The meet got off a good start as Bruce Barboza raced to a first place finish in the 100 IM. Johnny English followed in third place, jumping up a spot from his seeded position. This would be a sign of things to come for Wheaton Woods, as we worked throughout the meet to pick up points everywhere that we could. James Hill followed up with a sixth place finish, again demonstrating how we came to the meet ready to race. James dropped over 4 seconds from his time, and put the pressure on a swimmer seeded with a time over ten seconds faster than him as we battled for every point. Each of the boys posted their best time of the season for 100 IM. The 11-12 girls showed their resolve with a 2-3-5 finish, as Lena Bossler, Mary Kate Wasel, and Chrissy Wasel each raced to best times. Chrissy dropped an impressive three seconds, and Mary Kate had an amazing time drop of over 5 seconds as she jumped up from her sixth place seed to finish third. With that strong start, we turned what had been projected to be a deficit into a tie as we started the medley relays.
The Boys 'A' medley of Paul Trigonoplos, Andre Claro, Paul Rowedder, and Antonio Deshields continued to roll along undefeated for the season, easily capturing first place, while our 'B' relay of Oliver Sangster, Paul Wasel, Denis English, and Joe Malusky raced to a strong third place finish to chip in points to the team effort. The Girls posted their fastest time of the season, but came up just short of victory in a close race, so the team of Caroline Argyros, Monica Claro, Taylor Swift, and Annie Warner had to settle for second place. Our 'B' relay raced to third place, featuring strong efforts from Alex Wasel, Anna Barboza, Lauren Malusky, and Katie English.
Our 8 & under boys opened the Freestyle events with a 1-2-3 finish by Anthony Hill. Kevin Ourand, and Avery Miller in 25 Free. Anthony swam our first sub-20-second time of the year, and just missed making the All-Star time. All six of our swimmers in the event went best times, including a huge 4.5 second drop by Matthias Barish. Joseph Moynihan and Tom Kilmer also swam their fastest races of the season as we took six of the top nine positions. The 8 & under girls followed that fast swimming with a 1-2-3-5 finish of their own, as nearly all of the girls swam their best times of the season. Maddy Marvel grabbed first, followed by Julie Kilmer, Emma Kuhnsman, and Kaelyn Mashburn. Rebecca Welton and Therese McGovern each improved their times by over two seconds, so it was a very exciting start to the Freestyle events.
As we moved to the next age group, the pattern for the meet emerged. We were seeded to sweep events in certain age groups, and the opposition was seeded to sweep in others. The team that could race and break the sweeps would be able to decide the meet. In the 9-10 boys 50 Free, strong swimming from Tim Wasel prevented a sweep, as he raced to third place. Marcello Beatley also posted a very fast time from the first heat and grabbed fifth place, and was followed by Matthew Ourand with a solid effort for sixth. Annie Marcolin raced to third place for the 9-10 girls, holding her seed, while Brigid English improved her time by nearly two seconds in a sixth-place effort.
The 13-14 Boys found themselves facing their strongest competition, and in this event they were racing to prevent a sweep. This was opposite of how meets had gone all year, and they responded well as Bryan Van Gieson dropped over a second to grab third place, followed by Danny Ferreira in fifth. Cristian Beatley improved by a second in his swim., and the 13-14 boys showed that they were ready for the challenge that the morning with bring. The 13-14 girls raced well, with Katie English and Deena Mayer-Whittington swimming their fastest times of the summer, but had a small setback with a false start DQ on Tricia Rowedder, who would otherwise have posted her best time of the season in 50 Free. However, the team moved on undeterred from that hiccup as the 11-12s got their chance to race.
Bruce Barboza put the Tigers back in the winning column, capturing first place with a season-best time, followed by Johnny English in third and Mickey Van Gieson in fourth, each of whom also swam their fastest times of the summer. James Hill and Thomas Moynihan also posted best times, so it was clear from these early events that we came to the meet ready to race. The 11-12 girls raced well, as our top four finishers all posted best times, but they met strong competition and captured only third and fifth despite the time drops.
