Week Two: Bridlewood BWaves vs. Braemar Blasters

By Contributor: Brenten Gilbert

Storm warnings took most of the headlines leading up to Saturday’s meets in the Prince William Swim League. Fortunately, the weather system took a different path and the skies cleared for the Bridlewood BWaves as they prepared to host the Braemar Blasters, a formidable Blue Division opponent and league champions three of the last four years. Excitement, tension, and smoke filled the air as the BWaves high-stepped through the gates onto the pool deck for an opening cheer to get everyone ready for a memorable meet.

Outmanned by almost fifty swimmers, the BWaves took kept pace with the Blasters through the opening relays, notching a 15-point lead with a victory in the final medley relay. The see-saw battle of the relays set the tone for the entire meet as the lead would change hands several times throughout the course of the day. The two teams ran virtually neck and neck as they headed into the closing freestyle relays, which heavily favored Braemar.

Trailing by a mere six points, the BWaves dug deep and took the reins, claiming 6 of the 8 relays on the back of 4 record-setting performances. In the end, the BWaves successfully unseated the former champions by a mere 54 points, with a final tally of 2649.5 to 2595.5 in the league’s only upset of the week.

BWaves swimmers posted faster times in about half of their events and chalked up eleven new team records, including five relay records. The 13-14 Boys relay team of Joe Durocher, Ryan Chmielenski, John Verosko, and Blake Eyre re-wrote both the 200m Medley (2:03.62) and 200m Freestyle relay (1:49.39) records, posting league-best times for the week in both events. New Freestyle Relay standards were also set by the 9-10 Boys (Zack Reimbold, Landon Sheetz, Michael Brox, and Paul Querijero), 11-12 Boys (Alec Shaughnessy, Will Woolf, Daniel Wu, and Christian Carroll), and 11-12 Girls (Maecy Wells, Ella Cypher, Elyse Eyre, and Kaley Neal).

During the individual events, Paul Querijero went 3-for-3, netting new team records in the 9-10 Boys 50m Freestyle (31.77), 100m IM (1:25.34), and 25m Butterfly (15.94). Jacob Thorpe lowered his own record in 8&U Boys 25m Freestyle to 17.87 and Erin Quinn laid claim to the 15-18 Girls 50m Freestyle record with a time of 27.69. In backstroke, Jordan Durocher improved her 13-14 Girls record with a 31.58 in the event. Also worth noting, visiting swimmer Jordan Evans of Braemar lowered his league record in 11-12 Boys 50m Breaststroke, with a new best time of 33.30 seconds.

The BWaves head to Wellington next week, while the Blasters face off against Division rival Piedmont.

Though significantly outnumbered, the BWaves showed incredible team spirit leading into the meet.	It all came down to the final relays, which had everyone cheering themselves hoarse.

Photo Credits: Ginger Carroll