Last Saturday, we loaded our Seton Swim team onto two buses and headed to St. Catherine’s School in Richmond for our season opening team building meet. In spite of the fact that the SAT, the Manassas Christmas Parade and Irish Dance kept 24 of our swimmers away, the 53 swimmers that took the trip not only swam very well, but they also had a great opportunity to grow together as a team and to have a whole lot of fun at a very well-run meet.
Final Scores
The meet included six (6) teams including three other Division II teams including our DAC rival, Fredericksburg Christian School. The other two teams were the host teams, Division I powerhouses St. Catherine’s and St. Christopher’s School and a Richmond area public school, Mills Godwin.
Here’s the way the meet scores turned out for us at Seton:
Girls
Seton 109 Fredericksburg Christian 59
Seton 132 Virginia Episcopal 25
Seton 124 Williamsburg Christian 24
Mills Godwin 115 Seton 55
St. Catherine’s 140 Seton 43
Girls
Seton 88 Fredericksburg Christian 80
Seton 81 Virginia Episcopal 76
Seton 134 Williamsburg Christian 4
Mills Godwin 96 Seton 74
St. Christopher’s 139 Seton 41
Standout Swimmers from Saturday
It is always fun for us coaches to look across the pool and have to ask, “Wow! Who is that?” We had a number of standout performances that really caught our attention on Saturday. Some of them were from our top swimmers as you might expect, but some were from swimmers who are already emerging as future scorers in post-season:
- Anna Kenna (SR) surprised no one with her two first place finishes on Saturday, but they were a lot of fun to watch because they came in events that Anna does not usually swim. In the 200 IM, Anna raced top swimmers from FCS, St. Catherine’s and Mills Godwin and won handily. The surprise to me was that she had the fastest breaststroke split in the event and came within range of Jessica Dunn’s nine (9) year old team record! Then in the 500 Free, she had a superior swim, knocking down a long string of very consistent :33 second 50 splits. I encourage every swimmer on the team to watch Anna’s walls. She always surfaces beyond the flags, so effectively, the pool is shorter for her than everyone else.
- Liam Kellogg (FR) was one of those swimmers for whom I had to look at my meet sheet to catch the name. He looked so long and strong in the water, I barely recognized him. After seeing him in practice, I had a sense that he could do very well in the 500 Free, but I had no idea he would do that well! I entered him with a coach’s time (i.e. guess) of 7:40 and he ended up going 6:53.77! That is the 7th fastest time on the boy’s team right now. Then he continued to shine with a 3.32 second PR in 100 Breaststroke and a 1.49 second PR in 100 Free leading off our 400 Free Relay. It was a great day for Liam for sure.
- Justin Fioramonti (SO) was living up to the family reputation for heart during his first attempt of the season at the 500 Free. I was so excited to see him cut 34.25 seconds from his PR to go 6:53.91! It would have been even more fun to watch if Justin and Liam had been in the same heat. I can’t wait to match them up again at some point later this season so they can push each other to even better times. Justin also cut .99 seconds in 50 Free to go a very fast 28.36
- Ben Ceol (SR) is more focused then I’ve ever seen, and it showed with three (3) PRs on Saturday. His best swim was in 50 Free where he dropped 0.51 seconds from his best time from last season. He went 24.93 and looks like he should be able to hit the State cut of 24.51 in the not too distant future. Ben was also superior in 100 Free where he dropped 1.71 seconds to go 58.67 and in 50 Back leading off a medley relay where he dropped a huge 2.11 seconds.
- Jack Santschi (FR) doesn’t swim like a freshman, so it is exciting to think about his potential over the next four (4) years. He had a great swim in 200 Free, swimming a 2:12.36 after a 2.39 second PR. It was so exciting watch him take out the first 100 yards in 59.75! Wait until he has more than just a few practices under his belt! His 50 and 100 Free also have the potential to be something extremely competitive in the DAC.
