MCSL wraps up the 2021 season with the All Star Invitational
By Reach for the Wall Staff
The MCSL season started with a roar back in June after some uncertainty of how the meets would be conducted and what protocols would be in place. All was sorted out by June 12th and the kids didn’t miss a beat. In the first weekend we saw MCSL records broken by Andrew Vanas (Washingtonian Woods) in the 11-12 50 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly and Adriano Arioti (Rockville) in the 13-14 100 IM! As the weekly duals unfolded there was some fierce competition as team vied for division titles. Rockville continued their run at the top of Division A, scoring over 500 pts in each of their meets and had the most kids qualify for the two Invitational meets, Coaches Longcourse and All Stars. Andrew and Adriano continued their record breaking season at the Coaches Longcourse meet & were joined by Sophie Duncan (Bannockburn) and Kyle Wang (Regency Estates). At Divisionals, the final week of team competition, Adriano and Andrew set their sights on other events, with Adriano breaking the 13-14 50 Breaststroke record and Andrew the 11-12 100 IM. Leading into the All Star meet, you may have noticed several swimmers that were at the top of their events during the season absent from the psych sheets. As in prior years, the USA Swimming has held a National- level meet the same weekend as All Stars, and this weekend it was the Futures meet in Richmond Virginia. In their final swims Andrew chose the 50 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly, breaking the records he set in week 1, going 25.60 and 27.28 respectively. Adriano chose 50 Backstroke and 50 Butterfly, 2 events he didn’t already have records, and went on to set new standards, completing the 50 Backstroke in 26.44 (lowering the previous record by .1) and in the Butterfly, he bested the record by .03, going 25.60!!
Overall, there were 78 teams represented, with the following 5 teams having the most swimmers:
Rockville: 30
Flower Valley: 16
River Falls: 15
Stonegate: 14
Country Glen: 12
Full results:
The following swimmers not only qualified for two events, but won both of their events:
| Caroline McConnell, Rockville |
| Event # 18 Women 25 Back 8 & Under |
| Event # 40 Women 25 Fly 8 & Under |
| Catherine Bu, Tally Ho |
| Event # 2 Women 100 IM 12 & Under |
| Event # 34 Women 50 Breast 11-12 |
| Catherine Belyakov, Quince Orchard |
| Event # 6 Women 100 IM 15-18 |
| Event # 38 Women 100 Breast 15-18 |
| Andrew Vanas, Washigtonian Woods |
| Event # 11 Men 50 Free 11-12 |
| Event # 43 Men 50 Fly 11-12 |
| Collin McKenzie, Daleview |
| Event # 5 Men 100 IM 15-18 |
| Event # 37 Men 100 Breast 15-18 |
| Maria Webb, Quail Valley |
| Event # 4 Women 100 IM 13-14 |
| Event # 46 Women 50 Fly 13-14 |
| Brian Sunjaya, Germantown |
| Event # 7 Men 25 Free 8 & Under |
| Event # 39 Men 25 Fly 8 & Under |
| Jeremiah Germosen, Hallowell |
| Event # 9 Men 50 Free 9-10 |
| Event # 19 Men 25 Back 9-10 |
| Adriano Arioti, Rockville |
| Event # 23 Men 50 Back 13-14 |
| Event # 45 Men 50 Fly 13-14 |
| Julia Zettler, Potomac |
| Event # 20 Women 25 Back 9-10 |
| Event # 42 Women 25 Fly 9-10 |
| Griffin Oehler, Woodley Gardens |
| Event # 1 Men 100 IM 12 & Under |
| Event # 21 Men 50 Back 11-12 |
This season MCSL also extended the invitation to 19 yr olds to compete as they missed the ‘graduating’ season last year. Throughout the dual meet season the 19 yr olds competed against each other, often as mixed events and enjoyed the spirit of competition as their placings did not factor into the overall team scores during the meets. The All Star meet also provided one last chance for the 19 yr olds to compete, here’s the top finishers:
| Jordan Gross, Country Glen |
| Event # 55 Men 100 Back 19-19 |
| Sarah Johnson, Mohican |
| Event # 52 Women 100 IM 19-19 |
| Event # 58 Women 100 Breast 19-19 |
| Michael Paulos, Palisades |
| Event # 51 Men 100 IM 19-19 |
| Event # 57 Men 100 Breast 19-19 |
| Hayes Goetcheus, Cedarbrook |
| Event # 53 Men 100 Free 19-19 |
| Event # 59 Men 50 Fly 19-19 |
| Tatum Zupnik, Rock Creek |
| Event # 54 Women 100 Free 19-19 |
| Event # 60 Women 50 Fly 19-19 |
Congratulations to all the swimmers and hordes of volunteers that made this season a reality. Looking forward to the 2nd week of June 2022 when we can start all over again! Here’s how the Divisions will stack up next season: 2022 Division Standings
Lead Photo Credit: Rebecca Fayed (Wildwood Manor), ‘the calm before the meet’
Next year, MCSL will be renaming the meet as the Rockville Rays Invitational.