Record Falls during Prelims at Metros
By Reach for the Wall Staff
The Germantown Indoor Aquatic Center filled up quickly this morning with many team hopeful for a shot at the team titles and individual swimmers looking the get the best of their rivals. The morning kicked off with the 200 Medley Relays where Whitman set the pace for the boys, touching in 1:33.26 followed by Gonzaga in 1:35.92 and Clarksburg 1:36.03. Walter Johnson will have the top seed for the girls as they finished in 1:45.22 to Stone Ridge 1:46.33, followed by Richard Montgomery in 1:47.06. The 200 Freestyle got the facility buzzing as the boys were tightly bunched. Kyle Wang (Churchill) secured the top seed with a 1:40.68, followed by his teammate Samir Elkassem in 1:40.98. We think it there will be several swimmers under the 1:40 mark tonight. Erin Gemmell (Stone Ridge) looked comfortable in her heat of the 200, clocking a 1:46.14, well ahead of Andrea Dworak (Blake). We look forward to Erin churning up the pool tonight in her quest for the victory. Toby Barnett cruised his last 50 of the 200 IM to finish in the top position in 1:51.28, we expect a few swimmers under 1:50 tonight. Eleanor Sun (Stone Ridge) and Sienna Karp (Walter Johnson) did enough to win their heats and take the top two seeds going to tonight’s final. It will likely take a swim under 2:00 to capture the title in this race. Kris Lawson (Whitman) is the top seed in the 50 free with a 20.73, closely followed by Owen Watkins (Good Counsel) 20.76 and Jayson Ross (DeMatha) 20.83. This will be an exciting touch for the finish from the top 6 swimmers who have all gone under 21 in their season. Nina Allen 23.42 (BCC) and Amy Qin 23.44 (Wootton) are .02 apart for the top two seeds, Healey Morgan (Walter Johnson is the only other swimmer under 24 at 23.81.
The first real roar from the crowd came during the final heat of the boys 100 Butterfly where Adriano Arioti (Georgetown Day) went after and crushed the meet record! He split 22.38, 25.02 to finish in 47.40, besting the prior record of 48.13 set last year by Everett Oehler.
In the girls 100 Butterfly, Sarah Eliason took the top spot in 53.99, followed by Eleanor Sun in 54.42, these two will battle it out tonight for the title. Gonzaga’s Aiden Bond, 46.10 and Jack Moloney 46.13 are the top two seeds for tonight in the 100 Free, followed closely by Kyle Wang (Churchill) 46.21. We predict a few 45’s in tonight’s final. Erin Gemmell (Stone Ridge) again bested the field by a wide margin, swimming 49.05 for the top spot in the 100 Free. Healey Morgan 51.67 (Walter Johnson) and Nina Allen 51.97 (BCC) were the only other 2 swimmers under 52 during prelims.
Three Boys teams hit the wall in 1:25 this morning in the 200 Free Relay, Churchill (1:25.02), Whitman (1:25.46), and Georgetown Prep (1:25.85). Should be a photo finish tonight! In the Girls 200 Freestyle Relay, the team from Stone Ridge swam 3 seconds clear of the field as Wootton finished 2nd in 1:38.21 and Walter Johnson 1:38.79.
Adriano Arioti took the pool by storm again in the Boys 100 back, with a very even split race- 23.58, 24.11 to touch first in 47.26. This is only .5 off Jack Conger’s record from 2013 and will need an extra push from the crowd tonight. BCC’s freshman phenom Virginia Hinds set the pace in the girls 100 Back, finishing in 54.75. Maren Conze (Walter Johnson) who swam a 54 in December will provide some excitement for the final. Jed Garner (Clarksburg) leads the way in the Boys 100 Breaststroke (55.13), closely followed by Brian Wilbur (Sherwood) who finished 2nd in 55.73, setting up an exciting final tonight. Sienna Karp (Walter Johnson) and Isla Bartholomew (Walter Johnson) touched 1-2, with Sienna a full 2 seconds ahead of the field. 2nd-5th place is up for grabs in tonight’s final. Churchill Boys are the top seed for the 400 Free relay, wit Gonzaga a close 2nd. Stone Ridge looks to cap off their meet with a win and potential meet record in the 400 Free relay as they just missed by .01 in their prelim swim.
We’ve scored out the meet based on the prelim swims and final diving scores…it will be 3 teams for the Boys: Churchill, Gonzaga and Whitman battling for the team title. In the girls team race, defending champion Stone Ridge, BCC and Walter Johnson each have a shot to win the title!
The meet start at 5:30pm tonight- Good Luck!!