- Ben Dealey (SR) is back on the team after a one-year hiatus, and he has come back very strong. I am so pleased with how he looks in the water, and that that stroke technique translated to some very good times. In 100 Free, Ben cut 3.41 seconds and in 100 Breast, Ben cut .82 seconds. Ben also had a great 50 Fly split in the medley relay when he split on 30.45. His 50 Fly PR is 32.56. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this year Ben!
- Elizabeth Caron (FR) has renewed her commitment to swimming, and I was so excited to see her get such great results, particularly in 100 Fly where she dropped 6.54 seconds from her PR. She also cut 1.22 seconds in 50 Back leading off a Medley relay.
- Emily Flynn (8) is going to be a superstar on this team I suspect, so at this early point in the season, I tried to stretch her with events that were outside of her comfort zone. I was very pleased with her swims in 200 Free and 100 Fly. But the swim that really got my attention her 100 Free during the 400 Free Relay. She hit the water well behind the swimmer from FCS, and, with a competitive fire I was very excited to see, Emily walked her down. Emily’s split was 1:02.96, a very impressive time consider her PR in 100 Free is 1:05.22! I’ve never seen her turnover look so good. Looking back at the 200 Medley relay, Emily had the same sort of amazing split. Her 50 Fly split was 32.41, but her PR is only 33.79. I think we’re going to see some great things from Emily this year.
- Anne Konstanty (SO) is continuing the incredible progress she showed us all last year. Her 50 Free (a .86 second PR) and her 100 Free (1:05.13) times are now getting very competitive in our conference. I know she’s chomping at the bit to get back to the 500 Free where she found so much success last season. Don’t worry Anne, you’ll get your chance, but you’ve improved so much, I want to see what else you can do to.
- Drew Dalrymple (SO) expanded his horizons beyond just sprinting and scored a lot of points for us in the process. His 20.98 second PR in 200 IM and his 7.94 second PR in 100 Fly got 8th place overall in both events.
- Joseph Rowzie (8) is continues to look strong in the water, particularly in that 200 Free where he cut 6.66 seconds from his PR. I can’t wait for him to grow!
There Were So Many Other Personal Record Swims
I’ve already mentioned numerous Personal Records, but here are the rest of the 62 PRs that I have not yet had an opportunity to highlight. For those of you who are new to the team, you will see that I really focus on this. I two things along time ago: 1) that the fastest way to get faster is to do the stroke right, and 2) if you focus on Personal Records, the winning takes care of itself. That is why I was so pleased with our high number of PRs, particularly from so many of the top performing younger swimmers we have coming up through the ranks:
- Therese Pechie (JR) is back on the team after a one-year hiatus, and she may have found a new stroke. Her 50 Fly PR is 35.35, but in the medley relay on Saturday, she swam a 32.47 split! We start butterfly on Tuesday, and I can’t wait to work with her and see what she can do. Therese also cut time in 100 Back with a .29 second PR and in 50 Free with a 1.0 second PR
- Mary Heim (JR) is back on the team after a one year hiatus. I know she’ll be swimming a lot of breaststroke later in the season so I decided to give her a shot at some other events on Saturday. Not only did she have a nice swim in the 200 IM, she showed a very competitive 100 Free dropping .60 seconds before she even in swimming shape yet. That should be very encouraging to Mary.
- Julia Rowzie (SR) looked very good in 100 Fly where she cut 3.22 seconds from her PR. He also had a strong 50 Free and a very strong 100 Free split in the 400 Free Relay. Julia has a very good freestyle flip turn. If you are on deck while she is swimming, you should check it out to see what a good turn looks like.
- Katharine Rowzie (SO) continues to improve rapidly, probably as a result of how hard she works in practice. Her Backstroke time is now the 5th fastest on the team after a 3.22 second PR and is at the point where she’s going to be able to score quite a few points for us in the DAC. Katharine also had an exciting finish in 100 Free where she pushed herself to a .04 second victory over the Mills Godwin swimmer in the next lane.
- Ellie Flook (FR) really had a great feel for the water, especially when she is underwater off of each wall. Her time drops on Saturday were all very large. How about a 7.06 second PR in 100 Free? She also cut .33 seconds in 50 Free.
