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Thank you, Joe Aldeguer, for turning this blog post into a short (20:10) Podcast. You can listen to it here:
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Since when did Seton Swim & Dive team records become such a ho-hum, commonplace event?
I recall first putting up a serious-looking Record Board in the Seton gym shortly after the 2011 season. It was a Record Board of which any school in Virginia would have been proud.
On the boy’s side, every individual time except 100 Fly was an All-American qualifying time at the time it was swum. It was fortunate that our three (3) male All-America’s all swam different events so that Kevin Koehr ’06, Nevin Cook ’08, and Jameson Hill ’10 could all be up there at the same time. Kevin and Nevin dominated the Board until Jameson Hill came in with Daniel Koehr, Connor Cook, David Basinger, and Vincent Dunn to rewrite nearly all the records except the Medley Relay, 200 IM, 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke.
I’ve always been particularly fond of the Boys 200 Medley Relay because it was the 2006 team that won Seton’s very first Division II State Championship. Kevin Koehr ’06, Nevin Cook ’08, Bryan Morch ’06, and (Fr.) Sean Koehr ’08 were a very special group to me.
On the girl’s side, we had some of the early greats like Katie Shipko ’02 and Jessica Dunn ’08, but when we hit that stretch from 2008 to 2011 when we won four (4) consecutive State Championships, I was spending a lot of time on a ladder in the gym. Alex Doonis ’12, Lauren “the Machine” Donohoe ’11, Bridget Wunderly ’11, Cat Rogers ’12, Carolyn Claybrooks ’10, and Bridget Wunderly ’10 changed all but the 200 and 500 Freestyle (which you read all about last week).
The Girls 200 Free Relay record won the gold medal at the 2010 State Championship with three (3) of our all-time greatest sprinters, Alex Doonis, Lauren Donohoe and Cat Rogers. Then the Girls 200 Medley Relay broke the VISAA State record in 2011 with those same three girls plus Bridget Wunderly ‘11 (unfortunately, St. Catherine’s had just broken it .13 seconds earlier so we never could quite claim that one.).
I remember thinking at the time, “I don’t think I’m going to have to change those panels again while I’m still the coach.”
How silly.
With all the Kenna’s on the team over the years, I should have figured that they had a baby sister who would rise up to prove me wrong. We all know about All-American Anna Kenna ’18 at this point, and many of you reading this were fortunate enough to see her swim.
Then, with the exception of Angie Testani ’22 and some updating of the Diving records by Connor Koehr ’25 and Rose Waldron ’25, things seemed pretty stable – until this year.
I don’t know what is going on, but this year is rivaling 2010 for the highest number of new team records. Prior to this weekend, we already had four (4) new team records:
- Connor Koehr (SR) – Diving, 249.20
- Meghan Condon (FR) – Diving, 174.20
- Ariana Aldeguer (SO) – 200 Free, 1:55.48
- Ariana Aldeguer (SO) – 500 Free, 5:05.98
But we are far from done, I think.
Ariana Aldeguer (SO) took down yet another record from another iconic Seton swimmer on Saturday – this time in 100 Fly. She broke Anna Kenna’s 2017 record of 58.51 in 100 Fly with a new 100 Fly record of 57.71! I would say “unbelievable”, but it is starting to feel like the opposite. Ariana’s prowess is so exceptional that she has reduced another incredible accomplishment to something that feels like just another Saturday for her.
Ariana’s also holds our 200 IM record, so that’s four (4) of the nine (9) individual records on our board. Next up? In girls 50 Back, she is just .12 off, so I suspect she get that leading off a relay at one of these championship meets. Then, there is Anna Kenna’s 100 Free record of 52.05. That one might not happen this year – but Ariana is only a sophomore.
What other records could go down this year?
- Lionel Martinez (SO) is just .18 seconds off Jameson Hill’s 2010 100 Fly record.
- Our Boys 200 Free Relay from 2010 (Jameson Hill, Daniel Koehr, Connor Cook, and David Basinger) is 1:30.07. The sum of the best 50 Free splits from Lionel Martinez (SO), Liam Halisky (SR), Daniel Sokban (SO), and Connor Koehr (SR) is 1:30.61. A record setting effort this year could also easily include Max Wilson (SR) or Joe Borneman (SR).
