Last weekend was very busy for Seton Swimming. While of group of six (6) swimmers ventured up to Prince George’s County for the East Coast Catholic Classice, much of the rest of our team capped off another great season at our annual Junior Varsity Invitational. The performances of our younger swimmers in this meet bodes very well for the future of Seton Swimming.
This was the 7th time we’ve run this event, and we had teams from all over the State, including a number from the Tidewater region. We saw some very fast swimming – especially by the Seton, Norfolk Academy and Wakefield kids. Here’s how the meet scores looked when it was all over:
Boys
Norfolk Academy 299
Seton 234
Wakefield 191
Fredericksburg Christian 143
St. Michael the Archangel 101
Greenbrier Christian 59
Ad Fontes Academy 47
Randolph-Macon Academy 34
Veritas Christian 28
Wakefield Country Day 2
Girls
Norfolk Academy 324
Seton 290
Wakefield 169.5
St. Michael the Archangel 98.5
Fredericksburg Christian 84
Veritas Christian 59
Ad Fontes Academy 53
Greenbrier Christian 44
Highland 14
Randolph-Macon Academy 2
Top Performers from the Weekend
As I looked through the results for our Junior Varsity swimmers, there were a number of swimmers who really stood out:
- Ashley Cackett, for the second year in a row, had a standout performance at this meet. She took 4th place overall in 50 Breast after a 1.96 second PR, 5th place in 50 Fly with a 2.76 second PR, and 7th place in the 100 IM with a 3.66 second PR.
- Alex Ceol was on a roll also. Somehow he managed to cut a whooping 6.88 seconds from his 50 Back PR to take 6th. He cut even more in 50 Back leading off the relay – how about 7.77 seconds? His 100 IM was a very fast 1:14.63, but his best swim of the day was his 30.17 in 50 Fly where he placed 3rd.
- Mary Heim showed us a glimpse of the great future I can see for her. She took 3rd in 50 Breast in what would have certainly been a PR had she had a previous time, and the same was true with her 6th place finish in the 100 IM. She did have a previous time in 50 Fly, and she crushed it – by 3.56 seconds to take 7th
- James Kosten showed that he is ready for Varsity swimming. He took 2nd place with a 1:00.98 in 100 Free, 3rd place with a 35.94 in 50 Breast, and 7th place with a 27.96 in 50 Free. He also had two PRs: a 1.87 second drop in that 50 Breast and a .81 second drop in 50 Back leading off a medley relay
- Bridget O’Malley looks like she’s going to be a good one to me. In 100 Free, she took 3rd place, and in 100 IM she took 5th place with a fast 1:12.52. Bridget’s backstroke was also looking very strong, strong enough to take 7th – she may just turn into another great backstroker for us at Seton
- Cat Pechie sure looked please with her swims, especially that 100 IM where she cut 4.50 seconds from her PR to take 11th She faired even better in her other two events taking 4th in a very competitive 50 Free and 9th in 50 Back.
- Meridyth Rosato was rolling in 50 Breast where her 3.99 second PR jumped her up to 5th To show how versatile she’s getting, Meridyth also cut 5.97 seconds in 50 Back leading off a relay, and .04 seconds in 50 Fly.
Personal Records
Here are the rest of the 41 personal records that I have not already mentioned:
- Edith Barvick swam as well as I’ve seen her swim all season especially in the 100 Free when she cut 2.65 from her previous best. She also cut .50 seconds from her previous best in 50 Free.
- Ben Ceol definitely wrapped up his season with some great swimming, particularly his 100 Free where he cut 3.23 seconds from his PR. He really looked “long and strong” former Coach Pat Mulhern used to say. Ben also cut .68 seconds from his 50 Free PR to almost break :30 for the first time.
- Kalli Dalrymple looked very strong in 50 Fly with a 4.35 second PR that broke :40 for the first time. She also cut .46 seconds from her 50 Back PR and took 9th place in 50 Free with a strong looking swim.
