Gonzaga dominated the team competition at the Washington Metro Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships Saturday at Germantown Indoor Swim Center, racking up 503 points to become the first team to break 500 points in the meet’s history.

But even Gonzaga’s impressive team victory — Georgetown Prep finished second with 352 points — could not eclipse the individual performance by Good Counsel junior Jack Conger.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Conger nearly broke a 29-year-old national high school record, set in 1983 by Olympian Jeff Kostoff. Conger broke the previous meet record by more than eight seconds with a time of 4 minutes 17.51 seconds.

“I thrive on this environment,” said Conger, who missed breaking Kostoff’s record by 1.12 seconds. “I knew I’d be close to the record. I missed it, but I still have another year.”

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

Conger was not done there, shattering his own record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 19.85, as well as providing the key leg to the record-breaking 200 medley relay (1:33.77), with teammates Brady Welch, Evan Garfield, and Ryan Edmunds.

“I just want to keep getting better and become the most versatile swimmer I can be. I’m focused right now,” Conger said, before adding, with a smile, “I have practice tomorrow morning and meets to prepare for in March.”

Gonzaga’s Sean Sullivan, who finished second to Conger in the 50 freestyle, got a small piece of revenge later, when he broke Conger’s 100 free record, with a new time of 45.23. Sullivan would also anchor Gonzaga’s 200 freestyle relay to a new meet record of 1:24.88, along with Paul O’Hara, Patrick Reyes, and Madison Hardimon.

“This was a total team effort tonight,” said Gonzaga Coach Josh Klotz, who has now won three championship meets in a row, also taking the National Catholic and Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim and Dive League meets. “Every swimmer who made it back for finals scored for us. It’s been a great year for our boys.”

In the girls’ competition, Churchill edged Whitman, 382-380.

Other record setting performances came from Garrett Powell (Walter Johnson) in the boys’ 200 freestyle, where he set a new record in prelims with a time of 1:38.38. Powell was the runner-up to Conger in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:20.04, which would have broken the old record by six seconds.

Caroline McTaggart (Holton-Arms) dazzled, breaking records in the girls’ 50 freestyle (23.09) and 100 freestyle (49.94).

In one of the most thrilling races of the night, Charlotte Meyer (Whitman) broke the girls’ 200 individual medley record, beating out former record holder Sarah Haase (Good Counsel), with a new time of 1:58.19. Meyer and Haase went back and forth, but after a surge in the breaststroke, Haase could not hold on against the Whitman junior.

“It’s great to get the chance to race Sarah,” said Meyer. “We train together year-round. She’s great about helping me out, letting me know how fast I need to go.”

Meyer would also be a part of Whitman’s two record setting relays in the 200 and 400 freestyle relay, along with Reia Tong – runner up in the 50 and 100 freestyle, – Audrey Gould, and Sarah Kannan.

Haase would reset her own 100 breaststroke record in a time of 1:00.05. Kristina Li (Wootton) broke the girls’ 100 backstroke record with a time of 54.84.

Churchill’s Natalya Ares just missed the record in the girls’ 100 butterfly, finishing in 55.09.

Whitman and Churchill go head-to-head again in two weeks, Feb. 25, at the Maryland High School Championship meet.

In the loss, Georgetown Prep showed a lot of promise for the future, with impressive swims by freshmen Grant Goddard and Carsten Vissering, winners  in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

Boys Individual Highlights

Girls Individual Highlights

Boys Team Highlights

Girls Team Highlights

Last week Churchill’s girls’ team was able to knock off Whitman and Wootton, largely due to the Bulldogs dominant divers. However, this week, every team will be able to enter a fourth athlete in every event, giving a deep Whitman team the slight advantage at Metros against their MCPS rivals.

Whitman hopes to take big points in the two girls’ freestyle relays, where they are currently seeded first. With swimmers Reia Tong, Audrey Gould, Sarah Kannan, and Charlotte Meyer, it is hard not to favor the Vikings relays, although Churchill, Good Counsel, and a Caroline McTaggart-led Holton-Arms will certainly challenge for first in whatever relay they place their superstars.

