PDF results available here

For the first time in the six-year history of the Maryland 4A/3A swimming championships, schools from Montgomery County participated in the state competition. And for the most part on Saturday at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center,the rest of the state raced to catch the Montgomery swimmers.

The Walter Johnson boys and the Whitman girls claimed the team titles with 268 and 321 points, respectively; Churchill’s boys (223 points) and Wootton’s girls (290.5 points) were the runners-up. Montgomery schools also won all 22 swimming events, setting 16 new state records in the process. Last year’s boys’ state champion, Severna Park, finished 10th behind nine Montgomery teams.

“Having the MCPS teams participate means this meet is more representative of the talent in the state,” Severna Park Coach Mike McTammany said. “It made us realize some things we can work on to get better to compete next year.”

Walter Johnson’s boys and Whitman’s girls walked away with their schools’ first Maryland 4A3A State Swimming Championships on Saturday, racking up 268 and 321 points, respectively. Churchill’s boys were second with 223 points, as were Wootton’s girls with 290.5.

“The girls really swam above what they were expected,” said Whitman coach Geoff Schaefer. “They knew the game plan and they executed.”

For the most part, the rest of the state’s teams raced to catch Montgomery County swimmers, who are competing in their first state competition in the meet’s six year history. MCPS won all twenty two swimming events, in the course of setting sixteen new state records. Last year’s boys’ state champion, Severna Park, finished tenth behind nine MCPS teams.

Walter Johnson senior Garrett Powell set three individual state records and one relay record in what would be his first and last state meet.

Powell demolished the state record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4 minutes 27.83 seconds. He took his first 200 out with a fast turnover rate and quick kick, splitting 1:42.70, .31 seconds under the state record in the 200 freestyle, set earlier that day by Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s Graham Baird. Powell’s split will count as the official state record.

“I decided to take it out fast and see if I could get the [200 freestyle] record. I wasn’t tired, so I kept pushing,” said Powell, who will swim for the University of Georgia√ next year. “It was my last high school meet, and I was really pumped to swim with my teammates one last time.”

At Metros two weeks ago, Powell swam one of the top ten fastest times in history in the boys’ 500 freestyle by a high school swimmer in 4:20.04, behind Good Counsel’s Jack Conger.

Powell also set the record in the 100 backstroke in 51.79, and anchored Walter Johnson’s 400 freestyle relay, which broke the state record by nearly 11 seconds. He was joined by Barry Mangold, Ryan Whitescarver,√ and Chris Root for a time of 3:12.25. Mangold was a double winner in the boys’ 50 and 100 freestyle events, missing the record in the latter by just .01 seconds. He finished in 21.60 and 47.36, respectively.

The Whitman girls had a tougher battle in the girls’ meet with Metros champion Churchill and a young Wootton team. They were propelled by Reia Tong, Sarah Kannan, Audrey Gould, and Charlotte Meyer, who together won the 200 and 400 freestyle relays in record setting times of 1:37.81 and 3:35.05, respectively. Meyer and Gould also broke individual records in the 200 individual medley (2:05.01) and 100 breaststroke (1:06.48), respectively. Tong was a double winner in the girls’ 50 and 100 freestyle events, posting times of 23.93 and 52.10.

“We may not have gone our best times, but we raced the way we wanted to race,” Gould said. “It was important for us to compete as a team and keep the team spirit we’ve built up all year going, and we did that.

Anna Kolanowski (Sherwood) broke the record in the girls’ 200 freestyle, using a late charge to out touch Gaithersburg’s Ellen Anderson, 1:50.79 to 1:51.04.

Tyler Pham (Gaithersburg) led the way in the boys’ 200 IM, setting a new state record in 1:56.41. It was back and forth between Harrison Gu (Churchill) and Jack Foster (Blair) for second place. Gu, a strong breaststroker, charged in the third lap to pass Foster and challenge Pham, but Pham was too strong to catch in the freestyle, continuing to prove himself as one of the top all-around swimmers in the area. All three swimmers went under the previous record. Gu finished second, but was disqualified for a non-simultaneous touch in the breaststroke leg.