- Ben Dealey was a man possessed in that 50 Breaststroke – I’ve never seen it look so good. And it showed in his time – a 5.99 second PR! Ben also cut 4.86 seconds from his 50 Back PR leading off a relay.
- Patrick Dealey also had some huge PRs. In 100 IM he cut 6.32 seconds and in 50 Fly he cut 7.10 seconds! I think Patrick has learned to swim butterfly this season! He also cut .66 seconds from his 50 Back PR leading off a relay
- Joe Fioramonti swam well with two new PRs. In 100 Free, he cut 1.35 seconds and in 50 Free, he cut .69 seconds.
- Patrick Hall showed that he was listening when we were learning breaststroke this season. How about a 6.37 second drop since time trials! He also cut .53 seconds from his 100 Free PR
- Rosie Hall swam well, particularly in the 50 Free where she dropped 1.90 seconds
- Bernadette Hassan was all smiles after her two freestyle races. In the 100 Free, she cut 5.01 seconds from her PR and in the 50 Free, she cut 2.12 seconds.
- Georgine Irving ended her season with a great swim in 100 Free where she cut her PR by 3.37 seconds
- Tom Irving had a number of good swims, but the best one was his 50 Breast where he lowered his PR by 5.04 seconds
- Colette Kosten PR’d every time she hit the water on Saturday. In 100 Free she cut 2.70 seconds, in 50 Free she cut 1.11 seconds and in 50 Breast she cut .36 seconds.
- Peter O’Donohue wrapped up his first season with a 2.07 second PR in 50 Breaststroke. Peter also swam well enough to take 14th in 50 Back.
- Ryan Pugh swam in his last JV Invitational and made the most of it. How about a 13.96 second PR in 50 Fly! He also cut 1.32 seconds from his PR in 50 Back.
- Brendan Santschi will be joining us for some middle distance events at the Varsity level, but he made the most of opportunity at the JV level also with his .31 second PR in 100 Free. He’s now going 1:07.72 which is starting to get pretty good. I also like what I saw with that 100 IM
- Stephen Smith was quite good in 50 Back where he cut .21 seconds and took 7th He also swam a very competitive time in the 100 IM.
- Dominic Wittlinger hit a 1.32 second PR in 100 Free to break 1:10 for the first time – nice work Dominic!
Other Great Swims
As the announcer, I was paying unusually close attention to what was happening in the water and really got see some good stuff beyond just the numbers:
- MacKenzie Farmer was new to the swimming part of our team this year (she was a diver last season), but she showed me that she can really swim. Her 50 Fly was good enough for 9th She also swam a very strong time in the 100 IM
- I let 6th grader Shane Koehr jump into the meet and he somehow placed 9th in 50 Back with a pretty fast time of 38.11! Shane will be with us full time for 8th grade – maybe we have another Kevin on our hands?
- Josh Miller joined the team as a freshman and had a great first year of swimming. He Freestyle on Saturday looked very strong, in part because his stroke has improved so much and in part because he truly is very strong!
- Tommy Moore has recovered nicely from being sick and swam well on Saturday. I was particularly pleased with his 100 Free
- Therese Pechie is definitely going to be a good one for us in the years to come. Her 100 IM showed me that she can swim all four strokes, and her Butterfly has improved greatly.
Next Weekend’s VISAA Division II Championship Invitational
Next weekend’s meet is at the Freedom Center. It is our big annual Division II Championship invitational where we invite all of the small schools from around the State to compete with each other without any of the big schools we’ll all see at States. Our warm-up will be at 1:00 p.m. so please plan on being on deck stretching with the Captains by 12:39 p.m.
If you are in this meet, it means that you have made the Varsity team – congratulations!
Nice work this past weekend. See the Varsity team at practice, and I’ll see the rest of you at our annual awards on Sunday, March 1st at the All Saints Performing Arts Center beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Coach Jim Koehr