Earlier last week, I announced the Varsity team members who will compete in the post-season for Seton, where no more exhibition swimming is allowed. Eighteen years ago, after having the season ended abruptly for nearly half the team, we hatched the idea of a fun, season-ending meet for all the members of Seton’s Junior Varsity team.
The Junior Varsity Invitational was the result of that plan. Our little Seton School had just started hosting the State Championship meet at that point – how hard could this one be? So, we set out on a journey to create an annual event at the beautiful new Fitch Warrenton Aquatic and Recreation Facility, which was brand new at the time.
The meet has grown into a championship, officially sanctioned by the VISAA, and it continues to attract swimmers from all over the State of Virginia. This year we had 304 swimmers and divers from 15 teams that traveled from as far away as Chesapeake, VA for a fun-filled meet.
You don’t normally expect to get goosebumps from a Junior Varsity swim meet, but I found it happening to me twice.
The competitive part of this championship is reserved for 9th grade and below, but we also use the meet as the capstone event for everyone on the team who is not going into the championship season, including and especially the seniors.
We have five (5) seniors who had their “last splashes” on Saturday – Mary Catherine Hurley (SR) in diving, and then swimmers Walter Saffian (SR), Orla Haggerty (SR), Meg Blanchette (SR), and Molly Bauer (SR). I used the opportunity to interview the senior swimmers during the pre-game show on the live stream, and their reflections were very moving for me.
I was literally getting goosebumps listening to the men and women these boys and girls had become.
I am fond of saying, “Swimming ain’t about swimming”, and, as I listened to them reflect on why they joined – and stayed – on the team, I was reminded of how true that is. I was particularly moved by Meg Blanchette’s reference to Saint John Paul the Great:
“We are not made for comfort; we are made for greatness”
As my 12th child is about to venture out of the house to find and live his vocation in the world, Meg’s comments have generated quite a bit of personal reflection. What is next for Colleen and I after 40 years of children in the house? (Literally 40 years – Kaitlyn was born in 1985 and Connor will head off to college in 2025)
For most of my life, I assumed it would be comfort and travel, but, now that I’m here, I don’t think that is going to be it.
The second time I got goosebumps was watching the excitement of the team jumping into the pool to celebrate our dual victories – both the swimmers and the coaches! It was just remarkable for me to watch – not because we won, but because of how our merry band of Seton parent volunteers have created something so special that even a Junior Varsity meet can elicit this sort of response.
I doubt many of you stay on the live stream long enough to hear the post-game show, but I was reflecting with Coach Schroer and Coach Palazzo about how this happens at Seton.
First, we agreed that the culture of Seton Swim & Dive is just an extension of the culture of Seton School. Our GEMS (Gratitude, Excellence, Meekness, and Sacrifice) were not invented, they were discovered. They have always been baked into the culture of Seton School, which is why they are so compelling. Our GEMS are a reflection of, not an aspiration for, the school.
The second reason is that our large group of parent volunteers has gotten pretty darn good at running swim meets. Just for fun, I took 20 minutes and went through all our Meet Schedules since I became the head coach in 2002.
Believe it or not, this weekend’s JV Invitational Championship was the 205th meet that Seton School has hosted since 2002. I know we were a regular meet host prior to me taking over as the head coach, so, as a school, we are probably close to 250 swim meets hosted.
Early on, I realized that, if we were going to have a superior swimming program, we were going to have to provide opportunities for kids to excel, and we were going to have the make the meets more fun. The swim meets that we used to have at Fredericksburg Academy were just not going to cut it.
My partner in crime during those early days was a man that most of you have never heard of – Chris Cook. You’ve all heard me talk about Kevin and Nevin (i.e., All-Americans Kevin Koehr and Nevin Cook), but we also had Kevin and Nevin’s fathers.
Mr. Cook was the prime force behind the introduction of many of the key features of our Meets that we take for granted today. He bought the first sound system and made the first play list. He was the first to figure out how to use the Meet Manager software, and he was the first to make touchpads and the Colorado Timing System (CTS) a feature of every meet.
Mr. Cook was followed by the much more familiar name of Bill Dealey who took our Meet technology to the next level again. And then Paul Fifield came to take it to the place we are today with a livestream broadcast and video content that is the envy other high schools, and even most colleges.
If you were to travel in time from 2002, when kids brought cards to the blocks, timers recorded the times on those cards, and the times were entered into an excel spreadsheet by Mrs. Seltman, you would find our swim meets today to be completely unrecognizable.
Again, it is a tribute to larger culture of Seton School, where parents, not paid professionals, make things happen for the good of the children in the school. I don’t think you could ever duplicate what we have with paid professionals – the sacrifice of all-volunteer force is our secret sauce.
The March for Life Felt Different This Year for a Reason
Most of you have never met my oldest daughter Kaitlyn, who graduated from Seton in 2003.
Kaitlyn lives with her husband, Daniel Brindle, and their eight (8) children on their farm, Andrews Spring Farm, just outside of a one-Walmart town called Lewisburg, about an hour south of Nashville, TN.
The farm is named after Daniel’s mother’s family, the Andrews, and one of Daniel’s aunts, Joan Andrews Bell, made some significant news the day before our swim meet.
Joan Andrews Bell was one of the very early pro-life activists, and when the Dobbs decision came down, I saw her name on more than one list of “names to know in the early pro-life movement”.
On Friday morning, she was one of the 23 Pro-Life Advocates that were pardoned by the President for the crime of praying in front of a particularly notorious Washington DC late-term Abortion facility.
The 76-year-old Joan Andrews Bell was sentenced to 27-months in prison – not her first experience with being made an example of. One of the other activists who was pardoned was the 89-year-old Eva Edl, sentenced for her part in a peaceful protest outside of an abortion facility in Michigan. Eva Edl was a concentration camp survivor in the former Soviet-controlled Yugoslavia.
I didn’t see “Aunt Joan” at the March – she was there – but I did have a chance to reflect on her work from my backpacking chair under a small tree on the Washington Mall while enjoying a Rocky Patel Sun Grown Toro to keep the bugs, and people, away.
