The reigning state champion Langley girls are expected to defend their district title, while the boys’ meet promises to be a thriller. Jefferson and Madison seem to be the favorites, but Langley could make things interesting if the Saxons can steal some points in the relays.

The Saxon girls are led by junior Abi Speers. She was last year’s runner-up in the 50 freestyle at the Va. AAA championship meet and third in the 100 freestyle. She is seeded first in the 50 free with a 23.98 and second in the 100 free (53.16), behind freshman star Andi Mack (Stone Bridge), seeded with a 53.10. Mack is the top seed in the 200 freestyle (1:56.00) as well.

Liberty District teams were inundated with freshmen talent this year. Along with Mack, Sydney Owens and Cassidy Humphrey have shined for Madison this season, as has Carrie Heilbrun for Jefferson and Natalie Obando for South Lakes.

Owens is the top seed in the 200 IM (2:13.77). She’ll be challenged by senior Katie Bennett (Jefferson), seeded a half-second back with a 2:14.22.

Humphrey, Heilbrun, and South Lakes senior Emily Sennett will jockey for first in the 100 butterfly. Sennett holds first position in 59.60, quickly followed by Humphrey (1:00.20) and Heilbrun (1:00.86). Sennett is also seeded third in the 100 freestyle (54.74).

Her South Lakes teammate, Obando, is favored to win the 100 backstroke (59.88), although with a good race, the second-seeded Bennett (1:01.19) could move up and steal the event for Jefferson.

Obando also has a chance to move up from her seventh seed in the 200 freestyle (2:03.48), but she will have to go through fellow freshmen Humphrey, seeded fourth (2:00.65), and Langley’s Amy Owens, seeded fifth (2:01.12).

The race of the night on the girls’ side may come in the 500 freestyle. The field is all bunched up at the top, with Laura Kellan (Madison), Maria McGuire (McLean), Owens, and Laura Sullivan (Madison) all seeded within .6 seconds of each other. Fifth-seeded Mary Elliott (Langley) is just 2.5 seconds outside of first place.

Top-seeded Kellan is listed with a 5:20.20, but any one of these girls has the ability to move up in the mid-distance event. Expect Kellan to use her seed to maintain control in the end.

Also wide open is the  girls’ 100 breaststroke, which will be a fight between Fairfax’s Matty Ferguson (1:09.15), McLean’s MJ Ulrich (1:09.37), Jefferson’s Sarah Liu (1:09.40), and Langley’s Gretchen Roesel (1:09.56).

Langley is the top seed in both freestyle relays, and could move up from third to win the medley relay as well. Their depth at the top should propel them to win the district again this year, leaving Jefferson, McLean, and Madison fighting each other for third.

The boys’ meet will be much closer, with Madison, Jefferson, and Langley contending for the title. Also look for Marshall’s talented boys to spoil one of the top teams chances by stealing points at finals.

Jefferson’s boys’ team is much improved this year with the addition of freshmen Andrew Seliskar and Luke Thorsell. But the more important pair for the Colonials are the one-two punch of brothers Andrew and Stephen Seliskar. Andrew is the top seed in the 200 IM (1:55.02) and 100 butterfly (51.06).

His brother Stephen, a senior, is the top seed in the 100 backstroke (51.64), and will battle top-seeded Evan Owens (Madison), Sydney Owens’s older brother, in the 50 freestyle, seeded 22.07 and 21.85, respectively. Owens is also the top seed in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.46).

“The real wild card is diving; swimming is going to be very close,” Madison Coach Andrew Foos said.

Langley’s top-gun, Ryan Natal, holds the top seed in the  boys’ 200 freestyle with a 1:42.06, but watch out for Marshall’s Cyrus Hashemi. He may be seeded with a 1:46.32, but has gone much faster this year outside of high school. Hashemi has plenty of speed, and he is favored to win the 100 freestyle, seeded with a 47.00. Natal will meet A. Seliskar in the 100 butterfly, seeded second with a 51.51.