In the boys’ meet, Gonzaga will contend with MCPS Division I champion Walter Johnson for the title. But the Eagles will need to move up in the relay events if they hope to challenge Gonzaga’s very deep, very talented group.

Walter Johnson’s boys’ have something to prove in the freestyle relays, where they’ll be anchored by Garrett Powell — headed to the University of Georgia next year — and junior Barry Mangold. But a loaded Gonzaga team will certainly have other plans. They are led by a one of the best groups of upperclassmen in the area, including sprinter Sean Sullivan (UNC-Chapel hill).

Good Counsel will also be in the mix. Last week, Jack Conger‘s brilliant performances secured Good Counsel the top seed in both the boys’ 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

The individual races will be no less thrilling than the relay events, with an all-star cast set to take to the water. With the notable absence of Katie Ledecky, the girls’ 200 and 500 freestyle events will be wide open.

Churchill’s Natalya Ares (University of Richmond*) leads all challengers in the girls’ 200 freestyle, where she is the top seed at 1:52.35, against sophomore Kannan (1:53.87), Sherwood junior Anna Kolanowski (1:54.34), Gould (1:54.59), Wootton sophomore Kristina Li (1:54.75), Kannan’s teammate, freshman Elaina Gu (1:55.38), and senior Ellen Anderson with a 1:55.46. Ares has the edge in what will be a Montgomery County dominated final.

Ares was just off Danielle Schulkin’s record of 55.07 in the girs’ 100 butterfly last year at Metros. She is again the top-seed heading into prelims with a time of 55.31. But do not count out junior Sophie Pietrantonio (Maret),  senior Anna Epstein (Sidwell Friends), who, when rested, have the speed to hang with Ares.

In the girls’ 500 freestyle, Anderson (Gaithersburg) — heading to Northwestern — holds the top position with a 5:00.23. Just behind her, with a 5:04.94, sits Whitman’s Lauren Levy (Brown University*), and Makenzie Miller (Good Counsel) with a 5:08.36. As they meet for the first time this season, they should push each other during the 20 length race. Freshman Gu, could also get in the mix if she has a good race, seeded fourth with a 5:08.73.

A race no one is going to want to miss will be the girls’ 200 IM, between Good Counsel senior Sarah Haase (1:59.97), who signed with Stanford University, and junior Charlotte Meyer (Whitman), seeded second with a 2:02.81. Meyer will need a sizable lead at the half way point to steal this race from Haase. Haase is one of the most dominant breaststrokers in recent memory. She is the runaway favorite in the girls’ 100 breaststroke, seeded first by nearly five seconds with a 1:00.44. Last year she broke her sister Colleen Haase’s record in the event.

Meyer will also contend for the 100 backstroke title against Holy Cross standout Ashleigh Ferguson, who is seeded first with a 55.48. Meyer’s is second with a 57.29, just ahead of Li, who is undefeated in the backstroke event this season with a seed time of 57.49.

In the sprint events, Holtan-Arms freshman McTaggart is expected to continue her reign as the top sprinter on the north bank of the Potomac. Fresh off breaking two league records last weekend at WMPSSDL Championships, it is hard to imagine anyone catching McTaggart, seeded first in the 50 freestyle in 23.07 and in the 100 freestyle in 49.99.

The race for second should be tight between seniors Tong (Whitman), Morgan Whyte (St. John’s), Ferguson (Holy Cross), and Victoria Kuhn (Whitman). All four seniors will be swimming for NCAA programs next year. Tong for Brown, Whyte for Delaware, Ferguson for South Carolina, and Kuhn for Cornell.

In the boys’ individual events, its hard not to be excited about watching area star, Jack Conger, taking on Gonzaga’s Sean Sullivan and Garrett Powell in their own events.

In the boys’ 50 freestyle, top seed Sullivan (20.68) and second seed Conger (21.24) will face off. Conger holds the Metros record with a 20.56, set in 2010.

Conger’s biggest challenge will come in the 500 freestyle against distance specialist Powell, an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 1500-meter freestyle. Powell is the top seed in 4:29.12, but Conger is not too far back with a 4:33.25. This should certainly be a fun race to watch, with an even more exciting finish.

Before his showdown with Conger, Powell should dominate the boys’ 200 freestyle, seeded 1:41.96.