I have been going to the March for Life since the 1970s when I was in high school. If I were to be completely honest, I am usually not fully engaged in all the talks from the endless stream of politicians, preachers and activists, but this year felt different.
Maybe it was the fate of Aunt Joan, maybe it was the presence of the both the President and Vice President, or maybe it was just the innate sense of a man getting older, wiser, and more reflective.
I thought about some of the women that I encountered during my two (2) years at the Darden School for Business at UVa. I was 50-years old then, so almost all of them were nearly a different generation from me, and like me at their age, they were still trying to find their way in the world.
Believe it or not, some of these young women were among my best friends in the class. I recalled being struck by the fruitlessness of trying to find fulfillment in the world by working for “the man”.
The things that are valued at a top business school like Darden are not always valuable.
One of the women, in particular, would engage me regularly, knowing that, as I heard she had told one of our other classmates, “I’m pretty sure he thinks I should be working at all.” That is not true, of course, but I do have a very healthy respect for the complementary of a man and woman in marriage.
At our most recent reunion, as we walked back from one of the class events, she engaged me more forcefully than was normal for her.
“Just think about it!”, she said.
I have definitely thought about it, but I didn’t take the bait. It would have been pointless. One someone is willing to prioritize their radical self-autonomy over another human life, there is really no were else to go. It did strike me particularly hard though that this woman, a mother of two, has experienced her superpower and she treats it like a handicap. I did my best to gently make that point in the hopes that it might sink in later.
I’m not convinced that she would have ever gone so far as to protect her career by having an abortion herself – she had shown that she would not twice before. She was just so torn by the pressures of trying to be recognized by her peers as a successful businessperson and a good mother at the same time. That much, I could understand, and I genuinely felt for her.
As I sat in my chair and pulled out another cigar, this time a Plascencia Alma Fuerte Sixto II Hexagon, I recalled one of my proudest-papa moments.
My daughter Céilí Koehr, who was Miss Seton 2022, attended Girl’s State and decided to run for Governor. She knew that her platform was not going to lead to victory – for Governor – but she also knew that she had a platform, and she was determined to use it.
In her words, used in her campaign speech (highlights mine):
It always strikes me as demeaning when well-meaning mentors and advisers tell me that I can do anything a man can do. Why is what a man can do the standard for me – I’m a woman!
First of all, it’s so obviously false. I have nine brothers and even the youngest of them will always be bigger faster and stronger than me.
But I can do things they’ll never be able to do – like give life!
We talk about women making their own destiny making their own choices. Why do we demean motherhood as if it’s some sort of limitation on us instead of the fulfillment of who we are and can be as women?
As you can imagine, there were some heads that blew off, but I was really proud of my Céilí that day.
She turns 21 next week, and after a two-month Spanish immersion program in Guatemala, she will return to work at the Catholic Charities Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinic in Manassas.
The physical clinic was the site of the Amethyst Woman’s Clinic, an abortion facility that Seton students and parents prayed in front of for a quarter-century – until the Feast of the Archangels in 2015.
- It was two Seton Dads that befriended the clinic owner.
- It was a group of Seton families that formed the BVM Foundation to purchase the assets of the business and the real estate that housed it.
- It was the CEO of Catholic Charities, a former Seton Swim Dad, who accepted our challenge to redeem the location by opening a free medical clinic on the site.
- It was a Seton Swim Mom who brought the clinic to life as its Director, and
- Now we have former Seton swimmers working there.
One common argument I heard at Darden was that all we cared about was ending a woman’s right to choose an abortion, but we didn’t care about what happens to the woman if she can’t have an abortion.
The BVM Foundation, grown largely out of the Seton community, puts the lie to that argument.
If you want to learn more about the whole story, or if you’d like to join us in this great redemption story, please visit www.bvmtrustfoundation.org
Group 6 to Conference Champion – Is it Possible?
Our final practice last Thursday was a remarkable affair.
We had swimmers from all six (6) groups at practice together for the first time since the first day. As usual, we started with dryland in the racquetball courts – boys in one court and girls in another.
Just as exhibit #365 that boys and girls are not alike, here’s what the two (2) captain-led dryland sessions looked like:
- Boys – “Slap the mat, throw the rice, go!” Sumo wrestling here. Brian Orellana (FR) won 15 matches in a row!
- Girls – Country line dancing here.
The practice itself went remarkably smoothly given that we had over 100 kids across 14 lanes, and after about 30 minutes of actual practice, we did our traditional Captain’s Relays. It’s always a great way to end the regular season, and I always enjoy watching the captains in action. Leadership development is another important part of what I try to do with this team.
While the other coaches and I were watching more than 100 kids get skillfully organized into 10 relay teams, Coach Casey Beltran asked me a great question. It may be a question that a lot of readers of this blog, both parents and swimmers, might have also:
“Will any of these group 5 and 6 kids make Varsity one day?”
The answer was “definitely!”. I can think of many stories of kids on the team who have gone from the beginning group to Varsity, but there is one story in particular, the story of “Charlie Bucket”, that could be my all-time favorite story from Seton Swimming (OK, maybe in the top-5 😉).
You can find the story and see the amazing conference championship race under Seton All-Time Greatest Swims on the videos page of www.setonswimming.org or you can click here. If you go to the page, look at the description below the video, and click on “more”, here is the story you will find:
In the annals of Seton Swimming over-achievers, this race featuring Jonathan Rosato ’11 in the DAC Championship Meet at St. Michael the Archangel on February 12, 2011, has to take the cake. Here’s what I wrote in my blog at the time:
The highlight of the meet was unquestionably the Boys 100 Breaststroke where senior Jonathan Rosato, junior Michael Hill and freshman Joe Kosten swam a near dead heat with Neil O’Heir from Wakefield Country Day. In the end, Jonathan Rosato touched first to win the gold medal in a story book ending fit for a movie.