If Madison wants to repeat as district champions, Howe Wang, along with teammate Owens, must have a big meet for the Warhawks. Wang is the top seed in the 500 freestyle (4:42.08), but will have to stave off junior Ben Southern (McLean) seeded with a 4:43.61. Wang also holds the third position in the 200 IM, sandwiched between second-seed Andrew Nyce (Marshall) and third-seed, Thorsell, listed at 1:57.52 and 2:01.50.

“Taking all three relays [on the boys' side] would be big,” Jefferson Coach Ian Handerhan said. “We need our 10th through 12th place swimmers to make it back in the top heat.”

Last place in the “A” final is guaranteed 11 points, whereas first in the “B” final drops off to nine points; seven for second.

“We have a host of guys who we will have to wait and see where they end up [after Friday],” Foos said.

Those Friday night swims will make as much of a difference for Madison and Jefferson as diving and relays.

Other swimmers to watch in the boys’ meet are South Lakes junior Anthony Barbee, seeded third in the 200 freestyle (1:48.53) and 100 freestyle (49.65). He’ll contend with Reese Frerichs (Jefferson) and Grayson Smith (Madison), who will both be gunning for him in the 100 freestyle. Also, McLean freshman Gerry Wan (1:01.36) will challenge Nyce (1:01.40) in the 100 breaststroke, behind Owens.

“This meet is swum on Friday for us, just like everyone else, you can’t score points unless you make it to finals,” added Marshall Coach Ann Jopke.

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

2008 All-Met Swimmer of the Year Eric Friedland won two Big 12 titles this weekend for Texas. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The University of Virginia’s men’s team won its third consecutive ACC championship this weekend, totaling 806 points behind top performances from several local products — ahead of second-place UNC (656.5) and Florida State (566.5).

Virginia Tech finished fourth with 417.5 points, while Maryland took eighth with 197 points.

Potomac Falls product Matt McLean took home titles in the 500 freestyle (NCAA ‘B’ standard 4:17.21) and was second in the 200 freestyle with an NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:34.76.

McLean took third in the 1650 freestyle with a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 14:56.91.

Former All-Met Swimmer of the Year Josh Hafkin (Georgetown Prep) finished 20th in the 50 freestyle (20.65), sixth in the 100 backstroke (48.39) and 18th in the 200 backstroke (1:47.87).

Maryland’s Andrew Relihan (Georgetown Prep) finished seventh in the 200 IM (NCAA ‘B’ standard 1:47.69), ninth in the 400 IM (NCAA ‘B’ standard 3:52.88) and 10th in 200 backstroke (1:46.67).

North Carolina’s Andy Brake (Lake Braddock) took 20th in the 200 IM (1:51.05), fourth in the 400 IM (NCAA ‘B’ standard 3:50.75) and 17th in the 200 butterfly (1:49.26).

Among other locals (of which there were many): Boston College’s Sean Heffernan (Gonzaga), N.C. State’s Kevin Vallario (Good Counsel), Maryland’s Sean Stewart (Wootton), North Carolina’s Brock Park (Landon) and Robert Grimmett-Norris (Georgetown Prep), Virginia Tech’s Mikey McDonald (W.T. Woodson), Phil LaRosa (Osbourn) and Logan Shinholser (Paint Branch), U.-Va.’s Briggy Imbriglia (Ireton) and Duke’s Ben Tuben (Jefferson).

Local Longhorns perform well at Big 12s

Several area alums had strong weeks at the Big 12 championships for Texas.

Former Yorktown standout and two-time All-Met Maren Taylor finished fourth in one-meter and three-meter diving and third in platform diving in her first collegiate championships, as the No. 3 Longhorns took second at the meet.

Diving teammate and Whitman alum Matt Cooper finished second in three-meter diving and took the platform diving title with a score of 434.60.

2008 All-Met Swimmer of the Year Eric Friedland (Walter Johnson) also had a standout meet. The sophomore won Big 12 titles in the 100 breaststroke with a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 53.44 and the 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:54.32. He also finished fifth in the 200 IM with a NCAA ‘B’ standard time of 1:46.72.

