin Truong continued his record-setting streak with a resident and open record in the 12 & under boys’ 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:36.61.  Truong won five individual events, and he swam breaststroke for RMSC’s resident and open record-setting 11-12 boys’ 400-meter medley relay team (Matthew Tiberino, Truong, Thomas Brown de Colstoun, Sanjay Wijesekera).

In the 13-14 boys’ 50- and 100-meter freestyle, Curl-Burke teammates Andrew Seliskar (14) and Graham Baird (14) placed first and second, respectively.  The two headed into the finals of the 100-meter freestyle separated by one-hundredth of a second.  “Because we were both about the same time at prelims, we really wanted to push each other and get the 1-2 for the team,” Seliskar said after the finals.  Seliskar shaved a full second off his prelims time to capture the event in 54.86. 

In addition to his sprint victories, Seliskar won the 200-meter individual medley.  Baird placed first in the 200-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly.  Andrew Gibson (14) of RMSC swept the two backstroke events while Carsten Vissering swept the breaststroke events.  Curl-Burke’s Brian Tsau (14) won the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle.

The RMSC boys took all three individual high point awards.  Timmy Ellett scored 120 points in the 10 & under age group while Devin Truong scored 117 points in the 11-12 division.  Gregory Song (14) captured the 13-14 boys’ high point award with 108 points.

- By Michael Ledecky