Awards for Swimmer of the Year, All-DMV Team, and ‘Who Swam It Fastest’

By Reach for the Wall staff.

The high school season concluded about a month ago, allowing us some time to take stock of how fast the various meets and swims were in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area. We captured results from all the high school division, region, state and invitational championship meets and compiled the top 16 times for each event.

In individual high school events in the DMV, there were 76 Automatic All American and 121 All American Consideration qualifying swims.  In two events (Women’s 100 Breaststroke and 100 Butterfly), all 16 athletes on the All-DMV list for those events swam at least an All American Consideration time!  That is, the women’s 100 Fly had 9 Automatic and 7 Consideration times, while the women’s 100 Breast had 6 Automatic and 10 Consideration times.

Based on the 2016-2017 high school swimming season, below are our awards for “Who Swam It Fastest”, the All-DMV Team, and Swimmer of the Year.

Who Swam It Fastest

To determine who swam a particular high school event the fastest, we analyzed which swimmer had the fastest time in comparison to the relevant All American standard.  (For this analysis, we left in the top swims from athletes that are outside of the DMV, but removed them for consideration for the ‘All-DMV’ teams (see below)).

Women

Phoebe Bacon’s 100 backstroke was the fastest swim in relation to the All American Standard with a differential percentage of 3.7. This time was also the 3rd best in the country according to PrepSwimming.com. We know this isn’t Phoebe’s fastest time as she swam a 52.82 in December at a Club meet, but it is her fastest in a high school meet.

Men

On the Men’s side, Sterling Smith’s 100 Breaststroke performance was the best at 2.98, which also put him at 5th in the country via PrepSwimming.com.

All-DMV Team

We all know that the Washington Post identifies ‘All-Met’ swimmers each year, citing their judgement and placement in championship meets as criteria.  But we also want to recognize high school swimmers in our area based on how the NCAA/College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) determines their All-American teams, so we’re creating an “All-DMV Team” award.

Basically, if we were to simulate a single championship meet, the top 1-8 finishers in each event would be First Team All-DMV, and the next 9-16 would be Second Team All-DMV.  Also, to be considered for the All-DMV team and Swimmer of the Year, the swimmer/school must be within a 50 mile radius of Washington D.C.  Thus, Whittney Hamilton and Emma Muzzy (who attend schools in Roanoke, VA) are both out of the radius for consideration.

• Individuals
  • Top 16 Individuals (Men)
  • Top 16 Individuals (Women)
• Relays
  • Top 16 Relays (Men)
  • Top 16 Relays (Women)

Swimmer of the Year

Last, the discussion for Swimmer of the Year.  In some team sports (e.g., NBA/MLB), this honor is given to the athlete that has the highest impact on the team and has elevated the team to great performances. In other sports, this honor is given to the athlete that has the best single/multiple performances in a specified event.

Here’s what we’re using for our criteria:

1. The swimmer must have at least 1 top time in an event in the DMV;
2. S/he has a faster time than the All American standard for an event (and the higher percentage above the standard, the better);
3. S/he is ranked in the country as provided by PrepSwimming.com; and
4. As a tie-breaker/additional consideration, number of swims in the top 16

Women

Based on the criteria above, Phoebe Bacon, Jacquee Clabeaux, Sinead Ecksteen, Abby Harter and Anna Landon are the candidates for our female ‘Swimmer of the Year’ award.

Female Swimmer of the Year:

Sinead Eksteen

Three #1 times in the DMV – 100 Free (1.29%, #19 in the Country), 200 Free (2.22%, #8 in the Country), 500 Free (2.58%, #11 in the Country)

Runner Up: Phoebe Bacon

Two #1 times in the DMV – 100 backstroke (3.7%, #3 in the Country) and 100 Fly (2.03%, #13 in the Country).  Also has one #2 DMV time in 50 Free (.09%, #53 in the Country)

Men

Based on the criteria above, Sean Conway, Will Cumberland, Tommy Hallock, Sam Pomajevich, Sterling Smith and Lane Stone are the candiates for our male ‘Swimmer of the Year’ award.

Male Swimmer of the Year:

Tommy Hallock

Two #1 times in the DMV – 50 Free (1.98%, #10 in the Country) and 100 Free (1.99%, #10 in the Country)

Runner Up: Sam Pomajevich

Two #1 times in the DMV – 200 free (1.46%, #17 in the Country) and 100 fly (2.03%, #13 in the Country).  Also has one #15 DMV time in 100 free (not AA consideration, #162 in the Country)