Jonathan Rosato is going to kill me for this, but I vividly remember a skinny, 90 lb., 7th grade boy back in 2005 crying behind the blocks at the Freedom Center because he was afraid to jump off the blocks into the 13 feet of water. After much coaxing from his mother (not sure that adequately describes what actually happened, but we’ll go with that;-)), Jonathan jumped in and swam 42.58 in 50 Free and a 2:03.09 in what would become his signature event, 100 Breaststroke.
Ever since that day when Jonathan conquered his fear, he had a dream to qualify for States. I’m sure he thought that it was impossible at that point, but he kept working, kept improving, and kept trying.
Fast forward 5 years to the beginning of this season when the goal of qualifying for States in 100 Breaststroke with a 1:11.41 still seemed daunting, but much more possible. At the first meet last December, Jonathan went 1:15.06, not a bad time for him, but an eternity from that State cut. In successive meets leading up to our Division II Invitational, he went 1:14.03, 1:13.45, 1:13.25, 1:13.10 – arghh – can’t even break 1:13!
Well, the breakthrough came at last week’s Invitational. After a few side sessions with Coach Rick Benner over at QDD and no event longer than a 50 to ensure he was fresh, he popped all the way down to 1:11.88 – still not there and only once chance left. With the whole team cheering on the side of the pool, a shaved and highly motivated Jonathan approached the blocks.
After the best pull-down I’ve ever seen from Jonathan, he surfaced off the dive with a very slight lead over teammates Michael Hill and Joe Kosten. A quick glance over at Joe Kosten ’14 revealed that Joe was also having the swim of his life. At the 50, Michael Hill ’12 took a small lead after a 33.73 split, Joe Kosten was in 2nd after a blazing fast split of 34.02, and Jonathan was 3rd with a 50 split of 34.65.
During the 2nd 50, you could just see the determination on the faces of all three of Seton’s swimmers, but this was especially true of Jonathan who came back in a 36.50 – wow! He split 34.65 and then 36.50 – now that’s how you swim a 100 yard race!
And when he touched, we all saw a 1:11.15 on the scoreboard, a new DAC Champion in 100 Breaststroke, and the culmination of a dream that seemed impossible so many years before – he was a State Championship qualifier! That little boy behind the block years before sure had taken a huge step toward becoming a man.
So, yes Coach Beltran. It is definitely possible.
Final Scores
The scoring for the top teams at the meet ended up with both the Seton boys and the girls taking home the traveling trophies.
On the girls’ side, the competition was never in doubt, but on the boys’ side, an up-and-coming Immanuel Christian School was giving us all we could handle. In the end, our “Depth over Dominance” strategy proved to be the difference – plus diving!
When I saw Immanuel Christian’s Reed Lansing (FR), Colton Masterson (8), Micah Herndon (FR), and Michael Salter (8), I immediately felt like I could see the future. These guys are good, and their new coach, Ken Burgess, doesn’t seem to be messing around.
For many years, our girls have had a great back-and-forth rivalry with Trinity Christian School. The future I could see was Patrick Kay (FR), Jack Herwick (FR), Dominic Judge (SO), Paul Partridge (7), Joey Lynch (FR), Michael Zahorchak (SO), JJ Garvey (8), and so many others battling a powerful future Immanuel team for the VCAC Conference Championship year-in and year-out.
For round one of the battles, we came out on top by 48 points. That sounds like a lot until you consider that 44 of those points were from diving. If you look at just the swimming events, we would have won by a mere 4 points!
Fortunately for us, Diving is one of the events in an NFHS-rules high school Swim & Dive meet, and we have the best diving coach in the State!
Last year, we beat the Immanuel Boys 390-249. Check out how the scores for the top scoring teams changed this year:
Boys
Seton 390
Immanuel Christian 352
Trinity School at Meadow View 102
Fredericksburg Christian 102
Fork Union Military Academy 68
Norfolk Academy 56
Girls
Seton 361
Immanuel Christian 214
Oakcrest School 154
North Cross 111
Bishop O’Connell 103
Fredericksburg Christian 93
The Steward School 88
Congratulations to our two (2) Swimmers of the Meet:
- Colton Masterson, 8, Immanuel Christian School
- Five (5) Gold medals in 50 Butterfly, 50 Breaststroke, the 200 Breaststroke Relay, the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay.
- Set a new meet record in 50 Breaststroke
- Victoria Sessa, 7, The Steward School
- Three (3) Gold medals in 50 Free, 100 Free, and 50 Back.
An indication of the level of competition was the one (1) new Meet Record for swimming and four (4) new Meet Records for Diving set on Saturday:
- Boys 50 Breaststroke, Colton Masterson, 8, Immanuel Christian, 28.77
- Girls Diving, 6-Dives, Meghan Condon, FR, Seton, 175.15
- Girls Diving, 11-Dives, Meghan Condon, FR, Seton, 295.60
- Boys Diving, 6-Dives, Eli Edwards, FR, Trinity Christian School, 184.40
- Boys Diving, 11-Dives, Eli Edwards, FR, Trinity Christian School, 315.10
The formula for winning these championship meets is a familiar one for us, and it was no different this time:
- Score big in diving
- Load up the relays to take advantage of the double points
- Use Personal Record swims to get as many swimmers as possible into the top 12.
We don’t have to win many individual events outright to achieve the desired result if we do those three things, as you will see below. It’s our “depth over dominance” strategy, a term that I first heard from Mr. Joe Aldeguer’s AI-generated podcast from my previous blogs.
Am I allowed to steal key phrases from an AI-generated output without getting in trouble with Mr. Di Vietri?
Our Divers Prepare for States
The VISAA JV Invitational was a great chance for our young Divers to shine, not just our young swimmers.
One of the brightest was Meghan Condon (FR) who broke the Meet Records for both 6-dives and 11-dives!
I’ll let Coach Ashley Keapproth tell the story of Meghan and the rest of the Divers herself:
I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did yesterday! It was amazing to see so many kids really push themselves to learn dives this season! So many divers competed for the first time, competed brand new dives, or set new PRs. I could not have asked for a better end to our regular season, and I am so proud of what each diver has accomplished this season!
Huge congratulations to the overall Seton boys’ and girls’ teams who won the overall JV Invite! It’s amazing to be a part of such a phenomenal swim program with so much young talent.
