What a great way to end our regular season! I was up at National Catholics for the weekend and came back for this meet at Central Park. Our swimmers really made my trip worth it!
Eight (8) of our top girls were up at National Catholics in Baltimore, and that created a great opportunity for other girls to shine. And some of the boys just blew me away with their great swims. I can’t wait to tell you about the great swims from Nathan Luevano, Moira Haggerty, Justin Fioramonti, Theresa Dwane, Dominic Hartung, Therese Pechie, Teresa Bingham, Drew Dalrymple, Sophia Zadnik, Liam Kellogg, Ben Dealey, Collette Waldron, and so many others.
We also got 11 of the 12 possible “A” and “B” Relays qualified for States. If we can get one more swimmer qualified for the Boys “B” Medley Relay, then I will be able to enter both “A” and “B” Relays at States for all three relay events for both the boys and the girls.
Final Scores
In spite of the fact that we were missing eight (8) of our top female swimmers who were at National Catholics, the meet scores still turned out quite favorable for the Seton girls – we even beat Trinity Christian and Division I school Covenant. We are so deep on the girl’s side that even without any superstars, we can field a very strong team in our conference.
On the Boys side, we came within 2 points of beating a Division I team Fork Union Military Academy. Had all of our swimmers got to the blocks in time for their event, we would have beaten them also:
Boys
FUMA 138 Seton 136
Seton 168 Wakefield School 97
Seton 185 Trinity Christian 88
Seton 214 Fresta Valley 55
Seton 218 Christchurch 55
Seton 201 The Covenant School 47
Seton 211 Chelsea Academy 41
Seton 216 Highland School 31
Seton 222 Middleburg Academy 15
Seton 221 HEARTS Sea Lions 11
Girls
Seton 143 Trinity Christian 130
Seton 154 The Covenant School 117
Seton 163 Highland School 108
Seton 176 Christchurch 88
Seton 202 Fresta Valley 61
Seton 207 Middleburg Academy 48
Seton 205 HEARTS Sea Lions 37
Seton 221 Wakefield School 32
Seton 218 Chelsea Academy 25
Twelve (12) Swimmers Who Really Shined
Every PR gets my attention – it’s what we are working for when we get up early three mornings a week – but at every meet, there are always some swims that really get my attention. Here are seven (7) of the most impressive:
- Nathan Luevano (7) had one of the most amazing swims in the 500 Free I’ve seen for a Seton 7th grader since I’ve been coaching. He was like the Energizer Bunny – he started with a fast turnover (i.e. how fast you move your arms) and just kept it up. His splits were remarkably even for someone with his level of experience, hitting between 1:20 and 1:25 per 100 yards to go 6:48.88! I can’t wait until he gets older and refines his stroke more. I think Nathan can be very good at this event.
- Moira Haggerty (7) gave us a stunning example of how much she has improved since Time Trials. In the 200 Free, she dropped 44.55 seconds to almost break 3:00 minutes. She’s learned to swim “long and strong” as former Seton Coach Pat Mulhern used to say, and her very efficient stroke has her swimming repeated 1:32 100s. Amazing for young Moira.
- Theresa Dwane (SO) always seems to be smiling, and on Saturday, she made me smile too. This is Theresa’s first year on the team. In her 200 Free, her first attempt since time trials, she too had a huge drop (24.76 seconds) that provided a vivid demonstration of how much she has improved this season. She is now well under 3:00 for the event. Theresa also cut a whopping 2.36 seconds from her 100 Breaststroke PR.
- Justin Fioramonti (SO) continues to uphold his family’s reputation for “heart” with two great swims in the 200 Free and 100 Fly. In the 200 Free, Justin dropped 7.16 seconds to go 2:25.28 and in 100 Fly, Justin dropped 5.78 seconds to go 1:24.67. He has been an amazing contributor to our team this year in all of the most difficult events.
- Liam Kellogg (FR) has not been swimming like a freshman lately. I was so pleased to see him drop a huge 1.82 seconds in 50 back leading off a medley. He also dropped an amazing 1.23 seconds in 50 Free to go 26.75 – a very fast time for a freshman boy who is not a USA swimmer. That 50 time is the 9th fastest 50 time swum on the team this year. His times are now fast enough that I had to add him to my relay split spreadsheet that I use to figure out our top relays!
- Dominic Hartung (SO) is really starting to figure out how to swim breaststroke. On Saturday, he cut another 7.75 seconds from his PR to go 1:24.55. That was such a big drop that he almost jumped onto the Varsity team! Dominic also cut another .46 seconds from his 50 Free PR in his search for the white whale of a sub-30 second 50 Free. 45 is getting very close Dominic!