- Hailey Reddington (7) showed some amazing improvement on Saturday. She cut an incredible 38.83 seconds in 100 Free and 14.31 seconds in 50 Free. I can see her improvement daily in practice. Keep it up Hailey!
- Catherine Griffin (7) looked like she was having a great time. I would be having fun too if I dropped 11.38 seconds in 50 Free and 3.73 seconds in 100 Free.
- Joseph Rowzie (8) is continues to look strong in the water, particularly in that 200 Free where he cut 6.66 seconds from his PR. I also really liked his stroke timing in backstroke. It’s just what we’ve been talking about in practice where his had pops up thumb first right off of his butt. He’s going to be a good one for us, I can already tell. I can’t wait for him to grow!
- Sophia Zadnik (8) had a great day on Saturday with three big PRs. She cut 4.22 seconds in 50 Back leading off a medley relay, 1.64 seconds in 50 Free and 2.01 seconds in 100 Free. Very nice work Sophia!
- Moira Haggerty (7) was also having a well-deserved joyful day after her 6.11 second PR in 50 Free and her .83 second PR in 100 Free. I was also excited to see Moira breathing on both sides!
- Dominic Hartung (SO) is back on the team, and is really showing great improvement. I was so pleased to see him drop 3.84 seconds in 50 Free and 2.72 seconds in 100 Free.
- Patrick Hartung (7) is making the most of his first meet on the Seton team. How about that 6.89 second PR in 50 Free!? He also cut .76 seconds from his 100 Free PR.
- Teresa Bingham (8) was all smiles with her 2.63 second PR in 100 Free and her 1.29 second PR in 50 Free
- Joey Dealey (7) was just super with a 2.47 second PR in 50 Free and a .82 second PR in 100 Free.
- Jerry Dalrymple (FR) looked very strong in 100 Back where he cut 1.25 seconds from his PR.
- Katie Dealey (SO) had a great day on Saturday with three (3) PRs. In 100 Free she dropped 2.06 seconds, in 50 Free she dropped 1.21 seconds and in 50 Back leading off a Medley Relay she dropped 1.92 seconds. Those are all very significant drops! I was very pleased see how well Katie was rolling her shoulders during her backstroke.
- Theresa Dwane (SO) was great during her first meet swimming for Seton. I was so pleased to see her drop a whopping 3.50 seconds in 50 Free!
- Mack Myers (8) did a great job in her first high school meet ever. I was so impressed with her 1.83 second PR in 100 Free and her .98 second PR in 50 Free.
- Delaney Farmer (7) is starting to look like she will have a quite a future as a Seton swimmer, especially after dropping 1.38 seconds in 50 Free.
- Gemma Flook (7) is going to be a good one. Her 50 Free time is getting very fast after a .81 second PR
- Brian Geiran (7) had a great swim in 50 Free where he cut 1.13 seconds in 50 Free.
- Amelie Halisky (7) always seems to have a smile on her face, and I would too if I swam a 1.42 second PR in 50 Free and a .13 second PR in 100 Free.
- Timothy Kelly (FR) looked like he has been trying to use what he is learning in practice, and for his diligence he was rewarded with a .63 second PR in 100 Free
- Virginia Hartung (FR) had nice swim in 100 Free, swimming it .46 seconds faster than ever before
- Ethiana Hasch (8) from our sister school Renaissance Montessori continues to improve. On Saturday, she cut another .18 seconds from her 50 Free PR.
- Caroline Pechie (8) is going to be a good one for us in the future. I really enjoyed watching her .19 second PR in 50 Back leading off a medley relay.
- Colette Waldron (JR) cut another .03 seconds from her 50 Free PR with a very nice swim.
Other Great Things I Saw on Saturday
Not every good swim is a PR, in part because it is so early in the season and in part because sometimes we don’t have a previous time against which to compare. Here are some of the other swims that caught my eye on Saturday:
- Matthew Kelly (JR) did a very nice job tackling two of the more difficult events in a high school meet, the 200 IM and 100 Fly. I was particularly pleased with is 1:14.08 in Fly.