Patrick Scordato (Whitman) was ready to race in the boys’ 100 butterfly. He set a new record in a time of 52.28, churning the water at a high pace right from the first stroke.

Likewise, Kristina Li (Wootton) set the record in the girls’ 100 backstroke in 57.02, using a high turnover rate to hold of Meyer, who finished just behind in 57.22.

The best shot for a team outside of Montgomery County to win an event was in the boys’ 100 breaststroke, where state record-holder Michael Seaberg held the top seed entering the competition. He had the lead at the halfway point, before Austin Dickey (Wootton) surged into the lead to earn the win and the state record in 57.77.

Two additional relay records were broken. The first by the Wootton team of Daniel Yook, Dickey, Kenneth Ke, and Michael Fu in the boys’ 200 medley relay (1:39.02), and the second by Churchill’s team of Odin Soevik, Sam Lee, Harrison Gu, and Austin Cole in the boys’ 200 freestyle relay (1:28.27).

Natalya Ares (Churchill) finished her successful by winning the girls’ 100 butterfly in 57.85. She was undefeated in the event this year.

The meet was run in the timed final format, based on times achieved last week at regionals. This was Montgomery County’s first year participating in the meet, which traditionally has viewed Metros, swam two weeks ago, as their championship meet.

“It was a great crowd, and definitely a learning experience for all the Montgomery County teams,” said Bethesda-Chevy Chase coach Jason Blanken. “There were definitely things about the format that we enjoyed, as well as somethings we’d like to incorporate from the Virginia state meet to make it more competitive and add to the environment.”

Complete results available here

Churchill, Whitman, and Wootton should dominate the girls’ competition, just as they did at the Washington Metro Interscholastic and MCPS Division I championships. Walter Johnson and Churchill will battle for the boys’ title.

Churchill’s girls won both earlier contests, but the difference at those meets was Churchill’s substantial advantage in diving, led by freshman star Kali Becker, who has placed first in every championship appearance of her brief high school career.

However, at the Maryland championship meet, diving is exhibition only, with no points counting towards the competition for the team title, evening up the competition between Churchill, Whitman, and Wootton. Whitman was only one point behind Churchill at Metros, and finished nine points ahead of Churchill to win the West region championship meet last weekend. Wootton finished third, five points behind Churchill.

Walter Johnson’s boys were fourth at Metros, behind private school powerhouses Gonzaga, Georgetown Prep, and Good Counsel. As they have all season, the Wildcats will be challenged by Churchill’s boys, who finished 1.5 points and 10 points back at Metros and the Division I championship meets, respectively.

(photo by Bryan Flaherty)

If swimmers can replicate the impressive performances from the Metro championship, nearly every state record has a chance of being broken. Star swimmers from Whitman, Wootton, Walter Johnson, and Churchill enter the competition with season-best times already under the majority of the records, but nearly every one of those times were achieved at Metros, swimming rested, against the area’s elite.

Plus, with club championship meets approaching, club teams are focused on preparing swimmers for the long course championships in March, with several still hoping to reach Olympic Trials cuts, and not on breaking records at a meet in which they have never participated. Regardless, records will fall, even if not in the same spectacular fashion they did at Metros.

Charlotte Meyer‘s time from Metros in the girls’ 200 individual medley is a staggering 10 seconds under the state record. It will be hard for the Whitman junior to replicate that performance without Good Counsel senior Sarah Haase pushing her, but she should still be comfortably under the previous record of 2:08.82.

Meyer will also battle Kristina Li (Wootton) for the record in the girls’ 100 backstroke. Li got the better of Meyer at Metros, finishing in 54.85 to Meyer’s 55.55. The current record is 1:00.53.

Senior Ellen Anderson (Gaithersburg) will lead a field of Montgomery County swimmers in the girls’ 500 freestyle who have all gone under the current record of 5:08.06 at some point this year. Anderson’s season best is 4:52.02. She will also have a shot at the record in the 200 freestyle (1:52.69). Her season best is 1:51.23, but will have to get past Sherwood’s Anna Kolanowski (1:49.85) and Churchill’s Natalya Ares (1:51.98).

Ares has been under the record in the 100 butterfly, going 55.05 two weeks ago at Metros with an inspiring swim from the outside. The current record is 56.22.