- Our Boys 200 Medley Relay of 1:39.82 from 2006 (Kevin Koehr, Nevin Cook, Bryan Morch, and (Fr.) Sean Koehr) looks extremely vulnerable. Connor Koehr (SR), Lionel Martinez (SO), Joe Borneman (SR), and Liam Halisky (SR) went 1:39.99 on Saturday and the sum of their best splits is 1:39.70.
- One long-shot might be the Boys 400 Free Relay record of 3:17.05. In 2010, Jameson Hill, Connor Cook, Vincent Dunn, and David Basinger split 45.69, 50.20, 50.34, and 50.82, respectively. That is smoking fast! But the sum of the best splits for Lionel Martinez (SO), Joe Borneman (SR), Max Wilson (SR), and Connor Koehr (SR) is 3:21.74. I have certainly seen crazier drops at a State Championship meet, so who knows.
If all of that came to pass, then I could need to update ten (10) records on the Board at the end of the season. I’m typing it, but it still seems incredible (as in “not credible) to me. Simply amazing.
Another Great Championship for the Northern Virginia Catholic Schools
On Saturday, January 18, 2025, we held our 15th Annual Northern Virginia Catholic High School Swimming and Diving Championship, and boy was it fast! We hosted 280 athletes from almost every Catholic school in the northern half of Virginia to compete is this highly spirited meet.
At last year’s meet, Bishop O’Connell was on the losing end of two heartbreakers. Seton beat their boys by only 2-points and Paul VI beat their girls by only 1.5-points! My ears are still ringing from that final relay.
This year was a story of redemption for the Bishop O’Connell who won both the Boys and Girls “Holy Grail” traveling trophies by comfortable margins. It was a lot of fun for me to watch them celebrate a mid-season championship meet by all jumping into the pool after the meet. Helping to create something that brings so much joy to so many kids (and adults) required a moment of reflection and gratitude for me.
Wasn’t it great to have Fr. Noah Moray back to lead the opening prayer? He’s been the chaplain at Bishop Ireton for the last 5-years, but prior to that, he was at All Saints and served as the unofficial chaplain of Seton Swimming. I vividly remember him being on deck with us at 6:04 a.m. actively doing dryland and then participating in our practice with the team.
We introduced a new tradition to the Meet – the St. Peter Sprint. It was the brainchild of Fr. Sean Koehr who is too old to have ever had a chance to swim in this meet.
In scripture, we read of a 100-yard swim by St. Peter to our Lord:
“When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish.” – John 21:7-8
Fr. Koehr related to me that the men’s 100-yard freestyle reflects Peter’s passionate response upon recognizing Jesus on the shore. The event mirrors the exact distance Peter swam—100 yards—emphasizing his eagerness, faith, and determination.
So, from this year forward, we will recognize the winner of the Men’s 100 Freestyle by engraving their name on a specially commissioned paddle that we be at the Meet each year. Thank you, Coach Patrick Heiny and Coach Matt Schroer for commissioning the award from a Marine shop in Quantico. It is a small “crick” paddle with a boatswain’s wrap (i.e., decorative rope) that is modeled after a common award given in the Marine Corps. Oorah!
This winner of the inaugural St. Peter Sprint was Timmy Adye of Bishop O’Connell who finished the sprint in 48.05.
Our annual swim meet schedule has developed quite a nice cadence with every Meet during the season having its own purpose and meaning. It seems like every week I find myself writing that “this is my favorite meet of the year”, so I’ll try to back off a bit on the hyperbole, but I definitely had a great time hosting all these schools and coaching all of you this past weekend.
Wow, That Was a Fast Meet!
The level of competition was the highest we’ve seen all season so far (except for National Catholics), and it showed with twelve (12) new Meet Records, including one by Seton phenom Lionel Martinez (FR)!
The two (2) swimmers voted by the coaches as most representative of the quality of the competition at this year’s championship were our Swimmers of the Meet:
- Quinn Caputo (SO), Paul VI
- Three (3) Gold medals in 200 IM, 100 Back, and the 200 Medley Relay plus a Silver medal in the 400 Free Relay.