While there was so much to be excited and grateful about yesterday, my heart was full watching the depth of our junior divers. Last year we had 2 boys in the JV invite — this year we had 7! Last year we had 9 girls dive in this meet — this year we had 12! We have a lot of amazing up and coming talent and I am honored to be a part of your diving (and life!) journey.
We had two Meets in one yesterday — the JV invite for our 9th graders and younger and a state qualifier for our divers with 11 dives. There was some tough competition on both sides! On the girls’ side, I want to note O’Connell brought three very strong girls. In Fairfax Country, there is a robust summer diving league (just like summer swim here in Prince WiIliam). Therefore, O’Connell’s freshmen had all been diving for several years prior to high school, and it showed from their form and consistency. This is why I am such an advocate for our 5th, 6th, and 7th graders diving. Developing these skills at a younger age will set our kids up for success at the State level.
On the girl’s side:
- Meghan Condon (Fr) placed 1st with 175.15 points, setting a new meet record! Meghan has had a phenomenal season this year, which I attribute to her work ethic and consistent training during our off season. Meghan performed beautiful back and reverse dives and an amazing inward 1.5 somersault, which was one of the hardest dives at the meet. Meghan is incredibly coachable, and her score was 30 points higher yesterday than her score at last year’s JV Invite! Meghan had already qualified for States but nevertheless completed a 11-dive list scoring 295.60 points. This set a new PR for Meghan and would have put her top 8 at States last year!
- Clare Kay (7th) placed 5th with 124.40 points. Her back and reverse somersaults were amazing. She also worked incredibly hard in the off season to learn a new hurdle to increase her power off the board and has been working hard all season to learn the full 11 dive list. Because she is only in 7th grade, Clare is not eligible to dive at States but nevertheless was eager to perform her 11-dive list for the first time. She earned 233.05 points and would have qualified if she was an 8th grader. Clare is incredibly coachable and self-motivated to learn new dives. It has been amazing working with her this season!
- Jane Judge (Fr) placed 5th with 121.95 points — 75 points more than her score last year at the JV Invite! Jane has had a phenomenal breakthrough season. At this time last year, Jane competed/knew only 3 dives. Jane has been so motivated and hard working this season. Not only has her diving improved tremendously, but she learned a full 11-dive list and qualified for States yesterday with a score of 221.70 points. I am so proud of Jane!
- Cecelia Kelly (Fr) placed 6th with 121.00 points. Cecelia has made incredible improvement with her hurdle and board work this season. She is jumping so much higher which will continue to pay off in seasons to come. Cecelia competed a brand new dive yesterday, a full twisting somersault, and has really pushed herself to learn several new dives this season. Cecelia is incredibly self-motivated, and I could not be more proud of her diving this season.
- Lucy Herwick (8th) placed 7th with 119.10 points — a new PR for Lucy! Lucy has made incredible improvement this season on her form and height, and has learned several new dives including the back flip that she performed so well yesterday. I have no doubt that Lucy will be on our State team next year as a Freshman. She has a very bright future in diving.
- Betsy Arnold (Fr) placed 8th with 105.25 points. As a new diver this year, Betsy shows incredible talent and promise. Not only has she learned her full six-dive list, but she is also developing consistent board work and form. She also has a natural ability to hit the water without making a splash, and I have no doubt that Betsy will be on our State team next year.
- Bella Nguyen (Fr) placed 9th with 95.70. In her first dive meet ever, Bella should be incredibly proud of completing a full 6 dive list, including a front 1.5 somersault that she had only learned the day before. Bella is a very graceful diver, and has a bright future ahead of her! Bella has learned enough dives this season to move up to group 2, and join the varsity team in our off season training.
- Penny Kramer (So.) scored 86.25 points with 6 dives — only .05 away from her personal best. Penny has worked hard this season to learn a 6-dive list and always comes to practice ready to work her hardest. Her front flips have improved tremendously this season, and she even learned to twist!
- Cessie Reyes (8th) competed in her first meet ever scoring 45.15 points with three dives. Cessie has been a joy to coach and shows up to practice ready to work hard. She learned a front dive tuck, front flip, and back dive this season!
- Grace Catabui (7th) competed in her first meet of the season scoring 41.25 points with three dives — 7 points more than her score last year at this meet last year. Grace learned a front flip this season, and has been working hard to perform her front dive and back dive with a hurdle.
- Clare Judge (8th) competed in her first meet ever scoring 31.45 points with two dives. Clare learned a front and back dive this season. Clare has made incredible improvement this season.
- Jenny Baughman (7th) competed in her first meet ever scoring 21.00 points with two dives. Jenny learned front and back dives this season, and made great improvement this season.
Additionally, we had two seniors dive yesterday:
- Anna Russo (Sr.) qualified for States with a score of 233.90, a new 11 dive PR for Anna! Anna has always been a graceful diver, and has made incredible progress this year getting more height off the board. I am excited to see what she can do in the post season!
- Mary Catherine Hurley (Sr.) ended her diving career on a high note with a new 6 dive personal record of 130.80. Mary Catherine has been a joy to coach, with her perpetual smile and positive attitude. She learned several new dives this season including a back flip with a twist which she competed yesterday. She will be greatly missed next season!
On the boy’s side:
- Tom Waldron (Fr.) placed 2nd with a score of 130.65, setting a new PR by over 10 points! I am excited to have Tom diving again this season after taking 2 years off! Tom also competed in the state qualifier, completing an 11-dive meet for the first time ever with a score of 213.10 and qualifying for the State Championship!
- John Witter (7th) was 3rd with a score of 117.55 points. John has incredible power, form, and flexibility — all the makings of a phenomenal diver. He performed a great back and reserve somersault, and we will continue to work in the off season to harness and control his power. I have no doubt John will be on our State team next year as an 8th grader.
- Max Ashton (7th) was 5th with a score of 103.10. Max has been really fun to coach this season, and learned several new dives including a reverse dive and twisters! Max has developed really solid fundamentals and has an incredibly bright future in diving. I have no doubt he will be on our State team next year as an 8th grader.
