What a great meet to end our regular season. I was really pleased with the way we swam, as both individuals and as a team. How about 72 new personal records – a season high for us!
We welcomed a number of our regular competitors to the meet, plus we were joined by Trinity Episcopal from Richmond and our local friends from Battlefield High School. It’s more fun for everyone when we swim against not just good swimmers, but also good folks.
The final scores shook out pretty much as I expected with our young girls team showing that they are for real this year. For much of the meet, our girls hung with Trinity Episcopal, a very well coached Division I team, and they beat all other comers, including Battlefield, John Paul the Great and FCS. And our boys were the closest they’ve been yet with FCS, losing by only 14 points:
Girls
Trinity Episcopal 165 Seton 118
Seton 164 Battlefield HS 119
Seton 179 John Paul the Great 80
Seton 213 Highland 53
Seton 222 Fredericksburg Christian 42
Seton 217 Randolph-Macon 35
Boys
Trinity Episcopal 202 Seton 83
Battlefield HS 181 Seton 101
Fredericksburg Christian 150 Seton 136
Seton 143 John Paul the Great 127
Seton 190 Highland 63
Seton 216 Randolph-Macon 53
Top Performers
I saw some really great swimming this past weekend. Here are some of the races that excited me the most:
- The meet started in exciting fashion with our Girls 200 Medley Relay of Anna Kenna, Emily Heim, Kimberly Rector and Claire Kenna. Their time of 1:57.33 was 1.59 seconds faster than their previous best this season and would have placed 8th at States last year. I am very encouraged here. Anna started off against a Trinity backstroker who may be competing for the State championship, and hung well by using her great underwaters. Then Emily had her best split of season by .79 seconds to keep the race with Trinity very close. Kimberly’s much improved butterfly really showed with her split of 28.64, the fastest girls 50 Fly split on the team so far this season, and Claire swam her all-time fastest split, breaking :26 seconds for the first time by going :25.96. Claire hit the water about 3/4s of a body length behind and nearly walked the Trinity anchor down. We were ultimately out-touched by only .26 seconds. Given Trinity’s prospects in at the State meet, our girls really made quite a statement here – and the oldest swimmer on the relay was a sophomore!
- Anna Kenna continues to give me things to write about. I haven’t seen her have such stunning swims since the first meet of the season when she blew it out in 100 Back and 100 Fly. This week, she blew it out in 100 Free and 200 IM and took two 1st place finishes in the process against very good competition. Her 100 Free was particularly amazing. Using those great underwaters, she broke out off of the start with a half body length lead and just kept extending her lead off of every wall. When she touched, the scoreboard showed an amazing :56.88, 2.41 seconds faster than her previous best! To put that in perspective, that’s the 3rd fastest time on the team – boy or girl – and she’s only in 8th grade! It also would have place 14th at States last year. You know you’ve done something when Highland’s Reni Moshos starts recruiting you for her USA team! Anna’s 200 IM was also stellar. She went 2:23.61, cut 2.41 seconds from her PR, and took another 1st place for Seton.
- Alex Sinner had her best swim ever in the 50 Free, lowering her PR by .15 seconds to 27.35. She also had a nice swim in the 500 Free. On the day, she took two 2nd place finishes for us against some pretty good competition.
- Claire Kenna was not done with the fast swimming after that tremendous relay anchor leg. In an effort to help Claire develop into a four (4) stroke swimmer, I gave her a shot at 100 Breast and she was amazing. She went 1:15.49, cutting 1.64 seconds off of her PR. That swim was good enough for 3rd place and now makes her the 2nd fastest breaststroker on our team. Claire also had a nice swim in 200 Free, taking 3rd place for Seton.
- Kimberly Rector made the most of her 2nd opportunity of the meet in Fly with a .15 second PR in the 100 to go 1:06.80. That swim was good enough for 2nd place in the meet. And swimming another off-event for her, 100 Back, she managed to take 5th place for us. Kimberly is clearly a good four (4) stroke swimmer.