- Three (3) new meet records in 200 IM, 100 Back, and the 200 Medley Relay
- Elizabeth Bryan (SO), Oakcrest
- Two (2) Gold medals in 200 Free and 100 Freestyle
- Set new meet record in 100 Free
I had a chance to talk to young Quinn Caputo on the livestream after his race. Great kid – and fast too! I asked him about his 50.40 in 100 Back, and he told me that it wasn’t one of his normal events. I was amazed that he can go that fast in an “off” event.
I was even more amazed to find out that he went to Renaissance Montessori School and NOT to Seton. I’m holding Sean Garvey personally responsible for this.
Another indication of the level of competition was the twelve (12) new Meet Records set on Saturday – there are only 24 events!
- Boys 200 Medley Relay, 1:37.36, St. Paul VI, Quinn Caputo, Connor Wightman, Chase Garcia, Luke Cox
- Boys 200 Free, Chase Garcia (SR), St. Paul VI, 1:43.74
- Boys 200 IM, Quinn Caputo (SO), St. Paul VI, 1:56.23
- Boys 1-meter Diving, Rai Detten, Bishop O’Connell, 251.65 points
- Boys 100 Fly, Lionel Martinez (SO), Seton, 52.72
- Girls 100 Fly, Ariana Aldeguer (SO), Seton, 57.71
- Girls 100 Free, Elizabeth Bryan (JR), Oakcrest, 53.07
- Boys 500 Free, Paul Mullen (JR), Bishop O’Connell, 4:36.41
- Boys 100 Back, Quinn Caputo (SO), St. Paul VI, 50.40
- Girls 100 Back, Katie Torrey (SR), St. Paul VI, 57.18
- Boys 400 Free Relay, 3:16.17, Bishop O’Connell, Timmy Adye, Jermaine Worthen, Paul Mullen, Graham Rowan
- Girls 400 Free Relay, 3:39.21, Bishop O’Connell, Stella Mastrianni, Eleanor Wertzler, Kalyn Ohara, Elliott Rowan
A final indication of just how fast this meet was can be seen in the final scores. Little Seton performed very well against the very large diocesan schools, beating several of them:
Boys
Bishop O’Connell 404
Seton Swim & Dive 386
St. Paul VI 302
Bishop Ireton 178
Benedictine College Prep 53
Saint John Paul the Great Cancelled
Girls
Bishop O’Connell 400
St. Paul VI 334
Seton Swim & Dive 247
Bishop Ireton 172
St. Gertrude 111
Oakcrest 107
Saint John Paul the Great Cancelled
Prior to the Meet, I “scored the Psych Sheet” which is simply scoring the Meet as if every swam exactly their seed times. I had initially thought that our Boys were only 2 points behind Bishop O’Connell after that exercise, but I found a 13-point mistake during the Meet that extended the projected to an O’Connell win, 398-384.
As you can see from the final scores, our Boys outperformed the Psych Sheet by scoring 386 points, but O’Connell was on a mission. Boy, were they good on Saturday. They deserved to win for sure.
Seton Was Led by A Small Group of “NoVa Catholic High School Champions”
This level of championship meet gave our team superstars a chance to shine, but what is remarkable is that out of the 24 total events in the Meet, we only took the gold medal in three (3) individual events and one (1) relay – yet we outscored most of our opponents!
A big part of the formula was our depth, as I will discuss below, but the rest of the formula is one that we will use to make a run at our 11th and 12th VISAA Division II State Championships on February 13th to 15th:
- Score big in Diving, particularly with the boys who we hope can take three (3) of the top-8 places at States.
- Load up the relays to take advantage of the double points
- Score individually with Lionel Martinez (FR) and Ariana Aldeguer (FR)
This three-part formula, added to our depth, was the key to our great showing on Saturday:
- Score Big in Diving
- Congratulations to Connor Koehr (JR) who took the Silver-medal in 1-meter Diving.
- Connor was the two-time defending champion and will be seeking redemption from the top O’Connell diver at States.
- Couple Connor’s 2nd place finish with a 4th, 5th, and 6th place by Gus Kohlhaas (SR), Jacob Oswald (JR), and Tom Waldron (FR), respectively, and you’ll see that we scored 43 of our 386-points in just the one diving event!
