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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swimmers to watch this weekend:

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

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

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

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

Round-up: Jan. 24 through Feb. 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complete results can be found here.

Osbourn Park repeats as AAA Cardinal District Champions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Potomac Falls wins AA Dulles District

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bulldogs finish dual meets at top of Division I

*excerpts from Churchill Swim & Dive summary

Click here for complete results.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cavaliers charge into regionals with Patriot District win

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

Oakton boys reclaim Concorde District title; girls repeat

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

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

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

Langley, Madison repeat as Liberty District champions

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

Other meet results:

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

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

1/27 – Holton-Arms wins ISL Championship

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

2/1 – Georgetown Prep wins IAC Championship

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)

Tight race for the girls open 100 freestyle. First through fifth place were separated by less than eight tenths of a second (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

17-year-old Jack Conger broke the boys 17-18 200 backstroke NAG record in a time of 1 minute 40.41 seconds. The RMSC standout was in a league of his own from start to finish, exhibiting the high turnover rate that earned him two “A” Finals at last week’s Winter Nationals. Conger also won the 100 butterfly (47.46) and 100 backstroke (46.98), both PVS records. He holds the NAG record for the boys 15-16 200 backstroke as well.

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

The other two NAG records were taken down from out-of-town phenom Michael Andrew (12) from Missouri Valley. On Saturday night, Andrew broke his own boys 11-12 50 freestyle NAG record with a time of 21.96 [Correction: Michael Andrews had broken this record last week in 21.85]. He followed up his performance the next day by breaking the NAG record in the boys 11-12 100 individual medley by half a second in a time of 55:05. Andrew also set PVS open records in the 50 butterfly (24.46), 50 breaststroke (28.70), 100 butterfly (1:01.26), 100 breaststroke (1:01.26), and 100 butterfly (49.68), for a total of seven records in seven swims.

In prelims, RMSC’s relay team of Matthew Tiberino (12), Kenneth Afolabi-Brown (12), Devin Truong (12), and Brandon Cu (12) broke the boys 11-12 200 medley relay NAG record in 1:48.06.

Curl-Burke’s ‘A’ relay team of Brandon Goldstein (14), Carsten Vissering (14), Benjamin Lambert (14), and Owen van Krimpen (14) broke the meet’s only relay NAG record in the 13-14 400 medley relay in a time of 3:35.24.

Madeleine Crippen and Tom Dolan present the 2011 Fran Crippen Mile Awards (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the meet’s name-sponsor, Tom Dolan was in attendance to hand out awards and sign autographs. Dolan grew up in northern Virginia and trained with Curl-Burke. Also in attendance was Madeleine Crippen to present the 2011 Fran Crippen Memorial Mile awards. Fran Crippen, Madeleine’s brother, lost his life during an open water swim in October of last year.

“Kids from this area, and those who travel to this meet, get to see fast swimming up close and realize that getting to that next level isn’t magical, it’s about hard work and setting goals,” said Dolan. “That dream to get to the next level becomes tangible when they can see others doing it.”

Along with Conger and Andrew, 11 other swimmers broke PVS open and resident records.

Vissering set PVS records in the 100 breaststroke (57.95), 200 breaststroke (2:03.02), and 200 IM (1:56.18). He was .13 seconds off the NAG record in the 200 breaststroke.

12-year-old Cassidy Bayer (Curl-Burke) set the record in the 11-12 50 butterfly (25.76), just .26 off the NAG record, and 100 butterfly (56.81). She also won the girls 11-12 50 freestyle (24.64), 50 backstroke (28.22), and 100 freestyle (53.90).

14-year-old James Murphy (Machine) set the 13-14 PVS record in the boys 13-14 200 freestyle with a time of 1:43.24. He won the 100 freestyle event as well (47.76).

Jack Conger takes off at the start of the boys open 200 backstroke (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Janet Hu (16) dominated the girls open butterfly events, winning both the 100 (53.59) and 200 (1:57.88) for PVS records. Trailing NOVA’s Emma Nunn (1:58.90) with a 50 left, Hu (Curl-Burke) used her second-to-last turn to pull even with Nunn before pulling away on the final 25. She also set the 15-16 record in the 100 backstroke (54.00) and 200 IM (2:00.26), as well as a PVS resident record in the 200 backstroke (1:56.07), despite finishing second in the event.

The boys 13-14 50 freestyle saw some blazing fast times, with two swimmers going under 22 seconds. Jake Goroshko out touched Central Bucks’ teammate Greg Brocato to win in 21.74. Valerie Yoshimura (Suburban Seahawks) won the girls side in 23.39.

Cyrus Hashemi and Andrew Seliskar go at it in the boys open 100 fly (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Allie Szekley (13) won the 13-14 girls 200 breaststroke in PVS open record time of 2:16.42. The Central-Bucks’ swimmer also won the 13-14 girls 100 breaststroke (1:03.75) and 200 backstroke (2:01.03).

Brian Tsau (14) won the 13-14 500 free in PVS open record time with a 4:34.69.  Gregory Song (14) won the boys 13-14 400 individual medley 4:06.04. The Curl-Burke teammates finished one and two in the 13-14 boys 1,000 freestyle.

