MCSL End of Season Recap

By Annabel Redisch and Ally Navarrete

The regular season for the MCSL has concluded after each division championship took place on Saturday, July 20. Here’s a recap of what happened in each division and how the final standings compared to our pre-season predictions!

Division A: Division A’s championship meet went as expected, with our predicted top two teams Rockville and Stonegate placing first and second, respectively. Third place at Divisionals (and in the Division) went to Tallyho, who we did not predict to crack the top three in Division A. 

Stand-out Swims: 

The Boys Open Medley Relay was a highly competitive race, with Tallyho taking the event in a time of 1:49.75. The next three relays were all within the 1:50 range, making for a great race with four teams finishing within one second of each other. Both Country Glen and Tallyho will compete in this event at All-Star Relays.

In the Boys 13-14 50 fly, Bethesda’s Kristopher Lawson (14) not only won the event by 2.51 seconds but is now just 0.13 seconds off of Palisades’ Grant Goddard’s 2011 MCSL record of 26.05. Lawson’s time of 26.18 puts him first in the county by a wide margin of 1.20 seconds. 

In the Girls 15-18 50 fly, Tallyho’s Phoebe Bacon (16) won the event in a time of 27.06, lowering the MCSL record she set last week by 0.76 seconds. Bacon is the only girl under 28 seconds in this event, leading the county by a whopping 1.88 seconds. 

Division B: Division B’s championship meet solidified Wildwood Manor’s “7-0” winning streak, with the Wombats placing first with 924.50 points. This secured Wildwood as first in the division, while we only predicted a second-place finish for the team. Second at Divisionals was Northwest Branch, our predicted winner for Division B, but the team finished third overall in the division.

Stand-out swims:

Kentlands’ Ainsley Taylor (12) placed first in the 100 IM with a best time of 1:11.84. She is currently #1 in MCSL and is the only 12&U girl under the 1:12-mark in the event.

Wildwood’s Girls Open Medley Relay placed first at the meet, shaving 3 seconds off its seed time to go 2:03.32. The Wombats are going into the All-Star relay meet seeded first.

In the Boys 15-18 100 free, Alexander Colson (18) of Northwest Branch posted a best time of 51.56. Colson is #1 in the county and the only 15-18 under 52 seconds in the event. 

Division C: At Divisionals, Old Georgetown continued its dominance at the championship meet, placing first over top two teams Connecticut Belair and Flower Valley. Our predicted winner Connecticut Belair did (as we expected), win the division. Flower Valley took second over our predicted second-place team Tilden Woods, who placed fourth at Divisionals and in the division. Despite wins at both Relay Carnival and Divisionals, Old Georgetown ended the season as the third-place finisher in Division C, over our predicted Glenmont, who finished sixth. 

Stand-out swims:

In the Girls 8&U 25 back, Old Georgetown’s Molly McWhorter (8) was seeded with no time but won the event with a time of 21.71. She currently sits at #11 in the county in the event. 

Sienna Karp (14) of Tilden Woods had a stellar meet winning all four of her individual events, in addition to posting best times in each event. Karp is currently in the top 8 for every event she swam at Divisionals (everything but the 50 free). 

Division D: Quince Orchard came in first at Division D’s championship meet following a 5-0 dual meet season and a win at Relay Carnival. The team finished first overall in the division as we predicted. River Falls placed second at Divisionals, tying the team for second place in the  division with underdog Glenwood. Our predicted third-place finisher Mohican ended up fourth at Divisionals and in the division.  

Stand-out swims: 

Glenwood’s Molly Benson (16) posted a best time of 57.90 to win the Girls 15-18 100 free, moving her to the #1 spot in MCSL. 

Erin Gemmell (14) of Potomac Woods won the Girls 13-14 100 IM by nearly 2.5 seconds with a time of 1:04.78, moving her to #1 in the county. 

Quince Orchard had several dominant swims from the 15-18 age group. Gabriel Laracuente (17) posted best times of 58.20 in Boys 15-18 100 IM and 25.40 in 50 fly, moving into the #1 spot in the county in both events. Catherine Belyakov (16) posted a best time of 1:09.90 in the Girls 15-18 100 breast. Belyakov just missed the MCSL record by a mere 0.44 seconds. 

Division E: Division E’s divisional meet was one of the closest in the league, with the top four teams all placing within 61 points of each other. Bannockburn unexpectedly won after only winning two dual meets, and the team finished fourth in the division overall. Division E was the hardest division to predict results, and our predictions were off-base. Our predicted winner Daleview ended up sixth, with Clarksburg Village winning the division. Second place went to Robin Hood, and third to Old Farm. 

Stand-out swims:

Gabrielle Day (10) of Robin Hood performed well in the Girls 9-10 50 free with a best time of 32.30, a 1.04-second drop. She also had a strong performance in the Girls 9-10 25 fly with a time of 15.81; she is one of four girls in MCSL under 16 seconds in the event. 