- On the girls’ side, we placed three (3) divers in the top-10 including Rose Waldron (SR) in 5th, Maria Miller (SO) in 9th, and Meghan Condon (FR) in 10th.
- Congratulations to Connor Koehr (JR) who took the Silver-medal in 1-meter Diving.
- Load Up the Relays for the Double Points
- Congratulations to our Boys 200 Free Relay of Lionel Martinez (SO), Liam Halisky (SR), Daniel Sokban (SO), and Max Wilson (SR) who are the 2025 NoVa Catholic High School Champions!
- This was a smoking-fast relay that beat our season-best time previously by more than 1.14 seconds.
- All the boys swam well, particularly Lionel Martinez’s43 lead-off and Daniel Sobhan’s 22.88. These boys took the lead from the start and never relinquished it.
- Our Boys 200 Medley Relay of Connor Koehr (SR), Lionel Martinez (FR), Joe Borneman (SR) and Liam Halisky (SR) came within .17 seconds of the team record and took the Bronze-medal.
- Connor Koehr (SR) broke :26 for the first time with a 25.92 in 50 Back, Joe Borneman (SR) split 24.36 (previous best was 24.92), and Lionel Martinez (FR) was right on his PR split for Breaststroke at 27.55.
- But the standout of the race with Liam Halisky’s (SR) 22.16 anchor split!
- But when everything was on the line at the end of the Meet, it was our Boys “A” and “B” 400 Free Relays that came through to score in both 3rd and 4th place to win the event with 46-points.
- Our “A” Relay took the Bronze-medal with Thiago Martinez (FR), Max Wilson (JR), Connor Koehr (SR), and Joe Borneman (JR).
- Joe Borneman (SR) and Connor Koehr (SR) both swam lifetime best relay splits, by .55 seconds and .52 seconds, respectively. 84 and 51.78 are very fast splits.
- Our “B” Relay had to delivered 22-points with Greg Bauer (JR), Michael Zahorchak (SO), Jack Herwick (FR), and Patrick Kay (FR).
- I was particularly pleased with Greg Bauer’s (JR)75 split.
- Our Girls 400 Free Relay had a stand-out performance. Ariana Aldeguer (SO), Isabella Cook (SO), Maggie Schroer (FR), and Anastasia Garvey (JR) combined for the Silver-medal.
- Anastasia broke 1:00 for the first time with season with a 59.27 split
- Score Individually with our Freshman Phenoms
- Lionel Martinez (FR)
- Lionel did something on Saturday that has only ever been done one-time before by a Seton swimmer – for the 2nd year in a row, Lionel broke a NoVa Catholic Meet Record!
- After beating a decade-old record set back in 2014 by Andrew Dunne of Benedictine with a 52.97, he broke his own record this year with a 52.72.
- Naturally, that swim in 100 Fly was a .25 second PR and made him the 2025 NoVa Catholic High School Champion.
- Lionel also found himself in one of the fastest heats in the entire meet, the Boys 50 Free and took the Silver-medal with a .08 second PR, 22.43. He was second only to the St. Peter Sprint winner.
- Lionel did something on Saturday that has only ever been done one-time before by a Seton swimmer – for the 2nd year in a row, Lionel broke a NoVa Catholic Meet Record!
- Ariana Aldeguer (FR)
- Ariana dominated both of her events to become a two-time Gold medalist and two-time 2025 NoVa Catholic High School Champion.
- In 100 Fly, she dropped 1.82 seconds to go a blazing 57.71. As already discussed, that was new team record.
- And in 500 Free, she walked away with the event by almost 30-seconds – almost an entire length of the pool.
- Ariana dominated both of her events to become a two-time Gold medalist and two-time 2025 NoVa Catholic High School Champion.
- Lionel Martinez (FR)
- Our “A” Relay took the Bronze-medal with Thiago Martinez (FR), Max Wilson (JR), Connor Koehr (SR), and Joe Borneman (JR).
- Congratulations to our Boys 200 Free Relay of Lionel Martinez (SO), Liam Halisky (SR), Daniel Sokban (SO), and Max Wilson (SR) who are the 2025 NoVa Catholic High School Champions!