- Teresa Bingham (8) is one of the best examples of the values we are trying to teach in Seton Swimming, particularly the “gratitude”. She’s doing so well, and always seems thankful for the opportunities that she is being given. It brings me a lot of joy to watch her translate those opportunities into outstanding performances, no matter what event I have her swim. On Saturday, Teresa had great swims in the both the 200 Free and 500 Free. In the 200 Free, she cut 7.05 seconds from her PR to go 2:37.06 and in the 500 Free, she cut 11.05 seconds to go 7:22.13. It’s not easy for an 8th grader to make Varsity on our strong Girl’s team, but Teresa has translated her gratefulness into a slot on our post-season team. Congratulations Teresa!
- Drew Dalrymple (SO) expanded his horizons from the sprint events to the 500 Free on Saturday and went an impressive 6:21.20, a 1:16 average 100 yard pace and a 7.60 second PR. It was a very impressive swim that finished in 3rd place overall.
- Therese Pechie (SR) made her first-ever attempt at the 200 IM and really impressed me with the way she approached it. She was racing Anne Konstanty who has been swimming with Occoquan and has become quite a strong swimmer on our team. I could tell that Therese was really pushing herself – something that I just love to see – when she was even with Anne at the end of Breaststroke. With only 50 yards of freestyle left, Anne’s better conditioning paid off, but not without Therese showing the kind of heart that I really like to see from a Seton swimmer. That was a great swim Therese!
- Sophia Zadnik (8) continues to gain confidence in herself – one of my biggest goals for our female athletes – and that confidence was on display Saturday with her swim in the 200 Free and with her first-ever attempt at 100 Butterfly. In the 200 Free, she cut 9.18 seconds from her PR to break 3:30 for the first time. In 100 Fly, Sophia finished strong with a 1:38.02. I was so pleased to see Sophia actually ask to try 100 Fly!
- Collette Waldron (JR) and Coach Heidi Santschi have bonded I think, and it is fun to see the results. In the 500 Free on Saturday, Collette was paying close attention to her stroke, particularly getting her elbow high early, and the result was a 31 second PR. Believe it or not, I think Collette can drop even more as she gains confidence in herself.
- Ben Dealey (SR) rejoined the team for his senior year after a one (1) year hiatus and is really making the most of it. On Saturday, he tried the 200 IM for the first time and went 2:45.66. That swim got Ben on the Varsity team! Ben also dropped 11.90 seconds in the 500 Free.
57 Personal Records this Week
There were plenty of other great swims on Saturday that made it worth the trip for me back from Baltimore – here are the rest of our 57 Personal Records:
- Katie Albin (SO) cut a huge 4.25 seconds from her 100 Free PR to go 1:08.36, and she cut another huge 1.51 seconds in 100 Back to go 1:17.94. Katie has become the four (4)-stroke swimmer that we are trying to develop here at Seton.
- Jacob Alsup (SO) continues to shine in nearly every event he swims. He cut his 200 Free PR again, this time by 3.49 seconds, and went a very fast 2:10.22. He also cut his 50 Free time by another .32 seconds down to 25.79, his first time under 26 seconds.
- David Catabui (SR) had a nice swim in the 100 Free, lowering his PR to 1:03.03 after dropping 4.83 seconds.
- Christian Ceol (SO) also had a strong swim in the 100 Free, lowering his PR to 1:01.30 after dropping 4.31 seconds.
- Annie Cuccinelli (SO) cut 4.44 seconds from her 100 Free PR to get her time down to 1:13.07. Annie is doing quite well during her first year on the team.
- Jerry Dalrymple (FR) lowered his 50 Free PR by another .38 seconds. He now just .08 seconds away from breaking :26 from a flat start.
- Kalli Dalrymple (SR) swims with great heart, so I was very pleased to see her PR in 50 Free by .09 seconds.
- Joey Dealey (7) lowered his 100 Fly PR by another 2.49 seconds to 1:30.97. Only in 7th grade, I can see that Joey could be very good in this event in the future.
- Katie Dealey’s (SO) shoulder looks to be feeling better after her two PRs on Saturday. In 100 Free, Katie cut .91 seconds and in 50 Free, Katie cut .39 seconds.
- Lucy Garvey (8), a fast 8th grader from our sister school Renaissance Montessori, made the most of her last swims of the season with a .12 second PR in 100 Back. And thank you Garvey for stepping in as our Starter!
- Brian Geiran (7) continues to improve, this time by 1.31 seconds in 100 Free.
- Catherine Griffin (7) had a big drop in 100 Breaststroke, cutting 6.92 seconds from her PR.
- Amelie Halisky (7) smiled her way to a 1.18 second PR in 100 Back.
- Patrick Hartung (7) lowered his 100 Free PR by a whopping 3.51 seconds and he lowered his 50 Free PR by .32 seconds.
- Ruthie Hartung (SR) made the most of her last swims of the season with a final 8.88 second PR in 100 Back and a final .67 second PR in 50 Free. It was so great having you on the team Ruthie!
- Virginia Hartung (FR) broke 2:00 in 100 Breaststroke for the first time after her 3.56 second PR on Saturday.