Whitman’s team of Reia Tong, Sarah Kannan, Audrey Gould, and Meyer should also set new records in the girls’ 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle. The current records of 1:39.86 and 3:38.07 are well within reach for the Vikings’ stars. Whitman’s season best are 1:35.39 and 3:27.13.

Tong will be close to the record in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, as will Gould in the 100 breaststroke.

The fastest girls’ state record is the 200 medley at 1:48.36. Wootton’s girls’ 200 medley relay was 1:48.54 at Metros, but had Good Counsel’s speedy relay to chase down in the effort. The team of Li, Jessica Chen, Scarlett Sun, and Emily Zhang are all underclassmen and will have plenty of opportunities to eclipse this record in the years to come.

The boys’ side of the meet could have a similar story. Walter Johnson is aiming for more than just the team title. They also have a shot at collecting a number of records on the way, including all three relays records. But they face stiff competition in both 200 relays from the rest of the county elite.

Wootton and Walter Johnson’s boys’ 200 medley relays were separated by less than half a second at Metros, where they were more than four seconds under the current Maryland state record of 1:42.81. Blair was not too far behind Wootton and Walter Johnson in 1:39.85.

Churchill, Walter Johnson, Wooton, and Whitman will duke it out in the 200 freestyle relay. As with any relay, who wins will largely depend on where coaches decide to place their stars.

Walter Johnson has owned the 400 freestyle relay all year in MCPS. At Metros, the team of Barry Mangold, Garrett Powell, Ryan Whitescarver, and Jean-Marc Nugent finished in 3:08.73, which, if they could replicate that performance, would put them almost 15 seconds under the state record.

Senior Powell will be a big part of any relay record for Walter Johnson and is the favorite for two individual records as well.

Powell was an amazing 4:20.04 in the 500 freestyle at Metros, behind Jack Conger, who nearly broke the national high school record. Even if he is no where close to that time, he should go under the current record of 4:43.13. He will be pushed by a pair of Blair swimmers, Jack Foster (4:34.96) and Brian Tsau (4:36.87).

Powell will also compete in the 100 backstroke where he finished almost two full seconds under the state record at regionals last weekend.

Austin Cole (Churchill) and Mangold (Walter Johnson) will battle for the record in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Cole is the top seed in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.34, nine-hundredths of a second ahead of Mangold, and .11 ahead of the current record. Mangold is highly favored in the 100 freestyle after an impressive 45.87 at Metros. The current record is 47.35.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s Graham Baird is the top seed in the boys’ 200 freestyle. His season best of 1:43.38 is well under the record of 1:45.89, but Wootton’s Kevin Fu (1:44.30), Churchill’s Joey Bieda (1:44.65), Clarksburg’s Joshua Kiehl (1:44.93), and Baird’s teammate Jamie Stevenson (1:45.19) all have a shot at stealing this one away from the sophomore. Baird is also the top seed in the boys’ 100 butterfly with a 52.13. The current record is 53.03.

[Updated] Blair’s Foster, Tyler Pham (Gaithersburg) and Harrison Gu (Churchill) will battle for the record in the 200 individual medley – currently 1:57.41, – with season best 1:54.02, 1:55.01, and 1:55.07, respectively.

In the final individual event, the 100 breaststroke, will most likely come down to who is ready to race that day, just as it has all year. Austin Dickey (Wootton), Fletcher Tollefson (Walter Johnson), and Gu all have a shot at the record and the individual championship title, making this an interesting race to keep an eye on.

Additional information on the 2012 MPSSAA State Championship can be found here.

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.

Walter Johnson won the closely contested boys’ meet, after winning both freestyle relays and dominant performances by their stars Garrett Powell and Barry Mangold. They finished with a score of 428 to Churchill’s 418 [complete scores and results available].

“We’ve been wanting this all season,” said Walter Johnson coach Jamie Grimes, about the win. “Our boys were energized and ready to go.”

Mangold  started them off with an impressive swim in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.56 ahead of B-CC’s Jamie Stevenson in 1:46.38. Blair’s Brian Tsau moved up from heat two to grab third in 1:47.59.