- Jeremy Kleb (SO) also tackled some tough events with his swims in 100 Fly and 500 Free. I see a lot of potential for him on the Seton Swim Team.
- Isabelle Luevano (8) is only in 8th grade, but her sprint freestyle times are so competitive, that was the anchor on Saturday’s “A” 200 Medley Relay. She just got back from Portugal and Spain so I can’t wait to see what she can do with some more time in the water.
- Nathan Luevano (7) missed time trials while he was traveling the world with his family so I can’t tell how much he has improved – but I can tell that he has improved – a lot! How about a 7th grader going 32.02 in 50 Free!?
- David Flook (SO) suffering from some shoulder pain so we shut him down before the end of the meet. In spite of the pain, he had a great swim in the 200 IM and nearly qualified for States. I was at the end of his lane during his breaststroke leg and pointed to an FCS swimmer several lanes away. I saw David sneak a peek underwater during his pulldown, then he surfaced and pulled away. It was really fun to watch.
State and National Catholic Qualifiers
We have two championship meets where, in order to be eligible to participate, you have to meet a qualifying time standard during the current season.
The VISAA State Championship is February 16-17, 2018 at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center in Stafford, VA. We’ve even rented a beautiful house for team gatherings and meals between sessions. It should be a great time for everyone eligible to participate.
Here are the individual State Meet qualifiers after this weekend:
- Anna Kenna – 200 IM, 50 and 500 Free
Here are the relays that have hit the cut:
- Boys “A” 200 Medley Relay
- Boys “A” 200 Free Relay
- Girls “A” 200 Free Relay
- Girls “A” 400 Free Relay
I will not list names for these relays because it is impossible to tell who will actually swim. You are eligible for me to enter you on a relay at States if you have swum on that relay during the season when it hit the cut, but that doesn’t mean I will be able to actual enter you to swim. We go to States to try to bring home a State Championship or State Runner-up. If I feel like we have a legitimate shot at one of those titles, it would not be unusual for me to use some of our top swimmers in 3 relays and only one individual event because relays score so many points. Time – and your times – will clarify this situation for all of us.
The National Catholic High School Championship is at Loyola University in Baltimore on January 20th-21st with prelims in the morning on January 20th and finals on Sunday, January 21st. We also have a meet that afternoon, so depending on how many girls qualify, we’ll have to discuss later how we are going to handle that.
Here’s who has qualified for National Catholics so far:
- Anna Kenna – 200 IM, 50 and 500 Free
And here are the relays that have hit the National Catholic cut. Once again, I will not attempt to project the line-ups for these relays yet:
- Girls “A” 200 Medley Relay
- Girls “A” 400 Free Relay
An eligibility report for both meets is posted under Meet & Team Information.
Final Notes
There’s been so much to say, but let’s wrap it up with some final notes:
- On Monday, we are going to finish Backstroke. Then we will be starting Butterfly and Breaststroke on Tuesday. By Christmas break, I hope to build each of those stokes from scratch plus the related turns. I’d also like to have a practice where Coach Reid Owen comes back and teaches us some techniques specific to sprinting, but that may have to wait until the beginning of January.
- The Senior Play starts at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday. I’ve spoken with Rosie Hall. Given the number of swimmers in the meet on Saturday, I don’t expect any problem getting the seniors who are in the play to Seton on time to get into your costumes and make-up. If you in the play, please let me know so I can try to keep you out of the 400 Free Relay.
- On the day before New Year’s Eve, December 30th, we’ll have our annual Cystic-Fibrosis swim-a-thon. Thanks again to the Given family for running it again. I’ll pass on more information as I get it.
Our next meet is on Saturday, December 9th at the Central Park. Our warm-up is at 1:00 p.m. so please be on deck ready to stretch before 12:39 p.m.
See you Monday morning,
Coach Jim Koehr