- Will Judge (6th) scored 64.80 points with 4 dives and learned a front dive tuck, back dive, inward dive, and front flip this season. Will was part of a group of 6th grade boys that was so much fun to coach! Will did a phenomenal job not only learning new dives, but also developed strong fundamentals in his form and hurdle. He is always smiling and working hard!
- Brian Orellana (Fr.) scored 55.80 points with 4 dives. Brian made good progress this season, and always comes to practice with a smile on his face and willing to try. He has improved tremendously on his front flip both in and out of the water. I have really enjoyed getting to know him this season!
- Dominic Sciscilo (6th) scored 54.20 points with 3 dives. Dom learned a front dive tuck, back dive, and inward dive this season. Dom was a lot of fun to coach, and I loved seeing his big smile when he learned a new dive or did one really well. Dom is building good and solid fundamentals which will serve him well in years to come!
- Gus Halisky (6th) scored 49.10 points with 3 dives. Gus learned a front dive tuck and front flip this season. I was so proud of him for learning that front flip, which he has been working on for several weeks. Facing your fear can be incredibly challenging, and I was so proud of Gus for conquering that one!
For the 11-dive State qualifier:
- Kenny Ngyuen (10th) scored 215.30 earning him a spot on the State Championship team as a first-year diver! It is incredibly hard to learn a full 11 dive list in one season, and Kenny has stepped up to that challenge. He has been working really hard on his form and increasing his difficulty, including the front double that he performed yesterday! I am incredibly proud of how far he has come this season.
- Daniel Sokban (10th) scored 176.05, not far off the State qualifying score. He has two more chances to get qualified, and I have no doubt that he will be joining Kenny and Tom on the State Championship team.
Our team heading into our championship season is: Connor, Jacob, Gus, Tom, Kenny, Daniel, Rose, Meghan, Maria, Anna, Jane, and Elizabeth. I will send a separate note to these divers and their families about our upcoming Meets. For everyone else, thank you for your hard work this season. I strongly encourage you to come watch our D2, VCAC, and State Championships! I will see you at our team banquet on March 2.
I am grateful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to work with each of you.
Coach Ashley
And we are blessed to have you too Coach Ashley.
Top Scorers for Seton
I was very excited for the future of Seton Swimming while I watched so many young swimmers swim so well. The future of Seton Swimming sure does look bright!
Saturday’s meet was very fast, but our strong core of young swimmers was up to the challenge.
Here are our top young swimmers who took gold, silver or bronze medals on Saturday. The list is relatively short, which is very telling since both the boys and the girls won. You can see how much our depth and our relays played into our success:
- Patrick Kay (FR) was one of the highest individual scorers in the meet with two (2) gold medals and a silver medal. Patrick also had five (5) new Personal Records. His gold medals were in 100 IM and 100 Free with PRs of 5.88 seconds and .48 seconds, respectively. His silver medal was in 50 Back with a .05 second PR, and only .08 seconds behind Jack Herwick (FR)
- Jack Herwick (FR) was another of the highest scorers in the meet, also with two (2) gold medals and a silver medal plus three (3) new PRs. His gold medals were in 50 Free and 50 Back with PRs of .69 seconds and 1.61 seconds, respectively. His silver medal was in 50 Fly with a PR of 2.16 seconds
- Maggie Schroer (FR) won a silver medal and two (2) bronze medals in 50 Fly, 50 Free, and 100 Free, respectively. Her 50 Fly swim beat her previous best by 1.18 seconds.
- Sophia Halisky (FR) also won a silver medal and two (2) bronze medals – all in Personal Record time. Her silver medal was in 50 Breaststroke with a .68 second PR, and her two bronze medals were in 100 IM and 50 Fly with 3.99 second and .63 second PRs, respectively.
- Betsy Arnold (FR) took the silver medal in 50 Back and a 4th place in 50 Free. Her backstroke swim was a 3.33 second PR and her lead-off swim in a 200 Free Relay was a .09 second PR.
Here are the swimmers who scored in the top 12 on Saturday (we scored top 12 places in each event). This list is a bit longer and is where we accumulated many of the points necessary to win. These 10 swimmers totaled 20 Personal Records to earn the scores that they did:
- Jonas Wilson (FR) took 4th in 50 Breast (3.26 second PR), 5th in 100 IM (9.77 second PR), and 9th in 50 Fly.
- Paul Partridge (7) had three great swims to score in 5th, 6th and 11th place in 50 Fly, 100 IM, and 50 Free, respectively. His 100 IM was an 11.58 second PR, and his 50 Fly was a .05 second PR.
- Charlotte Meadows (8) had a great swim in 50 Fly, scoring in 5th place with a 2.07 second PR. She also had a .67 second PR in 50 Free.
- Joey Lynch (FR) took 6th place in 50 Breast with a 4.78 second PR and 7th place in both 50 Free and 100 Free. His 50 Free was a .72 second PR.
- Annie Dusek (FR) took 6th place in 100 IM with a 2.81 second PR and 9th place in 50 Back. She also had a .84 second PR in 50 Breaststroke.
- Evan Wible (8) contributed to our team victory with a huge 4.69 second PR in 50 Breaststroke that scored in 7th He also cut 2.19 seconds in 50 Fly and .85 seconds in 50 Free.
- Avila Mantooth (FR) scored in 8th place three (3) times in a row in 100 IM, 50 Free, and 100 Free. Her 100 IM was a 2.58 second PR.
- Elizabeth Hurley (FR) scored three (3) times individually with a 9th in 100 IM, a 9th in 50 Fly and a 10th in 50 Back. Her 50 Fly time was a .15 second PR.
- JJ Garvey (8) looked great in 50 Backstroke leading off a relay, and it showed in his split – a 2.77 second PR. He also took 9th in 50 Back and 11th in 50 Breaststroke. His breaststroke swim was 1.51 seconds faster than ever before.