- Ethiana Hasch (8) from our sister school Renaissance Montessori wrapped up her season in style with a final 1.71 second PR in 200 IM to go 3:12.68
- Addie-Quinn Kammerdeiner (7) has shown huge improvement this season, and that improvement continued with a 1.95 second PR in 50 Free leading off a relay.
- Matthew Kelly (JR) can’t make any of the post-season meets, so he took full advantage of his final opportunities of the season with a final 1.54 second PR in 100 Back and a .03 second PR in 50 Free leading off a relay.
- Jeremy Kleb (SO) is going to score a lot of points for Seton in the future if he continues to improve the way he has this season. I was so pleased with his 5.23 second PR in 100 Breaststroke on Saturday.
- Ceili Koehr (8) had a great swim in 100 Back (even though she “can’t do it at all”) when she lowered her PR by 2.72 seconds to go a very strong 1:25.72. That’s a good time for a 8th grader in her first year swimming at Seton.
- Shane Koehr (SO) bumped himself up to the “A” Medley Relay with his .19 second PR lead-off 50 Backstroke split. Shane also inched closer to the 1:00 barrier in 100 Free with his .16 second PR. Almost there Shane!
- Anne Konstanty (SO) got a push from Therese Pechie in the 200 IM and lowered her PR in the event by another 4.72 seconds.
- Katya Konstanty (SR) wrapped up her Seton Swimming career with a pair of strong swims in the 100 Fly and 100 Back. It was great to have you on the team Katya – so glad to hear that you can go to States with us!
- Mary Ostrich (JR) had a great swim in 50 Back leading off a medley relay. She lowered her PR by .84 seconds.
- Caroline Pechie (8) had a tremendous swim in the 200 IM, cutting 11.22 seconds from her PR to go a very impressive 3:12.43. Caroline is rapidly developing into the four (4) stroke swimmer we are working toward at Seton.
- Kevin Rodriguez (8) sprinted to a .14 second PR in 50 Free.
- Jack Santschi (FR) continues to show that he is one of Seton’s rising stars. In 200 Free, Jack went 2:10.43, 1.93 seconds faster than ever before.
- Felix Seoh (SR) has developed a very competitive time for 100 Breast, particularly after dropping another .06 seconds.
- Simon Seoh (8) has become a very fast sprinter, particularly for an 8th On Saturday, he cut another .05 seconds from his PR.
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 Friday and Saturday, February 16-17, 2018 at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sport Center in Stafford, VA. I am a happy to say that I am not hosting it this year, but I’m very excited for Seton to have a strong showing. 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 – 50, 100, and 200 Free plus 100 Back, 100 Fly and 200 IM
- Caroline Griffin – 200 IM and 100 Back
- Mairead Geiran – 50, 100, 200 and 500 Free, plus 200 IM, 100 Fly and 100 BAck
- Alex Ceol – 100 Fly
Here are the relays that have hit the cut:
- Girls “A” 200 Medley Relay
- Girls “B” 200 Medley Relay
- Girls “A” 200 Free Relay
- Girls “A” 400 Free Relay
- Girls “B” 400 Free Relay
- Boys “A” 200 Medley Relay
- Boys “A” 200 Free Relay
- Boys “B” 200 Free Relay
- Boys “A” 400 Free Relay
- Boys “B” 400 Free Relay
As I keep reiterating, 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.
That’s an intentional loophole that we put into the rules to allow people to qualify, even if the relay line-up that we ultimately enter in the meet cannot quite hit the qualifying time.
The only relay that we could possibly enter for which we don’t have four (4) qualified swimmers is the Boys 200 Medley “B” Relay. At the VISAA D-II Invitational, I’m going to try to get that relay to States with David Flook, Felix Seoh, Jerry Dalrymple and Drew Dalrymple. Everyone except Felix Seoh has been on a Medley this season when it hit the cut, so these boys need to get the job done next week.
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. This will probably be the case for the Girls and will certainly be the case for the Boys. Time – and your times – will clarify this situation for all of us.
An eligibility report for States is posted under Meet & Team Information. Remember that if you are listed under Event #101 or #102, that means that you have qualified for the Bonus 50 Free. The Bonus 50 Free is an extra event in which you can participate only if you qualify in some other event, including a relay.
I’ve also posted a DRAFT list of who is likely to go to States. It could change with performance, but I’m trying to give you information with which to plan.
- If you don’t have a hotel room yet, take care of that today. The room block expires on Monday.
- If you are on the list and have not e-mailed about your plans, please do that today also.
Final Notes
Let’s wrap it up with some final notes:
- I was sorry to miss the final practice with JV swimmers on Thursday. I heard that the Captains did a great job leading all of the fun.
- Today’s Junior Varsity Invitational at the WARF is the last meet of the year for 7th through 9th grade swimmers who will not be swimming in the post-season. I’m expecting to see all of our Varsity swimmers there to cheer them on or to help with timing.
See you Monday morning,
Coach Jim Koehr