- Emily Heim is back – and just in time for the championship season. Not only was her medley relay split her best since States last year, but her 200 Free was her best ever by 5.04 seconds – and it was good enough for 4th Emily also took 6th in 100 Free.
- Joe Kosten had a nice lead-off swim in our “A” medley relay where he cut 7.58 seconds from his previous best to go 30.82. Joe is so versatile, that I was experimenting with using him for the Backstroke leg and Brian Koehr on the Breaststroke leg in our Medley Relay rather than the other way around. After looking at the splits for both of them from throughout the season, it is clear that our relay will be faster with Brian swimming Back and Joe swimming Breast. One other thing my experiment proved is that Joe Kosten has the fastest 50 split time on the team for all four (4) strokes! That’s what we are going for at Seton Swimming – I want everyone to develop in a four (4) stroke swimmers like Joe.
- James Kosten is a great example of what I’m looking for in a swimmer on Seton’s team. His work ethic is among the best on the team, and that is why he keeps improving. This week, he cut an amazing 1.68 seconds from his 50 Free to 27.89. And in the 100 Free, he cut 1.91 seconds to go 1:00.33. It is going to be fun to watch James break 1:00!
- Andrew Quinan had a breakthrough meet on Saturday. His 100 Fly time was 4.14 seconds faster than ever before and his 100 Breast time was 5.82 seconds faster than ever before. He’s now swimming some pretty competitive high school times in those two events.
- The Pechie girls were all smiles on Saturday. Cat Pechie broke :30 for the time in 50 Free with a .38 second PR to 29.74. She also crushed her 100 Back PR by 8.48 seconds. And Therese Pechie also broke :30 in the 50 for the first time, but her milestone required a 1.20 second PR! In addition, Therese cut .96 seconds off her 50 Back PR leading off a relay, and she beat the backstroker from the FCS “A” relay in the process. It was fun to see them both do so well.
- Matthew Fioramonti was awesome in the 50 Free. How do you cut 2.35 seconds when you are already going pretty fast? Matthew’s 50 Free PR is now down to 27.43, and based on the way he practices, I’d expect it to continue to drop. Matthew also cut .24 seconds from his 50 Back PR leading off a medley.
- Rosie Hall was so excited after her swim in 100 Free – and she deserved to be. She cut an amazing 11.31 seconds from her PR. Way to go Rosie!
- Tim Costello was all smiles after his 50 Free when he lowered his PR by 1.24 seconds. It was a really great swim. Tim also cut 13.28 seconds (not a typo) from his 50 Back PR leading off a medley relay and .83 seconds from his 100 Breast PR. Not a bad day’s work for Tim.
72 More Personal Records
The thing that excited me almost as much as some of those break-out swims was our season high 72 personal records! Here are the other swimmers not already mentioned who hit at least one PR to end the regular season:
- Joe Zapiain had a very nice effort in 100 Fly, cutting .50 seconds from his personal record
- Vivian Zadnik also swam well in 100 Fly, lowering her PR by .24 seconds
- Madeline Snider just keeps getting stronger. I was very excited to see her cut 1.25 seconds in 100 Free and .91 seconds in 50 Free. Those are very big drops. From what I’ve seen from this sophomore, who is swimming for her first year at Seton, Madeline is going to be a real player for us in the future.
- Stephen Smith was just super on Saturday. He lowered his 50 Back PR leading off a medley by 1.66 seconds, and he lowered his 50 Free PR by a whopping 1.05 seconds. Stephen is now going 28.29 in the 50, a pretty good time for a first year swimmer with us.
- Brendan Santschi continues to impress me. This week, it was in the 200 IM where he lowered his PR 2.47 seconds.
- Cris Salas is recovering quickly from that collarbone injury and swimming better every week. I was very pleased with his 200 Free where he cut 7.95 seconds from his PR. Just wait until he gets in shape!
- Julia Rowzie had her best meet of year with two big PRs. How about a 3.14 second PR in 100 Breast and a 2.48 second PR in 50 Back leading off a medley?