Friedland’s time in the 200 breast set a new meet record and was the fastest time registered in college swimming this year. The mark broke the previous meet record of 1:54.41 set last season by Texas’ Agustin Magruder.

The two titles were the first of Friedland’s career, as No. 1 Texas claimed its 31st consecutive conference title.

Danner, Knight named CAA’s top championship swimmers

Both 2008 All-Met Swimmer of the Year Ashley Danner (Lake Braddock) and Westfield grad Eric Knight earned CAA Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Championships honors for the second time in their respective careers.

Danner, in addition to her titles in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA championships with a record-breaking time of 2:08.66 in the 200 breaststroke.

Knight, who took a medical redshirt last season after winning the top honor in 2007-08, finished fourth in the 50 freestyle (20.13) and won titles in the 100 freestyle (record and NCAA ‘B’ standard 44.06), 200 freestyle (record and NCAA ‘B’ standard 1:35.85).

George Mason’s men’s team took second place while the women finished fifth.

Towson’s Meredith Budner (Walter Johnson) equaled Danner’s leading point total on the weekend, while Yorktown grad Katie Radloff was third with 57 points. O’Connell grad Maggie Macedonia was tied for 19th with 34 points.

Mason freshman David Kiss, a two-time All-Met at Edison, finished seventh with 50 points, while Mount Vernon grad Bryan Bahr was 15th with 36.

Oakton’s Pawlowicz up for USA Swimming Race of the Week honors

All-Met Oakton junior Kaitlin Pawlowicz‘s national high-school-record-breaking 200-meter individual medley is up for USA Swimming’s race for the week honors.

You can vote for Pawlowicz here.

Local clubs earn national honors

North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the home of Olympic legend Michael Phelps, was named the 2010 Club Excellence Title by USA Swimming by scoring 56,155 points – just 2,420 points ahead of Swim Atlanta.

Curl-Burke finished sixth with 32,685 points, while Rockville Montgomery Swim Club took 14th with 25,984 points. It was the first time RMSC achieved Gold level.

According to the USA Swimming release, the “2010 program results are based on performances in the 2009 calendar year. Clubs have been selected as Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal clubs according to the following parameters: Gold Level: The top 16 point-scoring clubs eligible for the Gold level. Silver Level: The remaining clubs ranked through #100 and/or not achieving Gold status. Bronze Level: Clubs ranked #101 through #200 and/or not achieving Gold or Silver status.”

The Fish qualified for gold medal status for 2009-10 by having an athlete on the 2008 Olympic team.

QDD Swim Team finished with silver medal status, while Machine Aquatics, Arlington Aquatic Club and Naval Academy Aquatic Club earned bronze medal status.

Oakton can celebrate another boys' Northern Region title after winning its second straight on Monday night. (Photo Provided by, Rachel Sapone, Oakton Media Group)

Get the full Northern Region results here.

For the second consecutive year it was the Oakton boys who took home the Virginia AAA Northern Region title, finishing ahead of Fairfax (215), Langley (198) and Robinson (193) with 244 points.

It was a surprising finish for Robinson, which has won seven consecutive state titles, but indicated the increased competition throughout the region and especially in the Liberty District.

Langley’s relay of Stephen Richards, Chuck Katis, Ryan Natal and Chris Pivikw opened the meet by setting a region record in the 200 yard medley relay with an automatic All-American time of 1:34.81, topping Oakton’s automatic All-American 1:35.28 and third-place Westfield‘s All-American consideration time of 1:37.86.

Oakton’s Bradley Phillips took the 200 freestyle title with an automatic All-American time of 1:40.24, falling just shy of the record he sent last year. McLean‘s Charlie Putnam (1:42.08), Washington-Lee‘s Freddy Crawford (1:42.11) and Herndon‘s Danny Camozzo (1:42.78) all followed with All-American consideration times.

It was the first of two individual titles for Phillips, who also won the 500 freestyle with an automatic All-American time of 4:29.40, ahead of the All-American consideration marks turned in by Madison‘s Adam Pennington (4:36.94) and Camozzo (4:38.18).