The 15-18s closed out the Freestyle events with the 100 Free. The Boys continued to dominate, posting a 1-2-3-4 finish. While Antonio Deshields and Paul Rowedder claimed the top two spots, it was the swims by Denis English and Joe Malusky that got the attention,as Denis dropped nearly four seconds from his time, while Joe ran away from the rest of the first heat as he shaved over two seconds from his time. Both Denis and Joe improved from their seeded positions and beat the fastest swimmer from the other team. The 15-18 Girls followed suit, as they went 1-2-5-6 to improve their seeds, and Taylor Swift, Monica Claro, Anna Barboza, and Caroline Argyros all went their fastest times of the summer, featuring a one second improvement by Caroline and a nearly three second improvement by Monica.
With the conclusion of the Freestyle events, 13-14 IM was next. Facing a tough race, Bryan Van Gieson broke up the projected sweep with a big time drop to grab third place, while Danny Ferreira and Francis Rowedder posted best times as they finished fifth and sixth respectively. For the girls, Tricia Rowedder matched that effort, grabbing a third place finish to break another projected sweep, and dropping her time by nearly three seconds in the process. These changes in place, while seemingly small, were significant in a meet this close. Each spot moved up was a two point swing, and we had already made up a lot of the projected point deficit because we were able to race and move up in the finishing order.
As the Backstroke events got underway, it was clear that we needed to excel in these races, and we did so, starting with the 8 & under boys. Anthony Hill raced to his second win of the meet, and was followed in second by Matthias Barish. Both Anthony and Matthias improved their times by over three seconds, and Joseph Moynihan chipped in a point with his fifth place finish. The 8 & under girls matched that effort and more, as Sara Marcolin, Maddy Marvel, and Julie Kilmer went 1-2-4 to keep the pressure on the opposing team. It was a great effort from our 8 & unders, but it was what we expected to see. The 9-10s did some things that were not expected.
The 9-10 boys improved from their seeded positions as they posted a 2-3-4 finish, led by Tim Wasel and his big two second time drop. Matthew Ourand and Michael Hill rounded out our finishers. The girls were not only able to avoid a sweep, but Annie Marcolin raced wonderfully and with a strong finish grabbed first place. This unexpected win was a big boost for the team. Keely Mashburn dropped nearly a full second from her time as well as she swam to a sixth place finish.
The 15-18s took control of their events, as the boys swam to a 1-2-4 finish, featuring a trio of our graduating seniors - Antonio Deshields, Paul Trigonoplos, and Oliver Sangster. The girls finished 2-3-4 on the efforts of Caroline Argyros, Anna Barboza, and Annie Warner. Caroline continued to improve her time for the season, while Anna had a nice time drop of over one second.
After the completion of 100 Back, it was on to the 50 Back events. Up first were the 11-12 boys, and Johnny English paced Wheaton Woods with a second place finish, followed by Mickey Van Gieson in fourth and James Hill in fifth. The 11-12 girls had a 3-4-6 finish, as Chrissy Wasel dropped nearly two seconds in her third place effort. The 13-14 boys took advantage of their opportunity and powered to a 1-2-4 finish by Bryan Van Gieson, Francis Rowedder, and Matthew Hill, as both Bryan and Matthew posted best times. The 13-14 girls raced well, as both Haley O'Brien and Alex Wasel dropped time by two seconds, but had to settle for a 4-5-6 finish as we made it to halftime.
Based on the pre-meet projections, we expected to be trailing by about 15 points at halftime. When the score was announced, it was Wheaton Woods 208, Montgomery Square 204. We had raced and improved our finishes, and had erased the deficit. However, the job was not yet done, as a lot of races remained and we needed to stay sharp and continue to put forth our best efforts.
Coming out of halftime, the 15-18 100 IM opened the second half of the meet. As had been the case in the first half of the meet, there was some magic in lane 1 as Paul Rowedder dropped an amazing six seconds from his time as he raced to second place, part of 1-2-3 finish by Wheaton Woods. Paul Trigonoplos took first place, and Antonio Deshields finished in third. The girls finished 1-2-5 with three season-best times from Taylor Swift, Monica Claro, and Caroline Argyros. We had just taken our four point lead and extended it to 20 points entering the Breaststroke events.
Kevin Ourand bounced back from being sick earlier in the week as he swam his best time of the season on the way to first place in the 8 & under boys 25 Breast. Tom Kilmer grabbed fourth place as he too swam his best time. The 8 & under girls went 1-3 as Sarah Marcolin posted an All-Star nominating time, and Kaelyn Mashburn improved her time by three seconds. Matthew Ourand continued the strong swimming a one-second time drop in the 9-10 25 Breast as he took third place, and Michael Hill has an even bigger improvement as he took fifth place. The 9-10 girls had another example of the "lane 1 magic" as Keely Mashburn took two and half seconds off her time to capture third place and break a potential sweep, and Michelle Kilmer had a strong swim for fourth place.
