RMSC Sets Age Group Relay Record at Riley Eaton Invitational

By Reach for the Wall staff;
Photo provided by Kent Williams

Boyds, MD- December 13-15
Virtually every club in Potomac Valley Swimming was busy the past two weekends with Championship style Invitational meets all across the DMV. December 13-15, RMSC hosted the Riley Eaton Invitational at the Germantown Swim Center, Nation’s Capital hosted the NCAP Invitational at the University of Maryland and last weekend the Potomac Marlins hosted the Sport Fair Classic at George Mason University while Machine held the Turkey Claus Showdown at the University of Maryland. These meets provided a trials and finals experience for all age groups- 10 & Under through the ‘open’ age group where competitors 13 and over (we saw results from a 45 yr old competitor at the NCAP Invite) were able to see their hard work from the Fall ‘pay-off’ before the Christmas holiday. As in past years, the competition at each meet is fierce as the host teams do their best to fend off competitors from nearby LSC’s as well as break through time barriers to qualify for Spring championship meets. While team scores were not available for the Riley Eaton meet, we can assume the host team, RMSC, was well ahead of the field. At the NCAP Invite, Nation’s Capital more than doubled the runner-up Long Island Aquatics and in last week’s Sport Fair Classic, it was a battle of clubs from Virginia with York taking the team title, ~300 points ahead of AAC.

While there were many amazing swims we could highlight from each of the meets and age groups, the one standout occurred at the Riley Eaton Holiday Invitational, where the host team Rockville-Montgomery’s 10 & Under Boys broke the National Age Group Record in the 200 Free Relay. The RMSC Quartet of Jason Xu, Alexander Romero-Zermeno, Wes Begin and Marcus Li dipped under fellow Potomac Valley club The Fish previous NAG record from 2014 of 1:47.92 by posting a 1:47.71. Here’s the split comparison for the two relays:

The FISH 10 & Under team from 2014 was remarkable in that they set 12 of the 19 event records for PVS, including the National Record in the 200 Free Relay, and the leadoff by Johnny Bradshaw is still the top time in PVS for 10 & Unders. The RMSC quartet are having a great year so far as all 4 swimmers have swum times in the top 250 in the country for both the 50 and 100 freestyle! Congratulations to these talented 10 & Unders as well as the other athletes that met/exceeded their goals!