Katis won the 200 IM with an automatic All-American time of 1:51.68, ahead of Oakton’s K.J. Park, who also turned in an automatic All-American time of 1:52.24. Langley senior Richards finished third with an automatic All-American time of 1:53.68.

The Langley junior won a second title in the 100 breaststroke with an automatic All-American time of 57.07, ahead of Park’s automatic All-American 57.28 and three All-American consideration times turned in by Robinson’s Ricky Munch (58.51), Richards (58.98) and Westfield’s CJ Fiala (59.35)

Fairfax senior Joey Kelly took the title in the 50 freestyle with an All-American consideration time of 21.18, ahead of Woodson senior Kevin Vest (AAC – 21.34). Kelly doubled up his night with a win in the 100 freestyle, taking the title with a time of 47.01, just ahead of W-L’s Crawford (47.41) and Vest (48.04).

South Lakes senior Brad Dillon took the title in the 100 butterfly with a time of 51.77, out touching Langley sophomore Natal (51.79) by two-hundredths of a second. Westfield junior Kurtis Ratcliff took third at 52.11, followed by Oakton freshman Philip Hu (52.40).

Fairfax’s 200 freestyle relay of Austin Patteson, Travis Lauri, Jake Baumgardner and Kelly won the title with an All-American consideration time of 1:27.48, followed by Jefferson (AAC – 1:27.87) and Woodson (AAC – 1:28.01).

Oakton’s Hu won the 100 backstroke title with an automatic All-American time of 50.94, out-touching the automatic All-American times of Putnam (51.11) and Dillon (51.33)

The meet closed with the champion Cougars 400 freestyle relay of Hu, Park, Chris Megaw and Phillips taking the title with an automatic All-American time of 3:09.69, ahead of Langley (3:12.03) and Fairfax (3:12.71).

Get the full Northern Region results here.

Oakton's K.J. Park turned in two district records as the Cougars snapped Robinson' 12-year win streak. (Photos Provided By Taylor Soldner, Oakton Media Group)

Snow on Saturday forced teams to prepare for district championships earlier than anticipated, as three of the four districts in the Northern Region held timed finals and relays on Friday night around the area.

Madison’s boys’ and girls’ teams took home titles in the Liberty District, W.T. Woodson’s boys’ and girls’ earned championships in the Patriot and the Oakton’s boys and Robinson’s girls won titles in the Concorde.

The National District finals will be held tonight at Washington-Lee Pool.

It was a weekend dominated by youth, as several younger swimmers turned in breakout performances in the meets. A freshman boy and sophomore girl won a title and two sophomore girls won two events in the Concorde, a freshman girl and sophomore boy took a title and a sophomore girl won two in the Patriot and three freshmen girls, a sophomore boy and sophomore girl won in the Liberty.

CONCORDE DISTRICT: FULL RESULTS (.doc)

The Oakton boys’ win ended one of Robinson’s dominant streaks, as the Rams had taken home 12 straight district titles before the Cougars halted things this weekend. Oakton finished with 492 points to Robinson‘s 404, with Herndon taking third at 334.

Leading Oakton were seniors Bradley Phillips and K.J. Park, both of whom won two individual events – and set district records along the way.

Phillips won the 200 freestyle in a automatic All-American record time of 1:41.73, nearly four seconds faster than second-place Charlie Keith (Westfield; 1:45.48), and also won the 500 freestyle with an automatic All-American time of 4:32.14 – more than 10 seconds ahead of Westfield’s Kurtis Ratcliff (4:43.01).

Park, meanwhile, enjoyed what Oakton Coach Hunter Owen called “really a standout meet.” Taking titles in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, Park set district records in both and had an automatic All-American time in the breast (56.62). He won the 200 IM in 1:54.10, just .08 off the automatic All-American time..

