WMPSSDL/WCAC/Independents(ISL)- at a glance

The private schools in the area started their seasons the second week of November and continued up to Christmas week with teams competing in 1-2 meets per week. When they return in January, there will be 3-4 dual meets before the Championship run begins. Before the break, DeMatha traveled to Greensboro, NC to compete in the Robert R. Sawyer Invitational, where
Myles Richardson and PJ Emrich paced the Stags to a 5th place finish.

Several Catholic based schools will choose to compete at the National Catholic Swimming and Diving Championship held January 19-20 at Loyola University. Last year, 6 boys teams and 8 girls teams from DMV competed in the meet which also includes Catholic schools from Ohio, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Last year’s champions were Malvern Prep (Pennsylvania) and Sacred Heart Academy (New Jersey) with Gonzaga and Stone Ridge capturing second respectively.

The next Championship meet on school’s schedules is the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) and Independent School League (ISL), both held the same weekend, Jan 24-25. The IAC consists of St. Albans, Georgetown Preparatory, Bullis, Landon, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, and Episcopal High School, and is competed as a boys-only event. The Independent School League (ISL) consists of Bullis, Connelly School of the Holy Child, Episcopal, Flint Hill, Georgetown Day, Georgetown Visitation, Holton-Arms, Madeira, Maret, Model Secondary School for the Deaf, National Cathedral The Potomac School, Sandy Spring Friends, Sidwell Friends, St. Andrew’s Episcopal, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, and Stone Ridge. The ISL meet is a female-only competition, held at Madeira.

The teams will get a week to recover, then convene February 2 for the WMPSSDL Championships. Last year Gonzaga and Holton Arms prevailed. Some teams mentioned above may skip the WMPSSDL meet and rest for the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championship (Metros), scheduled for February 8. Last year, Georgetown Prep took 2nd, Gonzaga 4th, and Good Counsel 5th. In the girls competition, Holton-Arms placed 2nd, Stone Ridge 3rd, and Good Counsel 5th. The private schools have placed at or near the top year-in and year-out, also claiming many of the meet records. This year should be no different with Georgetown Prep, Holton-Arms and Stone Ridge returning many of their top swimmers from last year.

A new meet that is on a few schedules is the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championship being held Feb 15-16 at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania. This is a co-ed meet and has traditionally (since 1935) served as the Championship meet for the prep schools in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Last year, Georgetown Prep competed, achieving 8th place.

The weekend of Feb 15-16 the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) will also hold their championships. Last year, 7 girls and 6 boys teams from Northern Virginia competed, with Madeira capturing the girls title. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes fared best in the boys meet, finishing 4th.

The last championship meet for the privates will be the WCAC championship held February 24th at the University of Maryland. This is the second year this meet will be competed, last year’s winners were Gonzaga and the Good Counsel girls.

We have our calendars marked for the Championship showdowns at ISL’s, WMPSSDL’s, and Metro’s and are excited to see which teams will peak to take the titles.