Moving to the 50 Breast, the 11-12 boys went 1-2 on the efforts of Bruce Barboza and Johnny English. Bruce swam an All-Star nominating time, while Johnny dropped over two seconds as he jumped up a spot to take second place. For the girls, Lena Bossler won a close race, and Mary Kate Wasel and Ashley Jeffers dropped over two and four seconds respectively as they finished fifth and sixth. The 13-14 boys, despite a best time from Danny Ferreira and Matthew Hill, could not break the sweep and had to settle for a 4-5-6 finish. The 13-14 girls all raced very well, and all swam best times by over a second as both Tricia Rowedder and Katie English made a strong push for second to move up from their seeded order, but along with Deena Mayer-Whittington settled for a solid 3-4-6 finish with their fast swims.
The 15-18 100 Breast featured a 1-2-5 finish for the boys and a 1-2-4 finish for the girls. Paul Trigonoplos and Andre Claro grabbed the top two spots for the boys, but it was the race by Paul Wasel, another of the lane 1 stars, that was the most exciting. Paul dropped over four seconds from his time and nearly caught the swimmer next to him to move up a spot. The girls were paced by the season-best efforts from Taylor Swift, Monica Claro, and Anna Barboza. Each of the girls improved time by over a second, and Monica had a big three second drop.
Entering the Butterfly events, everyone was excited knowing how close the meet was, and the fast swimming continued. The 8 & unders did their part in 25 Fly, as the boys finished 1-2-4. Anthony Hill completed his sweep of races with another best time, and Avery Miller jumped into second place with a huge six second time drop. The girls finished 1-2 as both Sara Marcolin and Maddy Marvel swam their best times. Sara's swim was also her third win of the meet, and the 8 & under girls took the top spot in every event of the meet.
The 9-10 boys kept things rolling with a 2-3-4 finish in 25 Fly, highlighted by Marcello Beatley's second place effort as he dropped nearly two seconds from his time. Tim Wasel had more of the lane 1 magic as he dropped over two seconds, and Michael Hill improved his time by nearly one second. The 9-10 girls matched this effort as they all posted best times and broke up a potential sweep. Annie Marcolin continued her outstanding day with another big time drop of nearly four seconds as she grabbed second place. Brigid English dropped over two seconds as she got fifth, and Theresa Moynihan had nearly a full second of improvement as well.
The 11-12 boys raced well and manged to hold on for a 3-4-5 finish, highlighted by the nearly three second time drop by Thomas Moynihan. The 11-12 girls improved on this with a 2-3-4 finish by Lena Bossler, Chrissy Wasel, and Mary Kate Wasel. The effort by Mary Kate, dropping a stunning six seconds, added a few points to our lead as she jumped up a few spots in this race from her seeded position.
The 13-14 boys were facing a possible sweep in their race, but Bryan Van Gieson stunned the opposing team with his magnificent race, jumping out to an early lead and grabbing the victory in the 50 Fly, dropping over two seconds from his time along the way. Danny Ferreira and Cristian Beatley rounded out the swims in fifth and sixth place respectively. The 13-14 girls were paced by Haley O'Brien as she swam her best time of the summer in 50 Fly, but she had to settle for a 4-5-6 finish along with Katie English and Maggie Naccarato.
The 15-18s closed out the individual events in style, as the boys went for a clean 1-2-3 sweep by Paul Trigonoplos, Antonio Deshields, and Paul Rowedder. Each of the boys recorded their fastest times of the summer in the process. The girls went 1-3-4 on the strength of the efforts by Taylor Swift, Monica Claro, and Caroline Argyros.
The relays to close out the meet really captured our efforts for the day. In the Boys 175m Graduated Free relay, despite the opposition's faster seed times, Tim Wasle kept us very close at the start of the relay, and Bruce Barboza got us out to a small lead. Bryan Van Gieson kept us close in his leg so that Anthony Hill could power us home to victory. The girls followed a similar pattern as Annie Marcolin swam a strong lead-off that kept us close. Lena Bossler had a great relay exchange and put us out to a small lead. Tricia Rowedder kept us in the race with her effort, and gave Sara Marcolin the chance to run down the other team and capture the relay victory. The boys and girls followed the same blueprint for victory in two very exciting relays to end the meet.