Other winners on the boys’ side were: the Oakton 200 medley relay of Phillip Hu, Park, Zach Smith and Steven Robbins (automatic All-American 1:36.60), Robinson’s Ricky Munch (50 free, 21.39), Westfield’s Ratliff (100 fly, 52.13), Robinson’s Matt Osiecki (100 free, 48.59), Robinson’s 200 freestyle relay of Cameron Boster, Osiecki, Johann Shim and Munch (1:28.04), Hu (100 back, 52.25), Oakton’s 400 freestyle relay of Hu, Park, Megaw and Phillips (district record 3:11.37).

On the girls’ side, the Rams’ girls captured a fourth straight title behind a deep roster that scored points through every event, though they had just one individual title. Robinson finished with 515 points, outdistancing Oakton’s 443 and Westfield’s 316.

Robinson won relay titles to start and end the meet. The 200-medley relay of Christine Canty, Rachel Canty, Becca Bott and Hannah Walden opened the meet with by winning in 1:50.69, and the group of Kathleen Dodson, Bott, Tori Baker and Walden won the 400 free relay in 3:39.62.

Double winners on the night were Oakton junior Kaitlin Pawlowicz (200 IM, 2:07.33 and 100 fly, 57.28), Chantilly sophomore Brenna Ferris (200 free, 1:56.32 and 500 free, 5:15.64) and Westfield sophomore Carli Molano (50 free, 24.54 and 100 free, 53.93).

Other winners included Oakton’s 200 free relay of Leanne Hyer, Quinn Wilkinson, Erin Reynolds and Pawlowicz (1:41.14), Robinson senior Christine Canty (100 back, 1:00.72) and Herndon sophomore Jenna VanCamp (100 breast, 1:07.07) – narrowly out-touching Robinson sophomore Rachel Canty’s 1:07.17.

LIBERTY DISTRICT: TEAM RESULTS (pdf); INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (pdf)

Madison took home titles in both boys’ and girls’ in a tightly-contested meet that lived up to the expectations.

The Warhawks’ girls finished with 435.5 points, edging Langley (404.5) and McLean (323), while Madison’s boys took home a title by finishing atop a close race with 404.5 points – ahead of Fairfax (393), Langley (334) and Jefferson (332.5).

Madison was led by senior Adam Pennington, who won the 200-yard freestyle with a district record 1:43.21 in the meet’s first individual event, out-touching Jefferson’s Stephen Seliskar (1:43.39) and Langley’s Ryan Natal (1:43.71) in a race in which first and third was separated by half a second. Pennington also won the 500 free with an All-American consideration time of 4:38.08.

The top performer in the meet might have been Langley’s Chuck Katis, who turned in an automatic All-America time of 1:53.88 to win the title in the 200 IM by almost five seconds. Katis also took home the title in the 100 breast with an automatic all-American time of 57.46, breaking teammate Stephen Richards’ district record in the process.

Fairfax senior Joey Kelly won the 50 freestyle (21.52) and Natal won the 100 butterfly in 51.93 – out-touching Seliskar’s 52.08, South Lakes senior Brad Dillon’s 52.53 and Fairfax junior Austin Patteson’s 52.87.

Langley senior Richards won the 100 free title (47.69), while the Jefferson 200 free relay of Alex Dona, Sam Speers, Seliskar and Matt Callahan won with an All-American consideration time of 1:27.96.

McLean junior Charlie Putnam won the 100 back (AAC – 51.97) and Langley’s 400 free relay of Natal, David Case, Katis and Richards won in an All-American consideration 3:12.46 – .10 short of the district record of 3:12.36 set by Madison last year. Langley’s 200 medley relay of Richards, Katis, Alex Brumas and Chris Pivik also won a title with an automatic All-American time of 1:36.82, breaking Jefferson’s district record of 1:37.96 set in 2007.

McLean junior Eva Greene won a title in the 200 free (1:54.44) and 100 backstroke (AAC – 57.84), while freshman teammate Annie Springsteen took the crown in the 200 IM in 2:15.03 – just hundredths of a second ahead of Jefferson’s Katie Bennet (2:15.13) and South Lakes sophomore Emily Sennett (2:15.26).