- Katie Bauer (FR) scored in 11th and 12th place in 50 Back and 100 Free. Both of those swims were PRs, by .83 seconds and .30 seconds. Katie also swam a .23 second PR in 50 back leading off a relay, and she swam 100 IM for the first time.
Big Points from our Relays
In a championship meet, with Relays scoring double points, it is very important to perform well in those events. Of our total of 361 points for the girls, we scored 166 of them in relays. For the boys, it was 174 out of 390 points:
- Our Boys 200 Medley Relays scored 46 points with finishes in silver medal and a 5th
- Our “A” Relay of Patrick Kay (FR), Paul Partridge (7), Jack Herwick (FR), and Joey Lynch (FR) got the silver medal on the strength of Patrick’s 28.57 lead-off (a .5 second PR), Paul’s 2.66 second PR Breaststroke, Jack’s 1.03 second PR Fly split, and Joey’s .04 second PR anchor leg.
- Our “B” Relay of Rafael De Micoli (FR), Evan Wible (8), Jonas Wilson (FR), and Luke Fifield (8) scored 20 points in 5th Evan’s split was a PR by .58 seconds.
- Our Girls 200 Medley Relays also scored 46 points with a gold medal and a 7th place finish.
- Our “A” Relay of Elizabeth Hurley (FR), Sophia Halisky (FR), Betsy Arnold (FR), and Maggie Schroer (FR) showed us our medley relay of the future, beating Immanuel Christian by over 10 seconds. Elizabeth’s split was particularly good, a 1.26 second PR for her.
- Our “B” Relay of Caroline Schroer (7), Maggie Mikkelson (7), Lily Waldron (FR), and Jane Judge (FR) swam well for 7th. Caroline was .37 seconds faster and Maggie was .85 seconds faster than ever before.
- Our Boys 200 Backstroke Relays took the silver medal and a 6th place to score a total of 44 points:
- Our “A” Relay of Rafael De Micoli (FR), John Cooley (FR), James Nguyen (7), and JJ Garvey (8) scored 26-points in 2nd Using a dive instead of a normal backstroke start, John cut 3.95 seconds, James cut .22 seconds, and JJ cut a massive 6.04 seconds.
- Our “B” Relay of Philip Saffian (8), Philip Nguyen (7), James Reynolds (8), and Matthew Maranian (7) scored 18 points on the strength of Philip Saffian’s .39 second PR, James’ 2.67 second PR split, and Matthew’s .96 second PR split.
- Our Girls 200 Backstroke Relays took both the silver medal and the bronze medal to score a massive 50 points!
- Our “A” Relay of Annie Dusek (FR), Avila Mantooth (FR), Katie Bauer (FR), and Elizabeth Hurley (FR) showed their freshman girl-power. Taking full advantage of a dive-over start, Avila, Katie, and Elizabeth beat their previous best splits by 2.16, .93, and 1.26 seconds, respectively.
- Our “B” Relay of Caroline Schroer (7), Charlotte Poullath (7), Jane Judge (FR), and Clare Kay (7) showed what the sevies could do with a little help from Jane. They cut .37, .15, 1.02, and 2.49 seconds, respectively.
- Our Boys 200 Breaststroke Relays scored 44 points with a bronze medal and a 5th place finish.
- Our “A” Relay of JJ Garvey (8), Evan Wible (8), Luke Fifield (8), and James Nguyen (7) on the strength of Evan’s .58 second PR split.
- Our “B” Relay of James Reynolds (8), John Cooley (FR), Eamon Haggerty (8), and Patrick Heiny (7) scored 20 points. Eamon beat his 50 Breaststroke split from last year’s meet by 13.02 seconds!
- Our Girls 200 Breaststroke Relays swam well, but only scored 24 points because our “A” Relay was DQ’d for an early take-off
- But our “B” Relay Katie Cooley (7), Charlotte Meadows (8), Charlotte Poullath (7), and Annabelle Mikkelson (8) made up for it by jumping up to the Bronze medal.
- Our Boys 200 Free Relays scored 40 points with a silver medal and a 7th
- Our “A” Relay of Patrick Kay (FR), Joey Lynch (FR), Paul Partridge (7), and Jack Herwick (FR). They all rocked it, but that Immanuel Relay was very good. Patrick had a .66 second flat-start PR, and the other three (3) cut their relay splits by .04, .33 and .36 seconds, respectively. Jack’s split of 24.17 was particularly impressive.
- Our “B” Relay of Jonas Wilson (FR), Matthew Maranian (7), Philip Saffian (8), and Eamon Haggerty (8) scored 14 points in 7th
- Our Girls 200 Free Relays scored 46 points with a gold medal and a 7th place finish.
- No one came close to our “A” Relay of Betsy Arnold (FR), Avila Mantooth (FR), Sophia Halisky (FR), and Maggie Schroer (FR) who won gold by more than 7-seconds.
- Our “B” Relay of Lily Waldron (FR), Katie Cooley (7), Annabelle Mikkelson (8), and Monica Irving (FR) scored 14 points with some great late-in-the-meet swims.
Last Splashes
Besides Diver Mary Catherine Hurley (SR), who was mentioned above, we had four (4) senior swimmers who had their “last splashes” this past weekend. They were all dressed up and made up, and they all hit the water wearing tech suits so they could get the fast possible times. I made sure to put them all in the 200 Free Relay, the last event of the meet, to try to make it even more special:
- Walter Saffian (SR) finished his career with the best meet of his life, swimming four (4) PRs in four (4) flat start swims. In 100 IM he dropped 6.14 seconds, in 100 Free he dropped 2.66 seconds, in 50 Breast he dropped 2.60 seconds, and in 50 Free leading off the final relay he dropped 1.50 seconds. It was a marvelous way for Walter to end his career at Seton Swimming.
- Meg Blanchette (SR) swam out of her mind with four (4) flat-start PRs and a relay split PR. How about a 4.20 second PR in 50 Back leading off a relay, a .73 second PR in 50 Free, a 1.10 second PR split in 50 Fly, a 4.17 second PR split in 50 Back, and another .01 second PR split in 50 Free! It’s not the suit Meg – it’s the girl in the suit!