In the Boys 15-18 100 back, Noah Rutberg (16) of Regency Estates had an extremely impressive swim, finishing with a time of 55.87. He won the event by nearly 3.5 seconds at the meet and is currently #1 in MCSL by 1.35 seconds in the event. On the girls’ side, Bannockburn’s Sophie Duncan (15) also had a dominant performance for a final time of 1:03.90. Duncan won by nearly 3.5 seconds; she currently sits at #2 in the county.

Bannockburn’s Brody Ulrich (8) entered the meet seeded at 20.03 in the Boys 8&U 25 fly, but finished in a time of 18.07 to win the event, moving him to #4 in the league. 

Division F: Franklin Knolls won Division F’s championship meet by just 10.5 points, clinching a victory in the division overall. Our predicted winner Palisades took second at Divisionals to place third overall in the division. Third-place finisher at Divisionals Merrimack Park took the second-place finish in the division following a 5-0 dual meet season. Our predicted runner up Cedarbrook finished fourth at Divisionals and in the division. 

Stand-out swims:

Charles Penn (10) of Palisades entered the meet seeded at 18.00 in the Boys 9-10 25 back. He finished with a time of 17.49, winning the event and landing him the #3 spot in the county.

Lucy Dennis (8) of Franklin Knolls had a stand-out meet, posting best times in the Girls 8&U 25 free, breast, and fly. Dennis broke the 20-second mark in fly for a time of 19.93, but most impressive was her 1.08-second drop in breast to go 22.95 and move to the #3 seed in the county. 

Division G: Potomac finished with a “7-0” winning streak after a win at Divisionals. Our predicted second-place finisher had an outstanding season, winning every dual meet as well as Relay Carnival and Divisionals, making the team first overall in the division. Our predicted winner King Farm took third at Divisionals and the Division, while Germantown scooped up the second-place spot. 

Stand-out swims: 

Across all of the Division G teams, there were several stand-out swims from the 8&U age group. In the Girls 8&U 25 free, King Farm’s Elizabeth Littell (8) was seeded 6th at 20.07 but finished second in a time of 18.63. Westleigh’s Austin Ripley (8) dropped 1.57 seconds to win the Boys 8&U 25 breast in a time of 22.63, moving him to #4 in the county. Mason Maready (8) of Olney Mill won the Boys 8&U 25 fly in a best time of 17.82; he is currently #2 in MCSL and one of three swimmers under 18 seconds in the event. 

Division H: After an extremely close dual meet season, the Division H first place finisher was Forest Knolls. Forest Knolls came into the Division as the fifth seed, but with four dual meet wins and a top finish at Divisionals, the team won overall. Our predicted third-place finisher Chevy Chase Recreation Association finished second overall in the division. Third overall went to Hallowell. Our predicted top two winners Seven Locks and Clopper Mill Kingsview tied for fourth place in the division. 

Stand-out swims: 

In the Boys 15-18 100 breast, there was a tight race between Joseph Nonato (17) of Clopper Mill Kingsview and Sean Santos (15) of Hallowell. Both swimmers finished with best times, but Nonato managed to edge out Santos by 0.13 seconds for a final time of 1:06.34. Nonato currently sits at #2 in MCSL and Santos is #3.

Alisa Daniel (12) of Forest Knolls posted three best times in the Girls 12&U 100 IM (1:14.72), as well as the Girls 11-12 50 back and fly (32.53 and 31.78, respectively). Daniel is currently #19 in IM, #1 in back, and #2 in fly. 

Division I: Manor Woods also completed the MCSL season with a “7-0” record. The team’s win at Divisionals secured a 14 point lead in the division standings over second-place finisher North Chevy Chase. Manor Woods and NCC flipped places from our predicted finishes; we had Manor Woods as second and NCC as first. Our predicted third-place finisher Tanterra ended up sixth, with Rockshire taking third. 

Stand-out swims:

Tanterra’s Girls Open Medley Relay dropped nearly 4 seconds off its seed time and finished first in a time of 2:06.93, 7.77 seconds in front of the second-place relay. The relay is seeded first in Section II of All-Star Relays. 

In the boys 13-14 age group, 13-year-olds Linus Ament of Manor Woods and Jordan Kelly of Rockshire dominated the meet. Ament placed first in the 13-14 boys 50 free and second in the 100 IM, while Kelly placed first in IM, breast, and fly. 

Division J: Fresh off of a 5-0 dual meet season, Lakelands won the Division J Divisional Meet by a slim 7 points over Lake Marion. Lakelands ended the season as the winner of Division J, and our predicted winner Lake Marion coming in second. Our predicted second-place finisher Somerset ended up fifth, and our predicted third (Garrett Park) was sixth. Rock Creek ended up taking the third spot.