Langley freshman Abi Speers won the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.47, and Sennett won the 100 fly in 59.67. Langley junior Jayme Katis outdistanced Speers for the title in the 100 free with a time of 53.95, while Madison junior Bev Dobrenz gave the Warhawks their only individual title with a win in the 500 freestyle (5:21.26). Fairfax freshman Matty Ferguson won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:07.35.

McLean’s 400 free relay of Margaret Harlow, Springsteen, Greene and Katie Yensen set a district record with a time of 3:39.69. Other relay winners were McLean’s 200 medley relay of Greene, Springsteen, Harlow and Yensen (1:51.31) and Langley’s 200 free relay of Katis, Torrie Zarella, Megan Howard and Speers (1:41.27).

PATRIOT DISTRICT: TEAM RESULTS (.rtf); INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (.rtf)

In what was the closest win of the weekend, the W.T. Woodson girls’ used a big win in the 400 freestyle relay at the end of the night to edge out a win over West Springfield, finishing with 416 points to the Spartans 394 and Lake Braddock‘s 383.

Junior Jill King split a 53 as the anchor in the 400 free relay along with Rachel Rogers, Maggie Rodgers and Caitlin Rider to give the Cavaliers the win in 3:42.33, ahead of West Potomac‘s 3:45.28. King also took the 50 freestyle title with a time of 25.31.

West Springfield opened the night with its relay of Susan Ward, Lauren Yi, Hannah Hagy and SinHye Won winning the 200 medley in an All-American consideration time of 1:50.81, .31 short of the district record 1:50.50 set by Lake Braddock in 2008.

Won won both the 200 IM (2:11.50) and 100 breaststroke titles, turning in an automatic All-American time of 1:04.35 in the breast.

South County senior Courtney Walsh took the 200 freestyle crown in 1:59.34 just ahead of teammate Alison Smith’s 1:59.68, and West Potomac freshman Hellen Moffitt won the 100 butterfly in 58.38, just shy of the district record of 58.01 set by Katie McAdoo in 2000.

Moffitt’s teammate, sophomore Reanna Dona, won the 100 freestyle title in 53.02 and also took the crown in the 100 backstroke, setting a new district record in 58.65 – beating Moffitt’s 59.37.

West Springfield junior Kathryn Sieracki won the 500 free in 5:17.59, and the Spartans’ 200 free relay of Ward, Hagy, Won and Jessica Zeppieri set a district record with a time of 1:41.14, besting the 1:41.89 mark set by West Springfield in 2003.

On the boys’ side, Woodson’s 200 medley relay of Diet Dallmeier, Michael Chesnut, Braden Baffer and Kevin Vest opened the night by setting a district record with a time of 1:38.19, knocking off the mark of 1:39.33 set by Lee in 2007.

Chesnut won the title in the 200 freestyle (1:45.63), while Vest took the 50 free title in an All-American consideration time of 21.40. Vest doubled up his individual titles by also winning the 100 freestyle in 48.09 and Chesnut made it two with a win in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.12.

West Springfield senior Sean Nickley won the 200 IM in 2:01.62, South County sophomore Michael Herrmann took the title in the 100 fly in 52.41, West Potomac junior Mark Mattis won the 500 free in 4:57.67 and Annandale junior Kyle Tyrrell took the 100 back title in 52.71.

Woodson’s 200 free relay of Bo Ilgenfritz, Connor Wander, Dean Furst and Braden Baffer took the title in 1:30.93 and their 400 free relay of Vest, Baffer, Dallmeier and Chesnut finished the relay sweep with a time of 3:15.47

W.T. Woodson and Lake Braddock will square off in the Patriot District championships in one of four district meets this weekend. (Photo by Jim Albertson)

After months of dual meets, the championship season has finally arrived for Virginia teams as the area district meets open this weekend across the Northern Region.

One major change has come into play: With the possibility of snow on Saturday, teams must be prepared for Friday’s preliminaries to be scored as finals should the meets be canceled tomorrow. Coaches were informed on Friday afternoon that relays will be scored as finals at the preliminaries on Friday, and it may end up that the district champions are crowned with a phone call on Saturday morning.