Mangold earned his second win of the day over Churchill’s Austin Cole, winner of the 50 freestyle (21.66), in the 100 freestyle. He swam from the front the entire way to win in 47.19. Cole was second in 47.87.

His teammate, Garrett Powell (University of Georgia*) raced no one but himself, winning the 500 freestyle (4:32.19) and 100 backstroke (52.25) with open water between him and second place in both races.

Churchill was led by senior Natalya Ares (University of Richmond*), who led a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle for the Bulldogs to get the ball rolling in the individual events. Ares finished in 1:54.56, ahead of freshman teammate Elaina Gu (1:55.38). Gu also placed second in the 500 freestyle, picking up key points for the Bulldogs.

In her second win of the day, Ares cruised to an easy win in the 100 butterfly in a time of 57.94.

Kali Becker (freshman) won girls diving with a final score of 288.95. Churchill would go 1-3-4 in diving to give them a big cushion against Wootton and Whitman.

In the loss, Whitman stars Charlotte Meyer and Reia Tong dazzled.

Meyer swam strong in the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle, winning both events in commanding fashion. She finished in 2:04.59 in the medley and 5:03.50 in the 500 freestyle.

Tong impressed in the sprint freestyle events. She was able to out swim the fast heat winning in 24.37, despite a slow start in the 50 free. In the girls 100 free, it was close for the first lap before Tong broke away from the field right off the turn, finishing in 52.22.

They combined for a spectacular win in the 400 freestyle relay, in one of the most exciting races of the day. Tong delivered an early lead for the Vikings, but Whitman was able to whittle the lead away, giving Ares a slight lead going into the final leg.

It looked like the Bulldog senior would pull away from Meyer, anchoring for the Vikings, but Meyer surged in the second lap to out-touch Ares, 3:34.03 to 3:34.39. Meyer and Tong were joined by Victoria Kuhn and Audrey Gould for the win.

“We’re really looking forward to next week at Metros,” said Tong. “The competition at that meet is really fast, and we’re excited to race all those great teams.”

Tim Faerber (University of Michigan*) finished his MCPS career on top, winning boys diving with an impressive 313.75 point score.

Other winners were Wootton sophomore Kristina Li who remained undefeated in the 100 backstroke, winning in 58.06, and Churchill’s Harrison Gu, who won the 100 breaststroke in 59.92. Gu also won the 200 IM in 1:56.03. Patrick Scordato placed first in the 100 butterfly in 52.44. Gould won girls 100 breaststroke in 1:07.65.

* Swimmers have signed their National Letters of Intent to swim next season for the respective university’s program.

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

(Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

“Churchill is loaded. We’ll need to swim a perfect meet if we want to beat them,” said Wootton coach Howard Blume. “When you’re the underdogs, you can’t have any slip ups.”

Wootton’s girls will not shy from the challenge however. Last week they pounced on Whitman, who were missing their two star swimmers, Charlotte Meyer and Reia Tong, winning 113-58. Early in the season, Whitman dealt Churchill their only loss, winning by one point, 86-85.

Wootton is led by sophomores Jessica Chen and Kristina Li, who have been on a tear so far this season. Chen has dominated the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke in every meet this year, as has Li in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Countering Wootton in the freestyle events will be key for Churchill. That job will likely fall to sophomore sprinter Alicia Tiberino and freshman Elaina Gu.

Churchill junior Natalya Ares takes off in the backstroke. (By Deb Lindsey/The Washington Post)

Likewise, senior Natalya Ares must be on point for the Bulldogs. At her best, the first team All-Met swimmer can win nearly any event in which she is entered. She’s shown herself to be in another class this season in the 100 butterfly, but needs to swim well in whatever event coach Brendan Roddy places her, especially if it’s opposite Chen or Li.

What could tip the balance in Churchill’s favor are their divers, Kali Becker and Jacquelyn Stanton, who are tops in the county, and will be in the mix for top scores at states this year, Montgomery County’s first year participating in the Maryland championship meet.

If Wootton has a shot to win, they will have to come up big in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays, events Churchill’s depth gives them the advantage in.