- Meridyth Rosato also had her best meet of the season. She cut an amazing 6.41 seconds in 100 Back and 1.56 seconds in 100 Free. Nice work Meridyth!
- Martin Quinan made the list here with a .01 second PR in 100 Free.
- Ryan Pugh had a nice swim in 100 Back cutting 6.90 seconds from his previous best.
- Patrick Pennefather has only been in the water with us for a couple weeks after recovering from a broken hand, but he’s already starting to find his form. It was great to see him break 1:00 in 100 Free for the first time after a 2.57 second PR. He also broke :27 for the first time in 50 Free after a .95 second PR.
- Paul Pechie had his first PR of the season in 100 Back with a great swim that cut .78 seconds from his previous best. Paul also looked very strong in the relays. Leading off the 400 Free Relay, he swam a .35 second PR for the 100. His anchor leg on the 200 Free Relay was even better. In that swim, he went 26.66, substantially faster than his standing start PR for 50 Free of 27.31.
- Meghan O’Malley had plenty of reason to smile after her 2.74 second PR in 200 IM and her 1.06 second PR in 100 Fly.
- Bridget O’Malley swam her best 100 Free of her life leading off a 400 Free Relay. She lowered her PR in the swim by .40 seconds.
- Peter O’Donohue had a nice swim in 100 Breast with a 2.20 second PR
- Mark O’Donohue also had a good swim in 100 Breast with a .68 second PR. Mark swam even better in the 200 Free relay where he split 25.98, nearly a second faster than his standing start PR.
- Tommy Moore seems more determined than ever to swim well, and it showed with two PRs on Saturday. How about a 5.28 second PR in 100 Back and a .36 second PR in 50 Free.
- Sally Marrazzo had a great swim in the 200 IM with a 1.30 second PR. Maybe the fact that her brother, former team Captain Luke Marrazzo was there to watch helped. Whatever it was, I sure was happy to see it.
- Seamus Koehr had a great swim in the 50 Free leading off a relay. It was great to see him cut 1.49 seconds from his PR.
- Brian Koehr really rocked in the 50 Free, cutting .58 seconds from his PR. I was particularly impressed with the way he finished – no breaths, head down, on his side, reaching hard, and touching with his fingertips. I wish I could show the rest of the team a video of it – it is how it should be done.
- Sean Kellogg cut a huge 3.19 seconds from his 100 Back PR.
- Georgine Irving didn’t let an impending family party keep her from performing well. In the 50 Free, she cut .04 seconds from her PR.
- Julia Irving had her best swims of the season. In the 500 Free, she cut 7.92 seconds from her season best and in 100 Back, she cut 1.00 seconds from her best time this season. It’s great to see Julia improving.
- Mary Heim, a 7th grader, is showing that she’s going to something fun to watch in the years to come. Her 100 Breast is down to 1:24.91 after a great 3.17 second PR.
- Sarah Heim had her best 100 Breast swim of the season going .95 seconds than her previous best this year.
- Patrick Hall lowered his 50 Free PR by another .01 seconds.
- Mark Fioramonti had a great day with two (2) PRs. His best swim of the day was in 100 Back where he cut 1.76 seconds from his PR. His stroke looked as good as I’ve ever seen it. And in the 50 Free, he cut another .29 seconds to go 27.69. It is great having Mark on the team.
- MacKenzie Farmer was super in 100 Free, lowering her PR by 3.00 seconds. And in the 50 Free, she lowered her PR by .68 seconds.
- Patrick Dealey had two (2) PRs on the day. In 100 Free, he cut 2.16 seconds and in 50 Back leading off a medley, he cut 1.40 seconds.
- Ben Dealey also had two nice PRs. His biggest PR was in 100 Breast where he cut 10.61 seconds, and his other PR was in 100 Free where he cut 1.40.
- Kalli Dalrymple had a nice swim in 100 Free where she cut .84 seconds.