In the end, it came down to how well we had raced for every spot all day, and the final tally was Wheaton Woods 407, Montgomery Square 384. A perfect dual meet season was now complete as the Tigers took a 20 point deficit and turned it into a 20 point win.
All-Star Times
For the first time this season, we had swimmers achieve All-Star nominating times.
- Bruce Barboza - 50 Breast (43.04)
- Sarah Marcolin - 25 Breast (25.81) , 25 Fly (23.28)
Clean Sweepers [a swimmer who won 3 individual events and the Individual Medley]
- Anthony Hill - 8 & Under Boys (no IM)
- Sarah Marcolin - 8 & Under Girls (no IM)
- Taylor Swift - 15-18 Girls
- Bruce Barboza - 50 Free, 50 Breast, 100 IM
- Lena Bossler - 50 Breast
- Antonio Deshields - 100 Free, 100 Back
- Annie Marcolin - 25 Back
- Maddy Marvel - 25 Free
- Kevin Ourand - 25 Breast
- Paul Trigonoplos - 100 IM, 100 Breast, 50 Fly
- Bryan Van Gieson - 50 Back, 50 Fly
Swims of note
After the rain last week, we were overdue for some best times, and there was no shortage of fast swimming at this exciting meet. We had so many best times that we could list just about everyone here, but there are some swims that really merit some extra attention.
- Matthias Barish had a great set of swims, dropping nearly 5 seconds in 25 Free and amlost 4 more in 25 Back.
- Denis English, in his final meet, hammered out a big 4 second drop in 100 Free to grab third place and help the 15-18 boys grab the top 4 spots
- Johnny English stepped up in all of his events and raced well, but particularly in posting best times in 100 IM and 50 Breast
- James Hill opened the meet with a great effort in 100 IM, improving his time by over 4 seconds
- Ashley Jeffers showed the results of her hard work in practice with a four second improvement in 50 Breast
- Annie Marcolin shone in 25 Fly, dropping nearly 4 seconds as she raced to a second place finish
- Therese McGovern closed out her season in a grand manner with a 3 second improvement in 25 Free
- Avery Miller capped his dual meet season with an enormous drop of nearly seven seconds in 25 Fly.
- Paul Rowedder threw down some outside smoke as part of our lane one parade of fast swims, dropping nearly seven seconds to grab second place in 15-18 100 IM and secure the sweep
- Bryan Van Gieson had a bunch of great races against tough competition, but his victory in the 50 Fly was an amazing swim as he rose to the challenge and dropped over 2.5 seconds
- Mary Kate Wasel in 100 IM, swimming her way to a third place finish and cutting over five seconds off her time, a feat that she surpassed in 50 Fly where she cut almost six seconds from her time. Overall, in her 4 events, she dropped a total of nearly 14 seconds from her previous times.
- Rebecca Welton saved her fastest swim of the season for the last A meet, posting a big 2.5 second drop in 25 Free
As I mentioned before, I could list just about every single person who swam at the meet for at least one race. It was a phenomenal effort by everyone. In trying to highlight these swims I saw so many one or two second improvements that I just can't list them all.
Swim of the meet
This week I am going to recognize two swims, as it was hard for me to decide between the two. Both of the swims were early in the meet, but made a big difference in momentum and helped us to make it to the half with a lead instead of the expected deficit
- The first swim I want to recognize embodied a great many of the things that we really emphasized throughout the season - working through adversity, competing, racing to the finish. Coming off a false start in 50 Free, it would have been easy to get down and have that carry over for the rest of the meet, but Tricia Rowedder stepped up in the next event, the 13-14 100 IM, and had a tremendous race. She improved her time by over two seconds, and moving up a spot from her seeded position to take third place. This broke a potential sweep, and really showed the kind of effort that we needed to win the meet.
- The second swim came shortly after Tricia's effort and was similar in nature. Facing strong competition in her age group, Annie Marcolin not only stopped what could potentially have been a sweep, she jumped up and grabbed a win in the 9-10 25 Back. This was a huge lift that meant an 8 point swing in meet, and stood as a big reason that we had the lead at the half. Following that swim by Annie, the 9-10 girls raced well the rest of the meet, finishing well and holding their own against strong opposition.
Great effort Tigers. I could not be prouder of how you swam. The work that you put in really showed at the meet, and that was the difference.
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