Each team earns one point towards the Division Championship for every dual meet win, additional points in decreasing values available based on where they finish in Division I Championship meet, Feb 4. If Wootton’s girls fall short this weekend, they’ll be tied with Churchill heading into the championship meet, where the Division Champion would be determined based on where they finish that weekend.

Woodson, Yorktown, and Oakton are undefeated on both girls’ and boys’ sides in the Northern Region with one meet to go. Churchill, Wootton, Walter Johnson, and Whitman are battling it out in the MCPS’ top division, and are looking ahead to their first Maryland states appearances.

Click to find full meet results and top times from the 2011-2012 high school season. If you would like your team’s meet to be featured, remind your coaches to send in meet summaries and results, or submit highlights yourself, so we can include them in this week’s high school wrap-up.

Featured Meet of the Week: Woodson tops West Springfield to advance to 6-0

In a clash between two of the region’s top-tier teams, Woodson and West Springfield both entered the district meet with 5-0 records. Woodson left 6-0, and with a clear path to the Patriot District championship. [Click here to keep reading]

Clarksburg boys keep three-year winning streak alive; Watkins Mill girls win

Clarksburg boy’s haven’t lost a meet since the 2008-2009 season, but with a season ending injury to the Coyotes’ star junior, Andrew Qian, it looked like Watkins Mill had a shot to steal the win this week.

But despite three disqualifications, Clarksburg managed to beat the Wolverines boys by one point, 85-84. Watkins Mill’s girls’ team won 94-73.

Key swims came from Michael Le who won the 100 breaststroke and Josh Kiehl in the 50 freestyle. Jared White also performed well, winning both the 200 and 500 freestyle events for Clarksburg.

It was a team effort for the Watkins Mill girls’ team, who picked up the majority of the seconds, thirds, and fourths. Kelly Lewis was the only double winner for the Wolverine ladies, winning the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke events.

Clarksburg’s girls were led by Carly Alvarado, who won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

Patriots topple Edison

*excerpts taken from Yorktown team page

The Yorktown swim and dive teams traveled to South Run Recreation Center on Friday, January 13th for a swim meet with Edison. The Patriots emerged as the winner in both the boys’ and girls’ meets, to advance to 6-0 on the season.

The boys won 215-99, with first place wins in every event, while the girls won their meet 222-82, winning 11 of 12 events.

Will Tarkenton was a double winner with first place finishes in the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle events. For the girls, Ellie Belilos won the 200 and 100 freestyle, and Amanda Didawick won the 50 freestyle and100 backstroke.

Yorktown won each of the three relay events on the boys’ and girls’ sides.

The Patriots conclude the dual meet season next weekend against Arlington rival Washington-Lee, at the newly built Yorktown Pool. The meet begins at 6:30 p.m.

Other individual winners were Jason Henley (200 free), Evan Kopca (200 IM), David Emson (50 free), Hunter Simmons (diving), Max Fish (100 free), Timothy Aldinger (100 back), and Jack Storrs (100 breast) for the boys team, and Abby Young (200 IM), Kirby Nassetta (diving), Grace Greenwood (500 free), and Rachel Robertson (100 breast).

Wootton wins big over divisional opponent Whitman

Wootton’s boys rebounded from last week’s loss to Walter Johnson, winning 116-53 against Whitman. The Patriot girls continued to build momentum, winning 113-58, heading into next week’s showdown with Churchill.

Kevin Fu was big for the Patriots, winning two close races in the 100 freestyle (50.35) and 200 freestyle (1:52.44). Nick Tragotsis and Michael Fu were also double winners for Wootton. Tragotsis won the 200 IM (2:02.46) and 500 freestyle (5:01.80), as Michael Fu continued impressed, winning the 50 freestyle (22.73) and 100 butterfly (55.35).

Kristina Li and Jessica Chen led the way for Wootton’s girls’ team. Li put together wins in the 100 freestyle (54.01) and 100 backstroke (58.11), both in season best times.

Likewise, Chen captured the first-place points for Wootton in the 50 freestyle (24.89) and 100 breaststroke (1:08.64), where she beat out Audrey Gould (1:09.84). Gould won the 200 IM for the Vikings in 2:13.72.

The bright spot for Whitman were it’s divers, who swept the boys’ and girls’ events.

For complete results, click here.