Here is a quick preview of the area Virginia AAA Northern Region district championships.

NATIONAL DISTRICT
Where: Washington-Lee Pool, Arlington
When: Prelims – Friday, 5:30 PM; Finals – Saturday, 5:30 PM
What to Watch For: It should be a battle between the two teams that faced each other in the final week of the season with unbeaten records: Yorktown and Washington-Lee. The two Arlington schools split the meet, with the Patriots girls and Generals boys each walking away with perfect seasons.
After diving on Thursday, Mount Vernon leads the way with 41 points, followed by Washington-Lee with 39 and Yorktown in third with 30.
Best Races: Perhaps the closest will be the men’s 200 freestyle between Edison’s Balazs Kiss, an honorable mention All-Met last year, and Washington-Lee’s Freddy Crawford, who is seeded first in the event with a time of 1:45.59. Kiss is seeded second at 1:46.83.
Outlook from the Deck: “We as a team want to win districts,” Washington-Lee Coach Kristina Dorville said. “Our relays our seeded well for the boys’ side, first and second in all of them, and I think in general it’ll be a fun meet. And to be hosting the meet at our new pool, the first time ever in an Arlington County pool, I believe, we’re excited about that opportunity as well.”

PATRIOT DISTRICT
Where: OakMarr RECenter, Oakton
When: Prelims – Friday, 6:00 PM; Finals – Saturday, 5:30 PM
What to Watch For: In its first season in the Patriot District after moving over from the Liberty, W.T. Woodson finished undefeated in the regular season and now must prove they can pick up points in a championship meet to walk away with the district crown.
The Cavaliers girls face their stiffest challenge from defending champion West Springfield, which Woodson beat 174-141 late in the season. Also keep an eye on Lake Braddock, another strong team that narrowly fell to Woodson in early December. Though the Cavaliers finished undefeated, they still go into the district meet facing an uphill battle to score points and win a title.
The Cavaliers boys faced nary a challenge throughout the season – never winning their meets by any less than 101 points. Woodson won by 150, 180, 101, 103, 139, 113 and 168 points during the perfect season.
Best Races: Keep an eye on the 50 freestyle girls’ race and the girls’ 400 freestyle relay, which could be a close battle between South County and Woodson.
Outlook from the Deck: “On the boys side we feel pretty confident and we’re excited for tonight,” Woodson Coach Susie Hamrock said. “The girls’ is going to be a bit more of a challenge, a battle between Lake Braddock, West Springfield, us and South County. One on one with the dual meets our depth really helps us, but tonight at districts we’re going to be spread thin. We don’t have any first place seeds on the girls’ side so we’re looking for our depth to help us again, so it’ll be more of a challenge.”

CONCORDE DISTRICT
Where: Cub Run RECenter, Chantilly
When: Prelims – Friday, 5:30 PM; Finals – Saturday, 5:30 PM
What to Watch For: No doubt this meet is once again a battle between two powerhouses that are also major threats for the state titles on both the boys and girls side: Oakton and Robinson.
Robinson boys’ have won seven consecutive Virginia AAA state titles – but last year it was Oakton that walked away as the Northern Region champions. The Cougars are led by UVA-bound, All-Met senior Bradley Phillips, a favorite to win state titles in the 200 and 500 freestyles. Keep an eye on K.J. Park and freshman Philip Hu as well.
On the girls side Oakton features All-Met junior Kaitlin Pawlowicz, but it was the Robinson girls who walked away with a win when the two teams met in a dual early in the season.
Despite all of Oakton’s star power, there is no doubt that Robinson remains a heavyweight favorite. The well-rounded Rams will be boosted by a tremendous start in the diving competition on Thursday night, where they swept first through fourth on the girls side (England Barimo, Brynn Rollo, Laura Gartrell and Ali Graine) and took first and second on the boys’ (Cory Bowersox and Frank Burdell). Robinson also has regional qualifiers in every event on both the boys’ and girls’ side.
Keep an eye on Ricky Munch, Rachel Canty, Johann Shim and Kathleen Dodson – all of whom have state cuts already, as well as senior Hannah Walden.
Best Races: The boys’ 100 breaststroke in which Oakton has the top and fourth seed while Robinson is seeded second and third. The girls’ 100 breast and 100 back are also set to be fast, highly-contested races stacked with swimmers from the two top programs.
Outlook from the Deck: “If they do the best they can, that’s all I can ask for,” Robinson Coach Clayton Joyner said. “If they’re having fun and doing that, the result will be positive. Oakton has a good team, that’s no secret. It’s going to be tough to beat them, but at the same time we have a lot of pride and tradition and I know my kids are going to step up.”