Stand-out swims:

Madison Kim (12) of Lakelands had an impressive swim in the Girls 11-12 50 back. Seeded at 36.47, she won the event with a final time of 34.97 and moved to the #8 spot in the county.

Somerset’s Boys Graduated Relay placed first with a best time of 1:47.89, nearly a 3-second drop from a seed of 1:50.53. The relay is the top seed for Section II of All-Star Relays by nearly 4.5 seconds and is fourth in all of MCSL. 

Division K: Eldwick continued its dominance in Division K with a Divisional win on Saturday. Beating our predicted division winner Carderock Springs by 10 points at Divisionals, Eldwick took the top spot in the division going “7-0”, while Carderock took second. Third in the division was Whetstone, who also placed third at Divisionals. 

Stand-Out swims:

Maria Webb (11) of Quail Valley had extremely strong performances this weekend, especially for an 11-year-old. In the Girls 12&U IM, Webb dropped 1.83 seconds for a best time of 1:13.52, in the 50 free she posted a best time of 30.40, and in the 50 fly she went another personal best, 32.16. Webb is #6 in IM and fly, and #16 in free, all impressive seeds for the bottom of the age group. 

Noah Aronoff (10) of Carderock Springs swam 3 best times in the Boys 9-10 50 free as well as the 25 back and fly. His biggest improvement came in the 25 back; Aronoff was seeded at a 20.00 but won the event with a time of 18.59. His time in fly was a 16.25 and he is currently #9 in MCSL. 

Division L: Washingtonian Woods also had a stellar “7-0” season to take the Division L top spot. We predicted the team would finish second, but it flew past our original top seed North Creek, who finished the season sixth in the division. Our predicted third seed Montgomery Square placed second, and Twin Farms pulled out an unexpected third-place finish at both Divisionals and the division. 

Stand-Out Swims: 

Nicholas Liberty (9) of Norbeck Grove made a splash in the Boys 9-10 25 back, winning the event despite being entered with no time. Liberty won the event by 0.54 seconds and was the only 9-10 boy under 20 seconds in the event with a time of 19.83.

In the Boys 13-14 50 fly, Plantations’ Sean Douglas (14) broke 30 seconds for the first time this season in a time of 29.51, a 0.80 second drop off of his former time. Douglas won the event by 2.32 seconds and is now seeded at #20 in the league. 

Division M: Upper County ran away with the win at Divisionals, beating second-place finisher New Mark Commons by 151 points. We were wrong to doubt Upper County’s prowess, predicting them as the second-place finisher. Our predicted winner Waters Landing ended up fifth. New Mark Commons ended up taking second, although we predicted the team would finish third. Third place in the division ended up being Long Branch, who went into the season as the fifth seed. 

Stand-out swims:

Upper County’s Michael Kueh (11) placed first in all four of his individual events. Most notably, he dropped 1.07 seconds in the Boys 12&U 100 IM for a final time of 1:14.78, and broke the 30-second mark in the Boys 11-12 50 free in a time of 29.90. 

In the Boys 8&U 25 back, Flower Hill’s Aboss Taheri (6) was seeded 7th in the event with a time of 31.59. He dropped 6.44 seconds to win the event in a best time of 25.15. This massive drop combined with his age was very impressive. 

Division N: Our predicted winner of Division N Willows of Potomac completed its stellar season with a Divisionals victory. Due to the intra-division meets between Divisions N and O, we did not predict a second and third-place finisher for Division N. Second place ended up being Fallsmead, and third was Middlebridge. 

Stand-out swims: 

In the Girls 15-18 100 backstroke, James Creek’s Allison Wong (16) dropped 2.03 seconds to go a time of 1:13.04. Wong won the event by nearly two seconds, and her time puts her on the All-Star list for the first time this season in the event. 

In the Boys 9-10 25 fly, Middlebrige’s Alexander Jungbluth (10) went a time of 16.84. Despite this being a slight gain, Jungbluth was the only boy under 20 seconds, meaning he won his event by just under four seconds. 

Division O: The only team to crack the 1000 point mark at Divisionals (and thus the team with the highest points scored at Divisionals) came out of Division O: Twinbrook. Twinbrook has had a fantastic season following the merger with Wheaton Woods, winning four dual meets, Relay Carnival, and Divisionals. Division O doesn’t have final standings out due to the unique set up of their Saturday meets, but Twinbrook is likely the winner, surpassing our predicted winner, Diamond Farm. 

Stand-out swims: 

In the Girls 8&Under 25 backstroke, West Hillandale’s Ellie Luse (8) dropped .51 seconds to go a time of 24.12, getting the All-Star time for the first time. Additionally, Twinbrook’s Lillian Hess (7) also achieved the All-Star time with her swim of 24.32.

Tanglewood’s Jonathan Martin (17) dropped major time in both the 100 breast and 50 fly, earning All-Star times in both events. Martin dropped over three seconds in the breaststroke.