Falls Church crushes Hayfield, surges heading into rivalry meet against Stuart

Falls Church (4-2) rolled, Friday night, against Hayfield (1-5). The boys’ team won 196-119, as the girls assembled a commanding triple digit lead over the Hawks, 229-68.

Falls Church’s star junior, Laura Schwartz made it look easy, finishing well ahead of everyone in the 200 freestyle (2:00.67) and 100 backstroke (1:03.93).

Freshman Ben Lambert did everything he could for the Hawks against the Jaguars deep boys’ team. Lampert won took first in the 100 freestyle (50.58) and 50 freestyle (22.91).

Falls Church is looking strong heading into their final dual meet of the season against rival JEB Stuart. They will meet Friday, Jan. 20, 6:30 p.m., at Providence RECenter.

Hayfield hopes to get its second win of the season against a struggling Mount Vernon squad, Friday, 6:30 p.m., at GW RECenter.

Churchill handles division one newcomer Blair

*excerpts taken from Churchill team page

On Saturday, the Churchill Bulldogs faced off against division one newcomer, Blair Blazers. For the fourth meet in a row, the boys started the meet by taking first and second in the opening 200 medley relay.

In the first individual event, the 200 freestyle, Joey Bieda, Chris Wysocki and Colin Asbury swept. The boys’ team (4-0) were well on their way to defeating the Blazers 122.5 to 48.5. Harrison Gu (200 IM) and Austin Cole (50 free) won the remaining events of the first half. Tim Faerber returned this week to win diving.

The break did not slow down the swimmers. Eric Eig, Andy Rosenthal and Eric Shiang kept the wins coming by sweeping the 100 butterfly. Then, Cole (100 free) and Gu (100 breast) won their second events of the meet. In the end, the boys won eight out of the nine individual events.

Jack Foster was the lone winner for the Blazers. He took first in the 500 freestyle, and a close second in the 200 IM.

Like last week, the Bulldogs’ “A” relay faced a battle in the 400 freestyle relay, and again, Cole anchored the relay to guarantee victory. This week he was joined by Asbury, Bieda and Wysocki. They were challenged by the Bulldogs “B” relay of Eig, Rosenthal, Steve Ge and Odin Soevik, who came in second.

The girls have not lost a race since December 17, 2011, and nothing would change this week. Against the Blazers, the girls (3-1) won every single individual and relay race on their way to a 127-44 victory.

Shannon Ridge, Elizabeth Gelbaugh, Elaina Gu and Michelle Illig won the opening 200 medley relay.

Natalya Ares followed the relay victory by winning the 200 free. She would also win the 100 butterfly. The girls then swept the next five events.

Gu was a double winner in the 200 IM and 500 freestyle, along with Alicia Tiberino, who won the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

In the last individual event, the girls swept the 100 breaststroke for their sixth sweep of the meet.

For complete results, click here.

Battlefield beats Osbourn, remains undefeated

Battlefield’s girls didn’t lose an event in the lopsided, 196-90 win over Osbourn. The boys’ team handled Osbourn, 181-108, to remain undefeated in the Cedar Run District.

Seniors Ford Whitticar and Jacob Croasdell shined for the Bobcats. Whitticar placed first in the 200 freestyle (1:52.92) and 100 butterfly (54.55), while Croasdell held off the field in the 100 freestyle (50.99) and 100 backstroke (58.43).

For the girls, Sofia Revilak won the 200 freestyle (2:02.90) and 100 freestyle (56.29) for Battlefield, and teammate Nina Tremols was a double winner in the 100 butterfly (1:01.81) and 100 backstroke (1:0361).

Henry Campbell and Adam Mustafa both had excellent swims for the Eagles, each with an individual win and a close second place finish apiece. Campbell won the 500 freestyle in 4:54.19. Mustafa cruised in the 200 IM in 2:05.53. Both won by commanding leads.

Battlefield meets Patriot High School next Friday, 7:30 p.m., at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas. Both teams are undefeated this season.

For complete results, click here.

Gaithersburg rolls Kennedy

Gaithersburg presented their coach with a clear victory for both the boys’ and girls’ squad in the meet versus Kennedy High School, winning 102-60 (boys) and 100-60 (girls).

