Day Three of Maryland State Champs Features Strong Swims Across the Board

By Wynne Kirchner

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, March 9. Impressive swims from many different clubs highlighted a fast Night Three at Maryland Short Course State Championships.

Girls 11-12 200 Butterfly
Arena Club’s Molly Jordan took first with a 2:15.46, powered by a strong back half. Leah Sweeney of Naval Academy finished second in 2:18.22. Lillian Lowenthal of NBAC led through the first 100, but faded to third in 2:22.14.

Boys 11-12 200 Butterfly
Twins from Eagle Swim Team took first and second, as Austin Nguyen finished first with a 2:14.28. Twin brother Justin touched the wall second with a 2:15.31, while Ryan Atwood of NBAC was third with a 2:18.14

Women’s 200 IM
Mary Pelton just missed breaking two minutes, as she touched first in 2:00.19. Teammate and 400 IM winner, Lauren James, finished second with a 2:03.94. Hannah Gouger of Loyola Blakefield had a strong personal best to take third in 2:05.01.

Men’s 200 IM
Cole Buese of NBAC added another victory with a 1:48.54 win in the 200 IM. 400 IM champion David Gross of Arena Club touched second with a 1:52.19, while Gavin Colley of NBAC was third in 1:53.63. Connor Kalisz would have finished second with a 1:49, however, a disqualification nullified that result.

Girls 13-14 200 IM
NBAC’s Easop Lee continued her domination this weekend, going a 2:03.53 for top honors. Eagles Erin Vance took 2nd, just out touching Elizabeth Fry of NBAC, 2:08.58 to 2:08.68. An interview with Elizabeth and her teammate, Lauren Poole, can be listened to below.

Boys 13-14 200 IM
With a superb last 100, Zach Dean of Naval Academy took first in a fast 1:59.02, just beating out Zach Althoff of Monocacy was second, also under two minutes with a 1:59.39. Alex Blair, the 100 breast champ, was third in 2:00.45. An interview with Dean is available below.

Girls 11-12 100 IM
Samantha Ai of NBAC steamrolled to another win, going a 1:02.13 for the victory. It was a little off her prelim swim of 1:01.55, but more than enough to beat teammate Gaby Jantac. Jantac went a 1:03.29 for second, while Brayden Bowen of Naval Academy was third in 1:04.17. An interview with Ai, Jantac, and 50 fly winner Lillian Lowenthal , all of NBAC, can be listened to underneath.

Boys 11-12 100 IM
Justin Nguyen of Eagles was first in a 1:00.59, mowing down teammate David Gostomski over the second 50. Gostomski took second in 1:01.30 and Frederick County’s Yahshua Garcia was third with a 1:02.59.

Girls 10 & under 100 IM
Fiona Schere of Annapolis added another win in the 100 IM with a 1:09.32. Meghan Cole of Fox Swim Club took second in a 1:10.05. NBAC’s Kacey McKenna finished third in 1:11.04.

Boys 10 & under 100 IM
In a thrilling finish, Alan Cherches of JCC-MD held off Alex Lakatta of NBAC for the win, 1:09.32 to 1:09.39. Gavin Currie of Monocacy took third in 1:12.24. Cherches discusses his rivalry with Lakatta as well as his strong swims this weekend in an interview below.

Women’s 50 Freestyle
In an extremely close finish, Eliza Manning of Monocacy emerged as the winner out of lane one. She touched in 24.15, with Mairyn Branaman of Chesapeake two-hundreths of a second behind for second. Jacy Igard of Monocacy was third with a 24.18, which was only one one-hundreth behind Branaman.

Men’s 50 Freestyle
The top three swimmers all broke 21, with Joshua Tomlin of HoCo Aquatics leading the way in 20.83. Tying for second was Trey Perry of Loyola Blakefield and Andrew Sanchez of Retrievers with matching 20.92’s.

Girls 13-14 50 Freestyle
In an another close, Easop Lee of NBAC just beat out Alayna Nielson of Eagles, 24.08 to 24.10. Those two are only 13, so expect an better showdown next year. Lydia Thompson swam a good race to nab third, going 24.71.