Sean Sullivan is also the top seed in the boys’ 100 freestyle (46.54), ahead of juniors Mangold and Austin Cole (Churchill), seeded 47.19 and 47.35, respectively.

Boys 100 breaststroke is an absolute toss up. Austin Dickey (Wootton) leads the way, quickly followed by Fletcher Tollefson (Walter Johnson), freshman Carsten Vissering (Georgetown Prep), Leo Mercer (Good Counsel), Michael Fu (Wootton), and Harrison Gu (Churchill), all under one-minute. This event continues to be one of the most fiercely contested events this season. The top six seeds are all under one-minute, divided by just .62 seconds; the top ten are all under 1:01; and the top 14 are under 1:02.

Also watch for Georgetown Prep senior Carl St. John to pick up big wins for the Little Hoyas in the boys’ 200 IM (1:54.66) and 100 butterfly (51.99), as well as Gonzaga senior Tim Barry in the boys’ 100 backstroke (52.83).  St. John is committed to swim at Cornell next year, while Barry will be headed to Loyola University Maryland.

 Click here for the complete psych sheet.

*Athletes committed to swim for the listed university next year.

Powerhouse programs Churchill, Good Counsel, and Gonzaga got things done once again, winning their respective championship meets. Next week, it will be a different game for the Montgomery County and WMPSSDL teams, as they meet at the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships (Metros). Walter Johnson’s boys will match up with Gonzaga on the boys’ side of the meet.  Never count out Whitman’s girls in a championship setting either, as they challenge Churchill and Good Counsel.

Oakton’s boys and girls each won with a complete team effort on Saturday at the Northern Region championship at Oak Marr RECenter in Vienna. They will be off this weekend before getting back in the pool for the AAA Virginia championship meets, held in their backyard at George Mason’s Jim McKay Natatorium in Fairfax.

They will meet the best from across the state, including local teams out of the AAA Northwest Region. Before states, Cedar Run District champion Battlefield and Cardinal District champion Osbourn Park, will compete in their regional championship meet Friday, Feb. 10, at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas.

Quick Results: WMPSSDL Boys Championship, WMPSSDL Girls Championship, AAA Northern Region Championship, MCPS Division I Championship, MCPS Division III Championship, AAA Cedar Run District Championship, and AA Region II Championship.

Check back for previews for Metros and the AAA Northwest Region Championship later this week.

WMPSSDL: Katie Ledecky stars for Stone Ridge

“She’s on her way.”

That’s how Bob Walker, the head coach of Stone Ridge’s swim team, describes his star freshman, Katie Ledecky.

The freshman broke meet records in both of her individual events, and anchored the victorious Stone Ridge girls’ 200-yard freestyle relay team with a blistering 22.67 split. Holton-Arms was second, anchored by Caroline McTaggart, who split 22.75.

Ledecky’s record-breaking performances in the girls’ 200 (1:46.75) and 500 freestyle (4:37.65) 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.

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 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.

For the full Washington Post article, continue reading here.

Ledecky’s performances certainty had people talking, but she was far from the only one turning heads or breaking records.

McTaggart announced her presence to the rest of the league in her first WMPSSDL championship, breaking the league records in the girls’ 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. She finished in 23.07 in the 50 freestyle and in 49.99 in the 100 freestyle.

Reigning All-Met Swimmer of the Year, Sarah Haase, led three-time champion Good Counsel.

Haase set a new meet record in the girls’ 100 butterfly with a 56.91. She got her second individual win of the night in the girls’ 100 breaststroke, winning in 1:03.99.

Haase also teamed up with Catherine Mulquin, Katherine Cleary, and Makenzie Miller for a win in the girls’ 200 medley relay, finishing in 1:48.71.

For the boys, Conger continues to show why he is the best male swimmer in the region.

Conger broke league records in the boys’ 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, both area best times. He shattered U-Va. standout Brady Fox’s record in the 100 butterfly, with a new time of 47.43. He later set a new record in the 100 backstroke with a 47.47.