- Molly Bauer (SR) worked so hard this year, so it was great to see her rewarded with a .39 second flat-start PR in 50 Free, a .58 second relay split PR in 50 Free, and a .39 second PR in 50 Back. Molly was a great captain for us this!
- Orla Haggerty (SR) shared her tremendous thespian talents with all of Seton, and then she shared her joy with the swim team also. I was so pleased to see her be able to celebrate her final meet with a 4.45 second PR in 50 Fly and a .35 second PR in 50 Back. It was so wonderful having you on the team Orla!
145 New Personal Records – Over 1,000 for the Season!
With 145 Personal Records swum by Seton swimmers on Saturday, we have now passed 1,000 total PRs for the season – we just hit 1,011 Personal Records for the season!
In a meet where many swimmers were swimming events for the very first time at a high school meet (therefore no PR is possible), it was amazing to see that many Personal Records for the meet.
Our coaches were simply beaming. The Group 4 coaches, Joe Hurley, Anne Judge, and Sandy Osilka; the Group 5 coaches, Jerry Zadnik, Casey Beltran, and Mary Claire Osilka, and the Group 6 coaches, Jeremy Kleb, Michael Brox, Elodie Brox, and Briana Shillingburg were amazingly patient and competent.
Without these volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to have a Group 5 and 6 program at all. We are so blessed to have their love and commitment. And right before the Meet, Jerry Zadnik “asked” me if he could come back next year!
Here are the PRs that I haven’t already mentioned:
- Bethany Allen (6) dropped a huge 8.23 seconds in 50 Fly. She’s going to be a good one.
- Angela Andreu (FR) had big drops in 50 Free and 50 Back, by 2.97 seconds and 2.86 seconds, respectively.
- Emma Beltran (7) had a great 2nd attempt at 50 Fly, this time swimming it 3.34 seconds faster.
- Mariana Bingham (SO) cut 2.04 seconds in 50 Back leading off a relay and .10 seconds in 50 Back in the event.
- Veronic Bingham (8) beat her previous best in 50 Breaststroke by 4.96 seconds.
- JJ Cooley (JR) is starting to figure out how to swim butterfly, and it showed with a 1.27 second PR.
- Katie Cooley (7) had three (3) PRs including a by 4.25 seconds in 100 Free, by 1.46 seconds in 50 Free, and by 4.85 seconds in 50 Breast.
- Charlie Dusek (JR) wrapped up his season with two (2) new PRs. In 50 Free he dropped .48 seconds, and in 100 IM he dropped .04 seconds.
- Luke Fifield (8) had a PR every time he hit the water including a 2.43 second PR in 50 Fly, a .81 second PR in 50 Back, and a 3.18 second PR in 50 Breast.
- Gigi Gibaldi (SO) cut 4.49 seconds in 50 Fly and had a great swim in her first attempt at 100 IM.
- Veronica Gonzalez (FR) looked great during her 1.92 second PR in 50 Fly and her .15 second PR in 50 Free.
- John Goodman (FR) showed his dramatic improvement this season with a 10.90 second PR in 50 Fly.
- Bella Gorman (7) rocked the pool with three (3) PRs. In 100 Free she cut 10.30 seconds, in 50 Free she cut 1.47 seconds, and in 50 Fly she cut 7.21 seconds.
- Addi Hadro (7) had three (3) huge PRs, dropping 20.49 seconds in 100 Free, 3.49 seconds in 50 Back, and .70 seconds in 50 Free.
- Aoife Haggerty (SO) dropped 3.26 seconds in 50 Back leading off a relay and 2.51 seconds in 50 Breast. She also wins the award for the highest percentage of vowels in her name 😉
- Eamon Haggerty (8) saw three (3) big drops on Saturday including an 11.68 second PR in 50 Breast, a 3.57 second PR in 50 Fly, and a 1.91 second PR in 50 Back.
- Patrick Heiny (7) cut 4.62 seconds in 100 Free in his best swim of the season. He also had good swims in his first attempts at 50 Back and 50 Breast.
- Dominic Henry (FR) had one of the biggest PRs of the day with his 20.87 second drop in 50 Fly. He also dropped 7.10 seconds in 50 Back.
- Daniel Hurley (JR) dropped 2.10 seconds in 100 Free and 3.89 seconds in 50 Back leading off a relay. He also had great first-time swims in 100 IM and 50 Fly.
- Monica Irving (FR) swam PRs in all three (3) of her individual events including a 6.06 second PR in 100 IM, a 1.01 second PR in 50 Fly, and a 1.90 second PR in 50 Back.
- Jane Judge (FR) went from a strong diving performance to a strong swimming performance with a 2.39 second PR in 100 IM and a 2.75 second PR in 50 Back.
- Will Judge (6) was a joy to have on the team this season, and his .09 second PR in 50 Fly made me smile.
- Clare Kay (7) will be eligible to score next season, and score she will! Besides her obvious talent in diving, her beautiful swim strokes led to a 7.29 second PR in 100 IM and a 3.12 second PR in 50 Back.
- Daniel Kohlhaas (8) cut 3.82 seconds in 50 Breast and 1.70 seconds in 50 Back.
- Cora Kramer (SO) cut .60 seconds in 50 Back, 1.41 seconds in 50 Fly, and 2.29 seconds in 50 Breast. She also had a great first attempt at 100 IM.
- Penny Kramer (SO) beat her previous best in 50 Fly by 1.46 seconds.
- Rebecca Kramer (7) dropped .56 seconds in 50 Fly and had great first-time swims in 50 Back and 50 Breast.
- Siobhan Maher (7) swam PRs in all three of her individual events. In 50 Free she cut 5.01 seconds, in 50 Fly she cut .94 seconds, and in 50 Back she cut .77 seconds.
- Julia Maranian (FR) ended her season in style with a .97 second PR in 50 Back and a 1.94 second PR in 50 Breast.
- Matthew Maranian (7) had a great inaugural season on the team, and he ended it with PRs in 50 Fly, by 5.07 seconds, and 50 Back, by 1.19 seconds.
