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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.
It was back-and-forth in the boys' 200 IM between Tyler Pham (Gaithersburg), Harrison Gu (Churchill), and Jack Foster (Blair). Pham won the event in 1:56.41, setting the record. 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.”