Conger was no less impressive in the relays, where he provided key splits to hold off two very fast Gonzaga relay teams. In the boys’ 200 medley relay, Conger split 21.19, as the butterfly leg of the relay, against Gonzaga’s Sean Sullivan (22.42). Brady Welch led off the winning Good Counsel relay; Evan Garfield was in breaststroke; and Ryan Edmunds anchored in free. Good Counsel finished 1:36.20 to Gonzaga’s 1:36.40.

Later, Conger and Sullivan battled again, this time in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay. Sullivan had the lead going into the final leg, but a 43.71 second split by Conger allowed Good Counsel to edge Gonzaga by the same .2 second difference as before, finishing 3:10.31 to 3:10.51.

Despite being bested by Conger in the relays, Sullivan was sensational for the winning Gonzaga boys, breaking his brother Patrick Sullivan’s meet record in the boys’ 50 freestyle, with a new time of 20.68. He was also the winner of the boys’ 100 freestyle in 46.54.

Led by Sullivan, Gonzaga’s boys packed the top heats all night with notable performances by seniors Madison Hardimon, Tim Barry, Sean Spata, and Patrick Reyes, and junior Paul O’Hara, winner of the boys’ 200 IM (1:57.63).

O’Hara, Barry, Reyes, and Hardimon would combine to win the boys’ 200 freestyle relay in 1:27.12.

Finishing the record-breaking night, Holy Cross’s Ashleigh Ferguson just missed the league record in the girls’ 100 backstroke, with a new meet record of 56.66.

Other winners were Matt Colket (Good Counsel) in the boys’ 200 freestyle (1:44.21), Bridie Burke (Georgetown Visitation) in the girls’ 200 IM (2:07.80), Gavin Springer (Sidwell Friends) in the boys’ 500 freestyle (4:37.65), and Don Tucker (O’Connell) in the boys’ 100 breaststroke (59.62).

Next week, WMPSSDL teams will meet the best from Montgomery County at the Metros.

Oakton boys and girls sweep Virginia AAA Northern Region swimming championships

On a night where few races were won without achieving an all-American cut time, Oakton‘s boys’ and girls’ teams outlasted the competition to once again stand tall as the AAA Northern Region champions.

Oakton’s boys beat Woodson, 281.5 to 250, at Oakmarr RECenter, despite not winning a single event until the final relay of the night. The girls’ side was more decisive, with Oakton’s girls pulling away from a top-loaded West Potomac team to win 245 to 190.

Janet Hu on her way to breaking the girls' 100 freestyle region record. (photo by Wayne Stocks)

They were led by sophomore Janet Hu, who set two new regional records in the 100-yard freestyle (49.52 seconds) and 100 backstroke (53.76 seconds), both in automatic all-American times, before delivering a come from behind victory in the girls’ 400 freestyle relay.

Where Hu was impressive, no one could outshine the duo of Seliskar brothers from Thomas Jefferson.

Freshman Andrew Seliskar finished with four all-American cuts – three automatic – and a regional record.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

Area teams finish strong at Region II championship

At the Virginia AA Region II swimming championships, the Western Albemarle (Crozet, Va.) ran away with the girls’ meet, piling up 148 points over second-place finisher Potomac Falls.

Dulles District champion Potomac Falls came up short in the boys’ meet as well, finishing behind Brentsville, 85 points to 68 points.

Brentsville was powered by relay wins in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, as well as individual wins by Justin Doyle in the 50 and 100 freestyle evnets.

Doyle was outstanding for the Tigers all night. He led off the winning 200 medley relay (1:42.92), and held off Potomac Falls’ anchor, William Lin, to help win the 200 freestyle relay for Brentsville in 1:31.60. Doyle was joined by Naoki Sugiura, Sam Maranto, and Ben Cumberland in both relays.

Doyle finished nearly a full second ahead of the field in the 50 freestyle, winning in 21.85. He outpaced the crowd again in the 100 freestyle in 48.47.

Lin was a double winner for Potomac Falls with impressive swims in the 200 freestyle (1:47.02) and 500 freestyle. It was a tight race in the 500 freestyle with Dominion‘s Aidan O’Hara who finished less than a second back, 4:49.71 to 4:50.31.

After the tough loss in the 500 freestyle, O’Hara would not be kept out of the top-spot in the 100 backstroke, winning in 56.00 over Briar Woods‘s Brennan Maxwell. Maxwell won easily in the 100 butterfly earlier in the meet with a time of 54.70.