Gaithersburg’s boys were able to capitalize on sweeps by the boys in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. The boys won nine of 11 events, while the girls took ten of 11.

The meet began and ended with first place finishes by Gaithersburg’s boys’ and girls’ 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Double winners for the Spartans were Amelia Robinson, who won the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Nicole Polen, who won the 200 IM and 100 butterfly. (

Tyler Pham won the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly for Gaithersburg.

For complete results, here.

Oakton Sweeps Robinson for a 6-0 Season

*excerpts taken from Oakton’s teampage

Oakton High School’s varsity swim and dive teams went head to head with Robinson Secondary for the second time this season, Friday night, at Cub Run Recreation Center. Oakton’s boys and girls had a strong meet, remaining undefeated. The boys won 202-113, and the girls won 192-123.

The meet started off with Senior Recognition Night. Dr. Banbury, Oakton High School’s principal, and Pat Full, Oakton’s Athletic Directory, were on deck to pay tribute to the team’s 20 graduating seniors.

Cheryl Meltz, head dive coach, shared her thoughts on the night, “We got to pay tribute to our 20 wonderful senior swimmers and divers who have done so much for our team over the last four years. We will definitely miss their contributions to the team after they graduate. We are excited to have both our boys and girls’ teams undefeated going into our last dual meet. We are hoping to finish up the season undefeated in our last dual meet next weekend and then look forward to an amazing championship season.”

Philip Hu placed first in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. Carter Sharer also took first in two events, winning the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. Conor Murphy finished first in the 100 backstroke and second in the 50 freestyle.

Janet Hu finished first in the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle. Julia Capobianco placed first in 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

Oakton will return to the pool for the last meet of the regular season at 8:30 pm on Friday, January 20, against Robinson Secondary at Audrey Moore.

Other results:

Walter Johnson’s boys keep on rolling, win 107-64 over B-CC; girls bounce back, 109-62 [complete results here]

Jefferson ladies ready to unseat Langley after win over Fairfax, 190-125; boys win 211-103 over the Rebels

Poolesville wins 110-61 (girls); 99.5-71.5 (boys) [complete results here]

Loudoun County wins 168-117, 157-124 over Woodgrove’s girls’ and boys’ teams [complete results 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]

Walter Johnson was expected to dominate, with perhaps the deepest and most talented group of freestylers in Montgomery County this year. But the Wildcats were missing standouts Fletcher Tollefson and Garrett Powell, and Wootton’s boys kept the meet close, trailing by only one point going into the final relay.

Start of the girls 100 butterfly; Wootton's Scarlett Sun (15) placed first, followed by teammate Allie Klatzkin (16). (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

But Walter Johnson was saved by brilliant swims by Barry Mangold (16), who won the 50 freestyle in 21.92 seconds and 100 freestyle in 47.82, before capping off the day by anchoring the 400 relay relay to a win to seal the victory for the Wildcats, 88-83.

Wootton’s girls were heavily favored heading into the meet and did not disappoint, winning nine of eleven events to win 113-58, including impressive swims by Kristina Li (15), who won the 100 freestyle (54.85) and 100 backstroke (58.91).

Wootton’s boys had built a body length lead during the first three legs of the relay, but Mangold erased that lead in the first 50 yards, pulling away in the second lap from Wootton’s Kevin Fu (16), winner of the 200 freestyle (1:51.46).

While Mangold’s leg was decisive, Jean-Marc Nugent (14) also gave a key performance as the third leg for Walter Johnson to keep it close, just minutes after taking second in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.63).

The boys 100 breaststroke was won by Austin Dickey (16) who set a new Wootton record with a time of 59.30.

Austin Dickey on his way to setting a new Wootton team record in the boys 100 breaststroke. (Bryan Flaherty/The Washington Post)

Other top performances were provided by Annie Kastler (16), who put up an impressive 196.80 to win the girls diving event for Walter Johnson, and Wootton’s Jessica Chen (15) who was a double winner in the 50 freestyle (25.11) and 100 breaststroke (1:08.27).

Come championship season, Walter Johnson’s boys will certainly be one to watch.

Full meet results available.