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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complete results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She held a five-meter advantage as she turned for home at 150 meters, and looked far from tired as she finished in 2 minutes 0.46 seconds, 3.27 seconds ahead of second place. Her Curl-Burke teammate Janet Hu was sixth in 2:04.45.

The 15-year-old distance specialist uncharacteristically swam from the front for the entire race, taking it out fast right from the get-go with her long, powerful stroke.

Showing her versatility in the freestyle distances, she used an uptempo kick, more commonly seen in sprinters and mid-distance swimmers, to propel her within a half-second of her personal best, achieved last month at the Missouri Grand Prix. Ledecky’s first win at the Orlando YMCA Aquatic Center came in the 1,650-yard freestyle, in which she set two National Age Group records in the 1,650 and 1,000 freestyle distances.

The rest of the meet lacked much of the excitement from the first two nights, despite several swimmers dropping time in finals to reach their Olympic Trials cuts, with no swims even scaring a national record.

After a blistering 1:58.54 in the 200 back on Wednesday night, there was much speculation over how fast Jack Conger would push the pace in the men’s 200 freestyle.

It was not his night to shine, however, as Reed Malone — who has already finished second in two events this week — stole the show by hanging with Conger through the first 100 before pulling away in the third 50 to win the race in 1:50.97, earning himself an Olympic Trials cut in the event. Conger fell off the pace, finishing in an unexpected third. His time of 1:53.31 was half a second above the OT cut.

Sarah Haase (RMSC) captured her second breaststroke win in the 50 breaststroke event. She finished in 32.00. She will go for a sweep of the breaststroke events on Friday, when she will participate in the women’s 200 breaststroke. She is currently seeded second with a 2:12.08. Austin Dickey (RMSC) and Bo Ilgenfritz (Machine) went 5-6 in the men’s event, finishing in 29.77 and 29.80, respectively.

Andrew Seliskar (Curl-Burke) earned his second Olympic Trials cut in the men’s 400 IM. He finished fifth in 4:29.09. Max Williamson (Northern Kentucky) won the event in 4:22.42. For the women, Charlotte Meyer finished seventh in the 400 IM (4:59.34), followed by Rachel Canty (Curl-Burke) in a time of 5:00.83. Unattached swimmer Megan Rankin won the event in 4:47.34.

Mary Schneider (Academy Bullets) finished first in the women’s 50 butterfly in a time of 26.94, leaving superstar Rachel Bootsma (Aquajets) in a rare second place position in a sprint event. Bootsma’s time was 27.41. She was quickly followed by Janet Hu (Curl-Burke) in 27.59. In the men’s event, Richmond Renny (Lahaina Swim Club) won in 24.07. Graduating senior Stephen Seliskar (Curl-Burke) was eighth in 26.03.

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

(Ricky Carioti/For The Washington Post)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complete live results

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

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

For live results from preliminaries and finals, click here

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

1. Last chance to qualify for Olympic Trials

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

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

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

2. Local teams battling for national title

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

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

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

3. Brutal schedules for the biggest stars of tomorrow

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

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

4. How low will Katie Ledecky go?

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

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

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

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

For live results from preliminaries and finals, click here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complete results

Katie Ledecky wins first Grand Prix gold

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Osbourn Park repeats as Northwest Region champs

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

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

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)