Potomac Falls finished the meet strong with a win in the boys’ 400 freestyle relay. The team of Gavin Saunders, Sean Hurrell, Jamison Riley, and Lin accelerated past the rest of the region to win in 3:24.24.

Western Albemarle had plenty to cheer about on the girls’ side of the meet. They grabbed five individual and two relay wins to distance themselves from Loudoun and Prince William county teams, but that did not stop local teams from shining in the regional meet.

Potomac Falls kicked off the girls’ meet with a big win in the girls’ 200 medley relay. The team of Karen Hood, Ariana Staffen, Carson Newton, and Kiri Harvey beat a compact field for first with Tuscarora, Western Albemarle, Dominion, and Heritage to win in 1:55.35.

Kaleigh Rosenburgh shined for Heritage, winning the 200 IM (2:08.28) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.37), breaking her own school record in the breaststroke event.

Dominion’s Jalyn Marks pulled away from Briar Woods’s Lizzie Mittan in the 500 freestyle to win 5:16.09 to 5:20.95.

Jalyn Marks racing to a win in the girls' 500 freestyle (photo by Gemma Rosenburgh)

Other winners were Western Albemarle’s swimmers, Remedy Rule in the girls’ 200 free (1:52.33) and 100 free (52.02), Alex Rayle in boys’ 200 IM (2:01.36), Katherine Sheppard in the girls’ diving with 401.14 points, Natalie Cronk in the girls’ 100 fly (57.95), and Katie Lesemann in the girls’ 100 backstroke (1:01.44).

Also winners, Kelsey Dingman from Sherando High School in the girls’ 50 free (25.40) and Fluvanna’s Bryce Campanelli in the boys’ diving (461.10 points).

Teams will compete next at the A/AA Virginia State Championship, February 9-11, 2012, at the Christiansburg Aquatics Center.

Magruder girls, Damascus boys stand tall

The Damascus’ boys stole the Division III crown, in a closely contested divisional championship meet, held on Saturday, at the Martin Luther King Swim Center. Damascus finished with 391.5 points, just ahead of Springbrook, which finished with 383.5.

On the girls’ side, it was all Damascus and Magruder, which each racked up over 400 points. Magruder pulled away to win with 487 points over the Hornets’ 440 points. Complete meet results available here.

Although not a factor in the team competition, Gaithersburg seniors Ellen Anderson – committed to Northwestern University – and Tyler Pham stood out individually in the divisional championship meet.

Anderson was in a class of her own in the mid-distance freestyle events. She won the 200 freestyle in 1:55.46, nearly 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Later, she would just miss breaking five minutes in the 500 freestyle, finishing in 5:00.23.

Her teammate Pham was equally matchless, outpacing the competition in the 200 IM by a wide margin. He finished in 1:58.50. In the 100 backstroke, Pham would have a much closer race. The Trojan senior won the event in 53.30, but was quickly followed by Damascus’s Samuel Trible in 55.44 and Kennedy’s Duncan Johnson in 55.90. Trible also won the boys’ 100 butterfly in 55.25.

Other event winners were Zachary Eisig in the 200 freestyle (1:51.88), Lauren Gil in the girls’ 200 IM (2:18.59) and 100 breaststroke (1:10.67), Gregory Ridgway (23.58) and Abigail Triau (26.25) in the 50 freestyle, Nicole Polen in the girls’ 100 butterfly (1:04.30), Kohler Sukachevin in the boys’ 100 freestyle (51.91), Katie Sweeney in the girls’ 100 freestyle (57.68) and 100 backstroke (1:05.73), James Hisnanick in the 500 freestyle (4:58.68), and Scott Powell  in the boys’ 100 breaststroke (1:04.14).

Battlefield defends Cedar Run titles

The Battlefield girls and boys successfully defended their Cedar Run District titles Friday night at the GMU-Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas. Though they took first in only one individual event and one relay, the Battlefield boys were powered by a deep roster, winning by just one point, 397 to 396, over runner-up Patriot High School. The Battlefield girls were dominant, outscoring runner-up Freedom High School 455 to 357 while winning six individual events and two relays. Patriot was third.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

MCPS Division I: Walter Johnson boys, Churchill girls win titles

Powered by their depth and divers, Churchill girls won the Montgomery County Division I Championship, beating out Wootton and Whitman, with 443 points to 416 and 392 points, on Saturday morning, at Germantown Indoor.

