SEALS Make Waves In Win Over BREAKERS
By Contributor Jim Riley
The Southbridge Seals held on to their share of first place in the Prince William Swim League’s Green Division alongside the Westridge Waves with a win over the Old Bridge Breakers July 13. The Seals defeated the Breakers 2625.5 to 2332.5 in a partial rematch of last year’s Black Division finals.
This was another total team victory for the Seals with Southbridge winning 16 of the 19 relay events and placing first in 35 of the 47 individual events. In all, the Seals had 21 different swimmers earn a Blue Ribbon by recording a first place victory in an individual event. Special recognition goes to Olivia Norman (8 & Under 25M Back), Sydney Royal (9-10 Girls 50M Breast), and Arianna Rodriguez (11-12 Girls 50M Breast) for earning their first individual event wins of the summer.
Twelve Seals recorded their first legal time for an event during the meet. These swimmers have been working very hard on perfecting their strokes, putting in extra time, and asking their coaches for assistance so they can continue to improve. Most notably, Lauren Schmitz, who has been working hard on getting her 50M Breaststroke legal, not only recorded a legal time but won her heat while doing so. The other 11 swimmers who recorded legal times for their events are: Marcus D’Souza (50M Back / 50M Breast), Quincy Quaye ( 50M Free / 50M Back), Sean Quaye (25M Free), Ashley Tingle (50M Back), Ava Linton (50M Back), Lena Rabinowitz (25M Free), Naya Maduka (25M Breast), Lideya Alehegne (50M Free), Christina Alehegne (25M Free), Yeshak Alehegne (25M Free), and Arinze Uketui (25M Free).
Seals swimmers landed 47 Top 25 times in the county for the week including Sebastian Villanueva who placed first for the Boys 9-10 50M Free with a time of 33.96 seconds; Peyton Linton who was second countywide in the Girls 8 & Under 25M Free and third for 25M Fly; Parker Juhlin who was third in the county for the Boys 11-12; Lindsay Juhlin who was second for Girls 13-14 50M Breast and third for 50M Fly; and Jordan Mumford who placed third for Girls 15-18 50M Fly. Relay teams recorded 12 Top 15 times led by the Girls 13-14 200M Medley team of Alyssa Giovinazzo, Lindsay Juhlin, Kayley Benway, and Stella Nolan who were the fourth fastest countywide for the week.
Seals Head Coach Greg Giovinazzo stated, “The kids had another terrific day at the pool. It’s been great to see their progress as we approach the final weeks of the season. There were a lot of time cuts across the board and I noticed our kids swimming with a lot more confidence. Their hard work is truly paying off.”
The Seals are the official swim team of Southbridge on the Potomac located in Southbridge, Va., and includes swimmers from the Southbridge, Potomac Shores, and other surrounding communities in southeastern Prince William County. This year, the Seals have moved up into the PWSL’s Green Division after winning the Black Division championship in 2018. They will face off against Brookside and Westridge for the division championship July 27 at Westridge. Founded in 2009, they have won division championships in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018.