Top Scorers
This meet was scored as a championship meet with twelve (12) places scored, and per the scoring rules, relays scored double. Even with a meet this fast, Lionel Martinez (FR), Ariana Aldeguer (8), and Connor Koehr were not our only athletes who shined through at or near the top. Here is one other Seton athletes with top-3 finish:
- Joe Borneman (SR) won the Silver-medal in 100 Fly behind only his teammate Lionel Martinez with a 56.85, a PR by another .31 seconds. Joe also took 5th in a very fast heat of 50 Free.
You might be thinking, “Wow! We won and that’s it for top-3 finishers?”
Yep. Our boys came close to winning this meet by scoring all our official entries in the top 12 for nine (9) of the thirteen (13) events. For the other four (4) events, we got three (3) athletes or relays into the top 12 respectively. Like the VCAC Regular Season Championship on January 4th, this was a case where everyone mattered.
Top-12 Finishers
Here are the other Seton athletes that performed well enough to score in the Top-12:
- Clara Condon (SR) scored in 4th place twice, in 100 Fly and 100 Breast. She also cut 1.03 seconds in 50 Free leading off a relay.
- Liam Halisky (SR) did more that swim a tremendous anchor relay split. He also cut .86 seconds in 100 Free to go 53.29 and .10 seconds in 50 Free to go 23.50. Both of those swims scored in 4th
- Max Wilson (SR) has been tremendous since day 1 of the season, and things didn’t change on Saturday. He took 4th in 100 Back with a 59.27 and 5th in 200 Free with a 1:57.20. Those were .56 second and .03 second PRs, respectively.
- Isabella McCook (SO) showed how valuable she will be to our post-season chances with a 4th in 200 Free and a 7th in 100 Back. Those were both PRs, by 1.34 seconds and .77 seconds, respectively.
- Drew Nguyen (SR) scored in 5th place twice with a .24 second PR in 100 Breaststroke and a 53.45 in 100 Free. He also cut another .15 seconds in 50 Free.
- Thiago Martinez (FR) is back, and he made the most of his opportunity with a 3.08 second PR in 100 Free, a .70 second PR in 50 Back, and a .15 second PR in 100 Back. Those swims both took 5th
- Patrick Kay (FR) scored in 4th for 500 Free and 9th in 200 IM. I can see he is going to be a big part of our team’s future. Wrists first in Fly Patrick, not thumbs first.
- Dominic Judge (SO) challenged both the 200 IM and the 500 Free and took 8th place and 5th place with a 2.68 second PR in the IM. 2:18.68 and 5:52.97 were excellent times for the 200 IM and 500, respectively.
- Anastasia Garvey (JR) had one of her best meets of the season, taking 6th in 200 IM and 8th in 100 Back with 4.70 second and 1.23 second PRs, respectively.
- Greg Bauer (JR) took 6th and 9th in 100 Breaststroke and 200 Free with 3.13 second and 5.30 second PRs, respectively.
- Maggie Schroer (FR) scored in 7th place in a very fast heat of 100 Free and in 12th in a faster heat of 50 Free.
- Connor Koehr (SR) did more than just win the Silver-medal in diving, he also scored in 8th place in 200 Free after a 1.00 second PR. He also cut .60 seconds to go 23/68 from flat start in an exhibition 50 Free swim.
- Meghan Condon (FR) scored in 10th place for diving.
- Jack Herwick (FR) dropped 2.65 seconds in 100 Fly and 1.25 seconds in 100 Back. Those swims scored in 10th and 11th, respectively.
- Philomena Kay (SO) scored in 10th and 11th in 200 IM and 500 Free.
- Jonas Wilson (FR) dropped another .13 seconds in 100 Free.
- Gigi Hill (JR) scored in 12th place in 100 Fly.
- Lucy Cunningham (SR) swam three (3) PRs on Saturday. She dropped .53 seconds in 50 Back, .71 seconds in 200 Free, and .08 seconds in 500 Free. Her 500 Free scored in 12th
- Michael Zahorchak (SO) scored in 10th place in the 500 Free with a 7.82 second PR. He also took 12th place in 200 IM.
Personal Records
142 Personal Records – another very strong total. That brings our Seton season total to 866 PRs! Can we break 1,200 this year?