Walter Johnson won the closely contested boys’ meet, after winning both freestyle relays and dominant performances by stars Garrett Powell and Barry Mangold. They finished with a score of 428 to edge Churchill by 10 points.

Click to keep reading the full meet synopsis, with complete results.

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.

Wootton girls roll; WJHS boys sneak by despite missing key swimmers

Wootton girls were dominant against the Wildcats on Saturday, but the boys team squandered and opportunity against a depleted Walter Johnson boys’ team. [read more here]

Churchill sweeps B-CC

Churchill looked like the paramount team we’ve come to expect, commanding the meet from start to finish. B-CC showed it has some talent, but it lacks the depth to compete for a divisional title against teams like Churchill and Whitman. [read more here]

Woodson remains undefeated; beats TC Williams

*provided by Woodson Swim & Dive

Despite the long layoff over winter break, Woodson was able to rattle off 34 season’s best times to win 224-91 (boys), 213-99 (girls) over TC Williams.

The Cavalier boys and girls swept diving (1,2,3,4) with Eric Pavord and Samantha Eldridge each taking first. More than half of the divers recording season high scores.

James Chung (Woodson) recorded his first individual region time of the season in the boys’ 200 IM in 2 minutes 3.77 seconds.

Gloriya Mavrova won the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke for the Titans.

Leah Rogers (Woodson) easily eclipsed the region qualifying time in girls’ 200 IM (2:13.55), cutting nearly 2 seconds from her personal best.

Titans’ captain, senior Abby Cox scored a regional cut in the 200 IM (2:13.04), winning the event.

One of the standout performances of the night came form Katie McGraw (Woodson), who crushed her personal best time, dropping five seconds, in the girls’ 200 freestyle, and chopped 15 seconds off her previous best in the 500 freestyle for second place, behind Cox, a two-time state qualifier in the event.

Lawrence Lincoln (TC Williams) tied for first in the 50 free style and anchored the winning boys’ 400 freestyle relay.

Despite the dominance by Woodson, the meet ended with excitement. The last event of the night, the girls’ 400 free relay, was decided by .01, with TC edging out the Cavs. The team of A. Cox, Charlotte Sackett, Colleen Cox, and Mavrova set a team new record.

Next week will match the Woodson boys and girls (5-0) against the West Springfield Spartans (5-0, 5-0) in a meet that may very well determine the regular season titles for both.

Patriot beats Broad Run

*provided by Broad Run Swimming

In a meet filled with tight finishes, Patriot High School defeated the Broad Run boys’ and girls’ swim teams in Saturday’s Cedar Run District meet. The Patriot boys won 163-123, while the girls won 166-120.

The night started off well for the Patriot boys, winning the opening 200 medley relay in 1:44.73, with excellent swims by the young team of Marcus Quint, Andrew Proper, Thomas Scot, and Gavin Graham.

Proper was a double winner in the 200 freestyle (1:51.89) and 500 freestyle (5:07.18).

Broad Run seniors Alan Horback and Jacob Leidy each won two individual events with Northwest Regional qualifying times.

In the closest race of the night, Horback edged out Patriot’s Quint in the 100 free, 50.32 to 50.34. Horback also won the 50 free in 22.96.

Leidy’s victories came in the 200 IM (2:01.46) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.18).

Sophomore Jack Morrisroe (Broad Run) also took first in the 100 back stroke (59.58) and second in the 100 butterfly (57.42).

Horback, Leidy and Morrisroe teamed with Michael Kopecky for a win in the 200 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 1:34.28.

Junior Caroline Ruttenberg led the Broad Run girls with two individual first places and two exciting finishes.

