On Tuesday night December 13, 2023, we tried something we haven’t done in more than two (2) decades – we attended a mid-week Meet hosted by someone other than Seton with just our top swimmers. It was an experiment to see if it would prove to be a good opportunity to freshen up the season for kids that swim every week in the same pool.
I’d love to hear what you thought about the experiment. I’ve posted a survey on the question. Please fill it out. All are welcome, including parents.
Participation in Mid-week Meets. (google.com)
With only three (3) practices per week and my desire to continue with our stroke and turn instruction, I didn’t feel like it would be prudent to cancel practice. That made for a very long day, and the times showed it. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t swim well – we definitely did. As I am fond of saying, “Just do the best you can today, whatever that is”.
Our “best” turned out to be pretty competitive as you can see in the results. Our boys beat both Woodberry Forest and the Potomac School, and our girls beat Potomac. Potomac and Woodberry are both VISAA Division I schools. The Meet also included St. Alban’s School and the National Cathedral School from Washington, DC, and of course, Madeira, a long-time VISAA Division I girl’s powerhouse:
Winterfest Scores-Madeira Winter Extravaganza-Dec12,23
Winterfest Scores-Madeira Winter Extravaganza-Dec12,23
Winterfest individual Results-Madeira Winter Extravaganza-Dec12,23
Winterfest Diving Sheets-Madeira Winter Extravaganza-Dec12,23
I won’t be able to post a blog about the Meet, but I will highlight some of the most impressive swims we saw on Tuesday night:
- Ariana Aldeguer (FR) took first place twice against top competition. Her 200 IM and 500 Free were both dominate.
- Lionel Martinez (FR) was our other swimmer who competed extremely favorably with this level of competition. He took first in 200 IM in a very close race with a senior from Woodberry Forest. Lionel also had a great swim in 100 Fly where he took 3rd with a .66 second PR 56.19. That dog will hunt at States.
- Joe Borneman (JR) really impressed me during all four (4) of his swims, but I was most impressed with his 100 Free where he swam a .79 second PR under very difficult circumstances. Joe is making a great case for a couple of our “A” Relays at States this season.
- Max Wilson (JR) has been a man on a mission this season. His 500 Freestyle was particularly strong. He cut 14.46 seconds from his PR. I’ve also been impressed with Max’s performance this year in Pre-Calculus.
- Luke Partridge (FR) was one of only two (2) swimmers to swim two (2) separate Personal Records. In 100 Free he dropped .26 seconds and in 100 Back he dropped .89 seconds. Luke seems hungry for more.
- Luke Mantooth (SR) was the other swimmer who hit two (2) new Personal Records. He dropped a big 1.54 seconds in 100 Breaststroke in a close win over a swimmer from Potomac, and he dropped 1.06 seconds in 100 Fly. Luke seems to want to make the most of his senior season!
- Lucy Cunningham (JR) showed a lot of heart I thought. While she dropped .12 seconds in 200 Free, I thought her best swim was in the 500 Free.
- Liam Halisky (JR) is becoming a beast for Seton in the freestyle events. His 200 Free was a 4.50 second PR and his relay swims were superior.
- Thiago Martinez (8) was one of the youngest swimmers in the Meet, but it didn’t show. His 5:36.01 in 500 Free, was a 4.23 second PR and was strong enough to take 5th place. He also took 4th in 200 IM behind his brother and two other upperclassmen.
- Jack Herwick (8) was another of the youngest swimmers in the water, but he showed he could hang with the older kids, particularly in 100 Back where he placed 10th with a 2.75 second PR.
- Giselle Hill (SO) has been a tremendous addition to the team. She seemed disappointed with her .49 second PR in 50 Free, but none of us coaches were. We all also really enjoyed watching her strong swims in the 100 Free and in the relays.
- Connor Koehr (JR) finished out the Diving competition with two (2) very strong dives. His Reverse Dive in the Pike position scored 7.5, 8, and 8. His Inward 1 and a half somersault in the Tuck position scored 6.5, 6.5, and 7.5. Combined, he scored 83.95 points on those two (2) dives alone.
- Maggie Schroer (8) was another 8th grader who took advantage of the opportunity swim with the big girls and made the most of it with a 1.00 second PR in 100 Free.
- Daniel Sokban (FR) definitely caught my eye. His 200 Freestyle was tremendous, particularly his last 25, and the result was a 1.14 second PR and a 10th place finish. His sprinting is also getting quite good, so good that I’d expect him to be on some of our relays during the championship season.
It was a certainly a long day for our swimmers and divers, but I would say that the experience was an overall positive one. I particularly enjoyed the more intimate team experience where the coaches could spend more time talking to swimmers during the Meet.
Will we do it again? I’ll wait to see what you all think.