That high total is yet another data point that proves our basic coaching thesis at Seton Swimming, “The fastest way to make a high school swimmer faster is to get them doing the strokes right.”
Here are the Personal Records that were swum at Saturday that I have not previously mentioned:
- Bethany Allen (6) had a big 2.10 second drop in 50 Back and 2.36 seconds in 50 Free. Coach Kleb was very pleased, I’m sure.
- Angela Andreu (FR) looked great dropping 2.22 seconds in 100 Back and 1.93 seconds in 50 Free.
- Betsy Arnold (FR) crushed her PR in 200 IM by 15.15 seconds.
- James Beltran (6) cut 2.92 seconds in 100 Free.
- Mariana Bingham (SO) dropped 2.57 seconds in 50 Back leading off a medley relay.
- Grace Catabui (7) beat her previous best in 50 Free by 2.25 seconds and even took her first shot at 100 Fly.
- JJ Cooley (JR) cut a whopping 3.90 seconds in 50 Back leading off a relay. It would have been great to see what he could have done in his other events.
- John Cooley (FR) dropped .77 seconds in 100 Free.
- Katie Cooley (7) rocked her 100 Back with a 1.95 second PR.
- Annie Dusek (FR) cut 4.17 seconds in 50 Back and 9.67 seconds in 100 Back. She also had a great 1st-time swim in 200 IM, a swim that bumped her up to the Varsity team for the VISAA D-II Invitational.
- Charlie Dusek (JR) lowered his 100 Free PR by .69 seconds.
- Rose Ellis (JR) had two huge PRs, by 4.86 seconds in 50 Free and by 4.10 seconds in 100 Breaststroke.
- Kyleigh Fifield (SO) dropped big in 500 Free, by 3.67 seconds, and in 50 Back, by 3.29 seconds.
- Luke Fifield (8) cut .23 seconds in 100 Back.
- JJ Garvey (8) had a great 11.28 second PR in 200 Free and a .75 second PR in 50 Back. His improvement late in the season earned him a spot on the Varsity team for the VISAA Division II Invitational Championship.
- Gigi Gibaldi (SO) beat her previous best in 50 Free by .40 seconds and in 100 Free by .74 seconds.
- Chiara Gonzalez (7) dropped 5.47 seconds in 100 Breaststroke and 2.92 seconds in 50 Free.
- Veronica Gonzalez (FR) had an awesome 8.38 second PR in 100 Free. She also dropped .45 seconds in 50 Free.
- John Goodman (FR) beat his 100 Back PR by 3.99 seconds and his 50 Free PR by 2.88 seconds.
- Thomas Goodman (7) crushed his 100 Free PR by 10.81 seconds and his 50 Free PR by 1.25 seconds.
- Bella Gorman (7) lowered her 100 Breaststroke PR by a massive 18.26 seconds.
- Aoife Haggerty (SO) cut 2.94 seconds in 50 Back, 1.20 seconds in 200 Free, and .35 seconds in 100 Fly.
- Eamon Haggerty (8) swam well in both 100 Back and 50 Free with 8.40 second and .21 second PRs, respectively.
- Orla Haggerty (SR) had a tremendous swim in 200 Free with a 6.66 second PR.
- Sophia Halisky (FR) swam very well with a 3.37 second PR in 200 IM. She also cut another .16 seconds in 100 Breaststroke.
- Patrick Heiny (7) had a big drop in 50 Free, by 5.96 seconds.
- Dominic Henry (FR) showed great improvement with his 7.07 second PR in 100 Back.
- Gianna Henry (7) was amazing in 100 Free, swimming it 19.37 seconds faster than ever before. He also swam 50 Free 3.06 seconds faster than ever before.
- Daniel Hurley (JR) had his best-ever swim in 100 Breaststroke, beating his previous best by 4.24 seconds. He also cut 1.78 seconds in 50 Free.
- Monica Irving (FR) dropped 3.43 seconds in 100 Free and 1.11 seconds in 50 Free.
- Jane Judge (FR) cut 3.63 seconds in 100 Breast and 1.39 seconds in 50 Free.
- Will Judge (6) rocked his 100 Fly, swimming it 2.67 seconds faster than ever before.
- Clare Kay (7) dropped 1.26 seconds in 100 Back and .67 seconds in 50 Free.