Broad Run's Caroline Ruttenberg (top) and Patriot's Samantha Baird go stroke for stroke in the final leg of the 200 IM, which Ruttenberg won 2:20.28 to 2:20.47. (photo provided by Marianne Thiede)

In the 200 IM, Ruttenberg and Patriot’s Samantha Baird went stroke for stroke in the freestyle leg, with Ruttenberg winning 2:20.28 to Baird’s 2:20.47.

After taking first in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.31), Ruttenberg nearly pulled off a come-from-behind win, as she anchored the 400 free relay, but Patriot was able to hang on, 4:05.25 to 4:05.31.

Also a double winner, Sydney Thorpe (Patriot) won the 200 freestyle (2:07.96) and 500 freestyle (5:30.60).

Freshman Emily Adams (Broad Run) notched her first individual win for the season as she out-touched fellow freshman, Baird, in the 100 back, 1:05.46 to 1:05.84.

Patriot junior Hannah Romine took first in the 50 freestyle in 27.65, and teammate Caroline Rector took first in the 100 freestyle in 1:02.15.

Adams, Ruttenberg and Anna Sarman teamed with Brooke Graham to win the 200 medley relay (2:03.44), while Sarman and Graham teamed with Gina Pappagallo and Megan Thiede for the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:54.40). Sarman was also an individual winner in the 100 fly (1:06.81).

The Spartans have a double-header this weekend, facing Stonewall Jackson on Friday and Osbourn on Saturday at the Freedom Center in Manassas.

Yorktown sweeps Wakefield in lopsided wins

*provided by Yorktown Swim & Dive

The Yorktown Swim and Dive team headed to the Wakefield pool on Friday, January 6th for a swim meet with Wakefield High School, emerging as the winner in both the boys’ and girls’ meets. Both teams are now 5-0 for the season.

The boys won their meet with a score of 131 – 51, with eleven first place wins in the twelve events.

First place finishes in individual events came from Jason Henley (200 freestyle), Will Tarkenton (50 freestyle), Chris Saulnier (diving), Max Fish (100 buttefly), Henry Love (100 freestyle), Crosby Sensibaugh (500 freestyle), David Emson (100 backstroke) and Peter House (100 breaststroke). The three relay teams also came through with first place finishes: 200 medley relay (Henley, Jack Storrs, Sean Coleman, Quinn Romanek); 200 freestyle relay (Emson, Fish, Eric Newton, Tarkenton) and 400 free relay (Shahan Jayasinghe, Love, Sensibaugh, Coleman).

The girls won their meet with a score of 147 – 21, also with first place finishes in every event. Mason Nassetta was a double winner in the 100 butterfly and diving events.  Other individual event winners were Greta Mosley (200 freestyle), Anastasia Gustafson (200 IM), Ellie Belilos (50 freestyle), Amanda Didawick (100 freestyle), Abby Young (500 freestyle), Rachel Robertson (100 backstroke ) and Katie Linek (100 breaststroke). The girls also won each of the relays:  200 medley relay (Didawick, Lauren Allard, Young and Mason Nassetta); 200 freestyle relay (Allard, Belilos, Gustafson, Stephanie Romano); and 400 freestyle relay (Allard, Grace Greenwood, Romano, Young).

Click here for Yorktown results.

The Patriots return to the pool next weekend with a meet against Edison at the South Run Pool.  The meet begins at 6:30 p.m.

Gaithersburg and Magruder boys tie; Trojan girls fall

*provided by Gaithersburg Swim & Dive

Gaithersburg started out strong against Magruder, with a first and third place finish in the boys’ medley relay. The first place boys’ team had a very close race and fought to the finish to in a time of 1:50.54, nearly five seconds faster than their best relay time this season.  The first place team members were: Tyler Pham, Kieran Mahoney, Jacob Ado, and Daniel Valencia.

Gaithersburg continued the meet with several first places, best times, and new team record.

Senior, Pham, broke his own record in the 100 breaststroke with a new time of 1:01.92 a 1.71 second improvement.

Tyler Pham wins the 100 breastroke against Magruder (photo provided by Maria Brunett)

First places were earned by Ado in the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle; Pham in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke; Ellen Anderson in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle; Valencia in the 50 freestyle; and Nicole Polen in the 100 buttefly.

Gaithersburg boys also took first place in the 200 freestyle relay.  The team members were: Chris Munoz, Adam Foreman, Brian Houk, and Valencia

For Gaithersburg’s results, click here.