Truong set the boys 11-12 200 IM PVS record in 2:04.47. He also won the 11-12 boys 100 backstroke (57.17). He finished second in the 100 IM (56.47) and 100 butterfly (56.67), but still set the PVS resident record in both.

Start of the 13-14 girls 100 freestyle (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Traveling with Delaware Swim Team, Kaitlyn Jones (17) and Lily Dubroff (14) also had great meets. Jones won the girls open 200 freestyle (1:49.59), 400 IM (4:11.67), and set a PVS open record in the 200 backstroke (1:55.05). Dubroff set the record in the 13-14 girls 100 freestyle in 50.58, also winning the 400 IM (4:20.55) and 200 IM (2:03.22).

Lea Gwennap (12) went under one minute in the girls 11-12 100 IM, setting the record in 59.83. She also won the 100 backstroke (58.66), 200 backstroke (2:04.65), and set the PVS record in the 200 freestyle in 1:53.33, battling teammate Emily Meilus (Curl-Burke) in each event. Meilus took second in all three.

Distance specialists Katie Ledecky (14) and Garrett Powell (17) easily won the girls and boys open 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle events. Ledecky (Curl-Burke) won both of her events by a full lap, going 16.24.20 in the 1,650 and 9:36.92 in the 1,000. She was seven seconds off her 13-14 NAG record in the 1,000. She also won the girls open 500 in 4:44.01.

Garrett Powell wins 1650 freestyle (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

With the entire RMSC coaching staff urging him on from deck, Powell broke 15 minutes in the 1,650 (14:58.83), setting the PVS open record. His cap began to slide up his forehead around the halfway point in the race, finally losing the cap completely with a 500 to go. He also set the record in the 1,000 on Friday night, narrowly missing breaking 9 minutes in 9:00.87. Powell rounded out his meet with wins in the boys open 200 freestyle (1:39.57) and 500 freestyle (4:23.14).

The relay team of Ledecky, Andi Mack (14), Megan Byrnes (14), and Sofia Revilak (14) broke the PVS record in the girls 13-14 800 freestyle relay in 7:35.43 for Curl-Burke. Also from Curl-Burke, Goldstein, Song, van Krimpen, and Tsau set the boys 13-14 record in 7:06.04. Ledecky, Mack, Revilak, and Hannah Baker (13) also broke a PVS record in the 13-14 400 freestyle relay (3:30.31).

In the open 800 freestyle relays, Sarah Haase (17), Ellen Anderson (17), Reia Tong (17), and Ashleigh Ferguson (17) broke the girls record by six seconds in 7:25.26 for RMSC. Conger (17), Powell (17), Matthew Colket (16), and Barry Mangold (17) posted a time of 6:433.68 for RMSC’s boys relay, also setting a new record. RMSC also set the records in the girls and boys open 400 freestyle relays. Tong, Natalya Ares (17), Catherine Mulquin (16), and Corrigan McIlmail (15) went 3:26.47 for the girls. Conger, Powell, Trevor Irish (18) , and Mangold went 3:02.92 for the boys.

Both 400 open medley records went down. Kristina Li (15), Natalie Martin (18), Hu, and Taylor Vincent (16) from Curl-Burke broke the PVS record in the girls open 400 medley relay (3:44.97), while the RMSC team of Powell, Harrison Cu (15), Conger, and Irish broke the boys 400 medley relay in 3:22.90.

Record-setting relay performances weren’t just limited to area swimmers. GYWD’s 13-14 boys set Connecticut-LSC records in the 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay, as did the 10 & Under girls in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay.

For full results from the 2011 Tom Dolan Invitational, click here.

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.)

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.

Good Counsel senior Sarah Haase (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post).

November 15 – Good Counsel beat Stone Ridge and Gonzaga, 116-70 and 94-91, respectively, with first-place performances by several area stars, including three Olympic trials qualifiers and a recent national age group record holder.

In the win, Good Counsel senior Sarah Haase, last year’s All-Met Swimmer of the Year, took first-place in the 200 IM (2 minutes 11.78 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:09.13), and led her team to a win the 200 medley relay (1:53.44).

For Stone Ridge, freshman Katie Ledecky won the 200 freestyle (1:49.67) and 100 butterfly (57.80), and anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:40.98) and 400 freestyle relay (3:46.61) , edging Good Counsel’s Catherine Mulquin in the 200 relay by nine-hundredths of a second.

These wins come just days after Ledecky  broke two national age group records in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle.

In a much closer team battle, Falcons junior Jack Conger, last year’s All-Met Boys’ Swimmer of Year, opened his season with two individual and two relay wins. Conger beat teammate Brady Welch in the 200 free (1:45.55) and 500 free (4:33.25), as well as splitting a blistering 20.91 as the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay. Welch, a sophomore, also had a strong meet, finishing second in 1:48.08 and 4:49.77.

Gonzaga senior Sean Sullivan did all he could for the Eagles, winning the 50 free (22.10) and 100 free (50.21), in addition to anchoring two relays in losing efforts.

Haase, Conger and Ledecky are all Olympic Trials qualifiers in multiple events.

Haase, Mulquin, Conger and Welch swim year-round for Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club; Ledecky and Sullivan are members of the Curl-Burke Swim Club.

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.