- Daniel Kohlhaas (8) dropped 9.52 seconds in 100 Free.
- Cora Kramer (SO) had two PRs, cutting 3.50 seconds in 100 Back and 1.25 seconds in 50 Free.
- Penny Kramer (SO) dropped a huge 5.06 seconds in 100 Back.
- Rebecca Kramer (7) lowered her 50 Free PR by another 2.75 seconds.
- Joey Lynch (FR) had a strong meet on Saturday. He cut 2.40 seconds in 50 Back, 2.15 seconds in 100 Free, and .08 seconds in 50 Free.
- Avila Mantooth (FR) had a great swim in 100 Free after a 3.10 second PR and in 100 Breaststroke after a 4.01 second PR.
- Julia Maranian had the biggest PR of the meet, dropping 41.90 seconds in 100 Breaststroke.
- Evie Mayer (8) continued her streak of meets with a Personal Record. This time she cut 1.48 seconds in 50 Free.
- Aidan McCardell (JR) had a huge 9.33 second drop in 100 Breaststroke and a .90 second PR in 50 Free.
- Charlotte Meadows (8) had a great swim in 100 Back with a 3.47 second PR.
- Bella Nguyen (FR) cut .50 seconds in 50 Free.
- James Nguyen (7) smashed his 100 Free PR by 5.83 seconds and his 50 Free PR by .98 seconds.
- Mia Nguyen(6) dropped .68 seconds in 50 Free.
- Brian Orellana (FR) lowered his 100 Back PR by 7.46 seconds and his 1.95 seconds in 50 Free.
- William Orellana (7) had a big 17.11 second PR in 100 Back and a 3.83 second PR in 50 Free.
- Mary Claire Osilka (JR) had three (3) PRs on Saturday. He dropped 1.41 seconds in 100 Free, .73 seconds in 50 Free, and .49 seconds in 50 Back.
- Paul Patridge (7) had one of his biggest meets of the year. It was fun to watch him drop 3.65 seconds in 100 Back, 2.79 seconds in 50 Back, and .58 seconds in 50 Free.
- CJ Pennefather (6) wrapped up his season with a tremendous 22.61 second PR in 100 Back. He also cut another 1.67 seconds in 50 Back.
- Gianna Pillion (8) cut 1.69 seconds in 100 Back and 1.66 seconds in 50 Free.
- Luke Pillion (SO) beat his previous best in 100 Free by 1.69 seconds.
- Charlotte Poullath (7) dropped 1.71 seconds in 100 Free
- James Reynolds (8) swam 100 Free 4.75 seconds faster than ever before.
- Philip Saffian (8) swam exceptionally well, and it showed in his times. How about an 8.20 second PR in 100 Free and a 2.49 second PR in 50 Free?
- Walter Saffian (SR) was awesome with his 3.88 second PR in 50 Back and .03 seconds in 50 Free.
- Caroline Schroer (7) dropped 3.62 seconds in 50 Back and 1.89 seconds in 100 Free.
- Dominic Sciscilo (6) cut .54 seconds in 100 Fly and .22 seconds in 50 Free.
- Bella Vaughan (8) beat her previous bests in 100 Free by 7.34 seconds and in 50 Free by .75 seconds.
- Jane Vaughan (6) lowered her 100 Breaststroke PR by 6.30 seconds.
- Lily Waldron (FR) cut 1.35 seconds in 100 Back.
- Evan Wible (8) had one of his best swims of the season with a 12.13 second PR in 100 Breaststroke. He also cut .65 seconds in 50 Free.
William Sokban (SR), Captain and Servant Leader
Saturday’s Meet started off rather stressful for me. I had been on the road since immediately after I gave my Tuesday Pre-Calculus midterm, and I got home late on Friday night. I was in no position to think about the implications of having 42 divers entered into the Meet until it was too late to do anything about it.
Our only option was to get started with the Diving competition as soon as we could and to move through it as quickly as possible. After that, we would have to turn the pool around for swimming, which is always a source of delay.
Into this situation came Captain William Sokban (SR). One way to ensure that the Freedom Center staff turned the pool around quickly was to help them – or in William’s case, to just take charge of making it happen.