Other headlines and results:

Wednesday, Jan. 4

Cathedral and St. Albans beat Bullis, 138-28 and 138-21. [click for full results]

Thursday, Jan. 5

Holton-Arms beats Georgetown Visitation, 122-64. [click for full results]

Gonzaga rolls over Landon, 125-61. [click for full results]

Friday, Jan. 6

Oakton boys pull off the win against the Chargers, 160-155; Cougar girls strong against powerhouse Chantilly, 177-135.

Westfield girls get past tough part of their schedule, beating Robinson 180-132; boys fall to Rams in a close one, 154-161.

West Springfield advances to 5-0, beating Lake Braddock 204-111 (boys), 176-139 (girls).

Langley girls win, 204-107; boys team falls to Madison, 118-197. [edited]

Stone Ridge gets past Holy Child, 105-78. [click for full results]

Loudoun County goes 2-0 in double-header meets on Saturday; beats Heritage, 164-122 (girls), 157-129 (boys) and Handley, 94-76 (girls), 97-73 (boys) [click for full results]

Northwood and Clarksburg split meet; Gladiator girls win, 97-68; Coyote boys win 89-72 [click here for full results]

Northwest boys win over Poolesville; girls team comes up short [click here for full results]

Seneca Valley wins big over Paint Branch [click here for full results]

Sherwood girls roll over Quince; Quince boys return favor [click here for full results]

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.

Area schools are waiting to see if the weather will sideline them once again this weekend. (Photo by Drew Meyer)

While many area school districts were scrambling to postpone and reschedule district and regional swim meets last weekend, swim teams in Montgomery County were missing out on another dual meet. The snowed out dual meets impacted divisional standings, but with divisionals slated for Saturday and the county championships scheduled for Feb. 20, the need to rapidly reschedule big meets was not as severe.

As of Monday, teams were still planning to hold divisional meets on Saturday which would keep them on schedule for the upcoming county and Metros championships. However, unlike private school leagues like the Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim and Dive League, which has the flexibility to hold mid-week meets to account for winter weather, Montgomery County Public schools are heavily limited in their pool time, making it difficult to quickly reschedule a meet involving multiple schools. Six county teams lost meets scheduled for Jan. 30 while all teams were snowed out on Dec. 19.

“Unless there’s ridiculous amounts of snow on the ground Saturday morning, we’re still going,” Whitman Coach Geoff Schaefer said. “The beauty of the non-public school leagues is they can just say, ‘Hey, we’re going to have it at Prep,’ or, ‘We’re going to run this meet on a Thursday with timed finals at this place.’ They have a little bit more flexibility while the county is more strict about what they’re going to do and how they’re going to handle things.”

As for the missed dual meets, Schaefer favors a proposal put forth by Walter Johnson coach Jamie Grimes that would use the computer setup at Saturday’s divisional meets to create virtual swim meets. Since divisionals take the top three swimmers from each school for each event — just like dual meets — teams that had their dual meets canceled could score their times from divisionals against one another to determine who the winner likely would have been. Fitting in the dual meets is imperative for the county since they move the best team in each division up a level and the lowest ranked team down at the end of each season.

“Nothing has been decided yet officially,” Schaefer said. “But if they used a situation where everything was just run as virtual swim meets at divisionals, it would make things go a lot smoother with regards to completing the season. I think that’s the clear choice, but that’s my opinion.”

The WMPSSDL has yet to reschedule its postponed championship meet from last week. See the psych sheet here.

Update: Montgomery County Public Schools will remain closed through Friday and all school and community activities in school buildings are canceled, however no call has been made on Saturday’s meets as of late Tuesday afternoon. With the meets being held at county run facilities, the school closures will not necessarily inhibit the meets from taking place. Schaefer, whose Whitman team is set to host the Division I meet at the Montgomery Aquatic Center, expects the word to come late either way.

“They’re going to wait until the 10th hour,” he said of the county school officials decision on Saturday meets. “But right now, we’re still planning to host it. I told my team ‘Don’t go out of town,’ to make sure their parents didn’t plan a last minute trip up to Wisp or anything.”