- Evie Mayer (8) had a tremendous season of continuous improvement nearly every time she hit the water. On Saturday, she dropped 10.04 seconds in a legal 50 Breast, 3.77 seconds in 100 Free, and 1.88 seconds in 50 Free.
- Aidan McCardell (JR) looked great during his 8.55 second PR in 50 Fly and his 7.58 second PR in 50 Breast. He also went an excellent 1:34.28 in 100 IM.
- Maggie Mikkelson (7) cut a big 4.69 seconds in 50 Breast.
- Bella Nguyen (FR) swam PRs in 50 Back leading off a relay by .33 seconds, in 50 Fly by 2.92 seconds, in 50 Back during the event by .90 seconds, and in 50 Breast. She also dove!
- James Nguyen (7) cut 1.84 seconds in 50 Back and 1.57 seconds in 50 Fly.
- Mia Nguyen (6) dropped 5.44 seconds in 50 Back and completed 50 Breast legally for the first time.
- Brian Orellana (FR) had three (3) huge PRs to conclude his season. In 50 Back he cut 6.64 seconds, in 100 Free he cut 6.02 seconds, and in 50 Free he cut 2.25 seconds.
- William Orellana (7) had a great swim in 100 Free, dropped 21.00 seconds! He gave us a bit of scare after a dive in a relay, but fortunately it turned out to not be as scary as it looked at first. He walked off the deck under his own power, ready to come back next season!
- Mary Claire Osilka (JR) never looked better. Coach DD Ross was raving to me about her underwaters – “last one up” was Mary Claire’s mantra for the day, and it resulted in a 3.79 second PR in 50 Breast and a 1.46 second PR in 50 Fly. She also swam an excellent 1:22.23 in 100 IM. Thank you for coaching Mary Claire!
- Gianna Pillion (8) looked great during her 3.75 second PR in 50 Back leading off a relay and her .77 second PR in 50 Free.
- James Reynolds (8) had two (2) big PRs, dropping 5.88 seconds in 50 Back and 5.34 seconds in 50 Breast.
- Philip Saffian (8) showed great improvement this season, especially in 50 Fly where he dropped 8.91 seconds and in 50 Back where he dropped .39 seconds.
- Caroline Schroer (7) cut 1.96 seconds in 50 Breast, .37 seconds in 50 Back, and .11 seconds in 50 Fly. She also completed 100 IM in an excellent 1:25.44.
- Bella Vaughan (8) had a massive 14.13 second drop in 50 Fly and a 2.79 second drop in 50 Back.
- Jane Vaughan (6) also had a big drop in 50 Fly, hers by 7.95 seconds.
- Lily Waldron (FR) had what looked to me like a breakout season. She showed massive improvement this season, and she ended with a 2.65 second PR in 50 Fly and a 7.27 second PR in 50 Breast.
- Adeline Youngblut (7) looked strong in 50 Fly which she swam 1.15 seconds faster than ever before.
Other Strong Swimming
With so many swims where PRs were not possible, let me highlight some of the other great swims that I saw. I wish I had some previous times for these swimmers, because I know that almost all of them would have shown big improvement:
- James Beltran (6) had great 1st-time swims in 50 Back and 50 Breaststroke. He showed a lot of improvement this season.
- Grace Catabui (7) had a tremendous year both swimming and diving. Her strokes are beautiful already. She beat her diving PR by 7.15 points too.
- Rafael De Micoli (FR) made the most of his first year on the team, and he proved it with a great 1st attempt at 100 IM.
- Rose Ellis (JR) stood up to some challenges to complete a good season with strong swims in 50 Fly, 50 Back, and 100 IM.
- Madelyn Fioramonti (7) tackled 50 Fly for the first time after her first season on the team.
- Chiara Gonzalez (7) had great times in her first attempts at 50 Back and 50 Breast.
- Thomas Goodman (7) swam well in his first attempt at 50 Back.
- Lucy Herwick (8) smiled her way joyfully through great swims in 50 Fly, 50 Back and 50 Breast – plus she had a PR in diving.
- Colette Kramer (JR) broke 1:50 in her first attempt at 100 IM, showing that she can swim all four (4) strokes.
- Annabelle Mikkelson (8) concluded a great season with three (3) great swims, including a 21st place scoring swim in 50 Breast.
- Philip Nguyen (7) had three (3) strong swims including his first legal 50 Breaststroke.
- Charlotte Poullath (7) looked great in her first attempt at 100 IM, showing that she can swim all four (4) strokes.
- Dominic Sciscilo (6) is going to be a good one. I could tell by watching his first attempt in 100 IM which he did in 1:35.61.
- Avery Youngblut (6) swam very well in 50 Back leading off a relay and in 50 Breast.
The Remainder of the Championship Season
The National Catholic High School Championship was the first of four (4) championship meets for us this season. The remaining three (3) meets are over the next three (3) weekends, including:
- The VISAA Division II Invitational Championship – Saturday, February 1st at the Freedom Center.
- The VCAC Conference Championship – Saturday, February 8th at the Freedom Center
- The VISAA State Swimming and Diving Championship – Friday and Saturday, February 13-15th at Jeff Rouse Swim & Sport in Stafford, VA
Entries and information will be posted for the VISAA Division II Invitational after the entry deadline on Tuesday night. All Varsity swimmers should be on deck ready to stretch by 12:39 p.m. at Freedom.
It is championship season, so we are trying to win all these meets. That means team considerations will trump individual considerations. For some of you who are the bubble for making the State Team or getting on a “A” Relay at States, I’m doing what I can, consistent with the team’s needs, to make sure you have at least one (1) more chance to earn your spot.
We are really pushing hard in practice during the month of January – do everything you can not to miss practice so we can all be ready for the last three (3) championship meets starting with our VISAA Division II Invitational this Saturday.
I promise you that Trinity Christian and Immanuel Christian are working hard.
Save the Date for the Seton Swimming Awards Banquet: Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Renaissance Montessori School
We are down to the championship season, so let’s cheer on our Varsity swimmers and divers to another State Championship!
Coach Jim Koehr