That didn’t surprise me really. I’ve seen him to similar things (along with some of the other captains) in cleaning up after the Meets.
William is a rather quiet one but, rest assured, he has not gone unnoticed.
The Seton Sports Network Stream Team Runs Without a Net
Early in the season, Paul Fifield told me that he didn’t think we were going to be able to livestream NoVa Catholics because he got a job videoing the inauguration activities for one of the large networks. So, imagine how pleased I was to hear him tell me that he thought the Stream Team was ready to run a meet without him.
I have a unique vantage point for the work of Gabe Hambleton, Nora Blanchette, and William Reynolds, so I can tell you – they didn’t miss a beat. If you didn’t know Mr. Fifield wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have know it by watch the live stream.
Tremendous job Stream Team!
Positioning to Win Some Championships
We have some big goals ahead of us in February.
For the Girls, we are settling for nothing short of victory in the VCAC Conference Championship Meet and our 7th VISAA Division II State Championship. If we pull it off, it would be our 11th overall.
I’m expecting our big competition at States to be the Cape Henry Collegiate School and North Cross. If our Girls win at States, I’d expect that it will be on the strength of our three (3) relays plus individual points scored by Ariana Aldeguer (8) and our Divers. That means you can all count on all our top swimmers swimming all-three relays except for Ariana.
For the Boys, we need to win the VCAC Conference Championship Meet, and then we need to take our shot at the VISAA Division II State Championship. If we swim like I know we can, I’d expect a victory at VCAC Champs, but after the girl’s result on January 6th, I am taking nothing for granted.
Then, we are going to have to beat Cape Henry Collegiate and The Covenant School if we have a chance to take our 5th Boys VISAA Division II State Championship. I already talked about the formula: our Divers are going to have to place four (4) in the top-16, all three (3) of our relays are going to have to score, and Lionel Martinez (FR) will need to score individually. That means you can count on all of our fastest boys swimming all three relays, with the probable exception of Lionel.
I’ve posted everyone’s fastest splits under VISAA States on the Meet Information page.
The Rest of the Season
We are hosting one final meet before we must cut the team down to just the Varsity swimmers:
- Paul VI is trying to get an annual Relay Carnival going again. Years ago, Woodberry Forest used to run one, and it was a lot of fun.
- The event is this Thursday and the information just came out today (Monday) so we don’t have much time.
- Because of the short-timeline, I’m making this Meet completely optional for Varsity swimmers only. Let me know if you want to swim by Tuesday, January 21st at 5:00 p.m.
- VISAA Junior Varsity Invitational on January 25th at the Freedom Center
- All swimmers who are in 9th grade and below will be entered in this meet unless I hear from you that you cannot make it.
- I also plan to enter non-Varsity upperclassmen to give you one final chance to have some fun swimming 50s, but you won’t be able to score.
- Upper-class Varsity swimmers should plan to come and help cheer or time.
- I’ll be posting entries for this Meet by Tuesday night, I hope.
After the JV Invitational, the remaining meets for the year will not allow any exhibition swimmers. Those meets are:
- VISAA Division II Invitational Championship on Saturday, February 1st at the Freedom Center
- VCAC Conference Championship on Saturday, February 8th at the Freedom Center
I will be limited for these final two (2) championship meets to four (4) entries per individual event and two (2) entries per relay event. At most, that takes 16-18 boys and 16-18 girls, not counting Divers.
So, what I have done is prepare a draft of our entries for the Division II Invitational, lining up the team to be as competitive as possible. If you are on that entry list, you will be on the Varsity team.
I have posted the members of this season’s post-season Varsity team in the as the blog right before this one. You have no-doubt already seen it 😉
If you are not a Varsity swimmer or Varsity Diver, then this is your last week of the season. On Thursday for the last half of practice, the Captains will be running some fun relays and other games. This will be the final non-Varsity practice of the season.
Everyone should plan to come to practice on Thursday, including swimmers who normally practice on Wednesday/Friday. There will be no practice on Friday.
Final Notes
On so many levels, I was very pleased with what I saw on Saturday.
For most of you, this is the last week of the season, but for the rest of you, we have one month left. Let’s go get some more championships.
See you at 6:04 a.m. Come ready for the final push.
Coach Jim Koehr