LIBERTY DISTRICT
Where: Audrey Moore RECenter, Annandale
When: Prelims – Friday, 6 PM; Finals – Saturday, 5:30 PM
What to Watch For: This meet might be one of the most hotly contested, with several talented teams on both the boys’ and girls’ sides contending for titles.
On the boys’ side, Langley, Jefferson, Madison and Fairfax will all battle it out for the championship. A deep Warhawks’ boys’ team finished the year unbeaten but will have to hold off a strong challenge from teams with several regional and state-bound swimmers.
Madison lacks star power but boasted plenty of depth in dual season with freshman Evan Owens, Eric Kim and Andy McGuire and senior Adam Pennington.
Keep an eye on Jefferson’s Stephen Seliskar and Matt Callahan, Langley’s Ryan Natal and Chuck Katis and Stephen Richards, McLean’s Charlie Putnam and Fairfax’s Jake Baumgardner and Joey Kelly.
On the girls’ side, it will be another closely contested meet featuring several teams. Madison, Langley, McLean and Jefferson will all look to be in the picture over the weekend – though the Saxons enter the weekend as the favorite to take the crown.
Keep an eye on Langley’s Megan Howard, Abigail Speers and Jayme Katis, Jefferson’s Katie Bennett and McLean’s Eva Greene.
Best Races: The boys’ 200 and 400 freestyle relays are separated all within one second among the top seeds, and the boys’ 200 freestyle also figures to be a close race.
Outlook from the Deck: “It’s really, really close on both sides, boys and girls,” Jefferson Coach Alexandra Porter said. “It’s definitely going to be a meet to watch. The top three [teams] in the district, [the meet is basically] is divided by 10 points. It’s going to be crazy.”

Led by swimmers like three-time All-Met Emily Verdin, the Jefferson girls won state titles from 2002-2004. This year's girls are undefeated. (Photo by Larry Kobelka for the Washington Post)

From 2002 to 2004, the Jefferson’s girls swim program was the best in the state, winning three consecutive Virginia AAA titles in dominant fashion –- never allowing a second-place team closer than 41 points.

But the Colonials last championship win since those titles was a boys’ district title in 2006-07, and the Colonials have spent much of the past three years rebuilding their program in search of another championship.

This season, Jefferson looks as though it is ready to challenge in the Virginia AAA Liberty District.

The Colonials girls are a perfect 6-0, using a deep team to pick up points without a clear-cut star swimmer, while the boys are 4-2 – including a narrow three-point loss to Fairfax last week.

Tonight in the district finale, the girls’ have an opportunity to finish undefeated with a win over Langley, whose only loss this season was to Madison.

“We feel really good,” said senior captain Anna Lan. “We defeated Madison, which is the only other undefeated district team [and] we feel really strong. … Langley also has some great swimmers, but we have really strong depth, we can pick up the fourth through seventh places and that’s our strongest point.”

On the boys’ side, several swimmers have turned in regional cuts — including Matt Callahan, Stephen Seliskar and Alex Dona — and the Colonials three relays have also already qualified for states. Those early qualifiers have Jefferson excited about the chance to finish well in the championship meets that start next week.

“We’re hoping to score some points especially in relays, which are looking strong right now,” said senior Joey Bouchard.

“T.J. has a reputation for excellence not only in athletics but in swimming,” Lan added. “We feel we’re going back to that.”