- Leslie Chang has really improved her dive off of the blocks, and it showed with that .97 second PR
- Jillian Ceol hit the PR she was looking for in 100 Breast when she cut .15 seconds. That great swim was good enough for 7th
- Ben Ceol cut .41 seconds from his 50 Free PR, which is particularly impressive given how sick he has been over the past few weeks.
- Alex Ceol seems to be fully recovered. How about a 11.29 second PR in 500 Free and a 5.35 second PR in the 200 Free. Those swims were good enough for 7th and 9th place, respectively.
- David Catabui dropped a big .84 seconds from his 50 Free PR.
- Mary Camarca was back and racing for team. I was glad to have her because she cut another .33 seconds from her 50 Free PR.
- Ashley Cackett continues to shine in the middle distance events. In the 200 IM, she cut 1.49 seconds from her PR. Then in 100 Fly, she cut another .02 seconds.
New Qualifiers for the VISAA State Championship Meet
No new qualifiers this week, but we did have a few existing qualifiers make new cuts including:
- Claire Kenna in 100 Breast
- Alex Sinner in 50 and 500 Free
- A Boys 400 Free Relay
Here are the swimmers who have qualified individually for States, so far:
| Meet | Girls | Boys |
| States | Kimberly Rector
· 200 IM · 500 Free · 100 Free · 100 Breast · 50 Free · 100 Fly · 200 Free Claire Kenna · 50 Free · 100 Free · 200 Free · 100 Breast Anna Kenna · 100 Fly · 100 Back · 50 Free · 200 IM · 500 Free · 50 Free · 200 Free Alex Sinner · 100 Fly · 100 Back · 200 IM · 100 Free · 100 Breaststroke · 500 Free · 50 Free Emily Heim · 100 Breast 200 Medley Relay “A” 200 Medley Relay “B” 200 Free Relay “A” 400 Free Relay “A” 400 Free Relay “B” |
200 Medley Relay
200 Free Relay 400 Free Relay |
Looking at our times for this season, I can see that Joe Kosten, Dani Flook, Jillian Ceol and Patrick Pennefather also have a shot at qualifying individually. January is the month to really push yourself in practice – the championship meets are only a month away!
In case you are wondering why I haven’t yet published relay line-ups, it because there are many combinations that I can use to meet the entry rules, so I have a bit of work to do to figure out the most competitive combinations I can put together.
Two Meets Next Weekend
- East Coast Catholics – Sunday, January 26th
A group from Maryland has come forward to offer an alternative to National Catholics, which was canceled for the first time in over 60 years. The new meet is Eastern Catholics, and it will be held at the beautiful sports complex that was built by former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. The meet will take all day on Sunday, January 26th with prelims in the morning and finals in the evening.
Here’s who I’m taking to Maryland next Sunday:
- Joe Kosten (SR)
- Alex Sinner (JR)
- Claire Kenna (SO)
- Kimberly Rector (SO)
- Emily Heim (SO)
- Anna Kenna (8)
I’d also like to note that Jillian Ceol and Dani Flook qualified for the meet in 50 Free but have opted not to go for just one event. Congratulations to Seton’s East Coast Catholics Team!
- Junior Varsity Invitational – Saturday, January 25th at the WARF in Warrenton, VA
This is a fun annual meet that we host to wrap up the season for our non-Varsity swimmers. From this point on, there will be no more meets where I am able to enter exhibition swimmers, so for the rest of the season, I’ll only be able to enter four (4) entries per event – and I do it strictly on time so the fastest four (4) swim.
As soon as I can get to it, I’ll be posting who these “Varsity” swimmers will be. Everyone else’s season will conclude this weekend in Warrenton. We always have a great time out there so I hope you can all make it. Varsity swimmers should plan to come to the meet to both cheer and give your parents a break from timing duties. So I look forward to seeing the whole team there.
Final Notes
I hope you are all had a blessed Christmas season. We’re back to Ordinary Time, but what’s coming for Seton Swimming is anything but ordinary. Here comes the Championship season!
See you in the morning,
Coach Jim Koehr