Boys 13-14 50 Freestyle
NBAC’s Dylan Arzoni swam to another victory with a 22.44 to beat out Jimmy Hayburn of Annapolis and Alex Blair of Loyola Blakefield. Hayburn took second in 23.18, while Blair followed closely with a third place 23.20.

Girls 11-12 100 Breaststroke
Shocking the entire field out of lane one was Mia Mesceda of NBAC. She dropped almost 6 seconds in win 1:09.95. She beat out teammate Samantha Ai, who has been on fire, by almost a full second. Ai touched second with a 1:10.88. Hannah Moskios of Annapolis finished third with a 1:11.62

Boys 11-12 100 Breaststroke
Ryan Ordakowski of Severna Park raced to win in 1:12.52. Following close behind for second was Evan Frick of HUSH in 1:12.81. Nicholas Poulos of NBAC nabbed with a 1:13.13.

Girls 10 & under 100 Breaststroke
After coming close all weekend long, Meghan Cole of Fox got a win with a 1:18.04 touch out of Annapolis’s Fiona Schere. Schere finished second with a 1:18.28, while Kacey McKenna of NBAC got third with a 1:20.73.

Boys 10 & under 100 Breaststroke
Alan Cherches of JCC-MD got yet another win, blazing to a 1:18.79. Jack Burns of Retrievers pushed Cherches well, and got rewarded with second in 1:21.71. AJ Gillespie of Severna Park finished 3rd with a 1:24.70.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke
It was not as quick as her prelim swim of 2:13.71, but Lauren James of NBAC still got the win tonight, going 2:14.49 for top spot. Unattached Carly DeLiberty took second in 2:18.90, while Emma Scott of Chesapeake Bay nabbed third in 2:22.47.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke
In a dominating performance, 100 breast champ Kyle Paxton of Arena Club crushed the 200 breast to complete the double. He not defended his state title, but also made the junior national cut, going a 2:01.51. Matthew Tomsuden of NBAC took second in 2:07.20, dropping about half a second from prelims. Retriever’s Jared Vance took third, just out touching Connor Ganley of GBSA, 2:08.58 to 2:08.74.

Girls 13-14 200 Breaststroke
It was a top three sweep for NBAC, with Lexi Kolodgie dropping five seconds from prelims to lead the way in 2:22.91. Marietta Gately touched second in 2:25.41 and Elizabeth Fry nabbed third in 2:25.57.

Boys 13-14 200 Breaststroke
Benjamin Selnick of Retrievers won the event in 2:11.06. Selnick was locked in a tight battle with David Sears of Severna Park, who finished second with a 2:11.62. Alex Blair of Loyola Blakefield was third in 2:16.68.

Girls 11-12 50 Backstroke
Gaby Jantac of NBAC took the event in 28.84, winning by almost second. Second place went to Izzy Stone of Severna Park in 29.80, while Lindsey Bartlett of Retrievers was third in 30.00.

Boys 11-12 50 Backstroke
Severna Park’s Alex Kuriawa helped continue his team’s strong meet, winning in 28.41. Mason Young of Arena Club finished second in 29.12, while Loyola Blakefield’s Graham Lindner was third in 29.36.

Girls 10 & under 50 Backstroke
Meghan Cole of Fox won her second event of the night with a 32.42 win. BAAC’s Olivia Van Dyke took second with a 33.22. Caroline Benda of NBAC got third in 33.51.

Boys 10 & under 50 Backstroke
NBAC’s Alex Lakatta got another victory with a 31.23 win in the 50 backstroke. Gavin Currie of Monocacy touched in 31.92 for second, while Joe Hayburn of Annapolis was right behind for third in 32.00.

Women’s 100 Backstroke
Alice Treuth swam tough to win the event in 54.73. Hannah Gouger was right with her the whole way, and she finished second in 55.12. The winner of the 100 fly, Kiley Beall of Chesapeake, was third in 55.92.

Men’s 100 Backstroke
Jason Ewart of NBAC nabbed first in the event with a 50.52. Jake Lamparella of Eagles cut a large chunk from prelims and took second in 51.47. Chesapeake’s Brad Shannon finished third in 51.91.

Girls 13-14 100 Backstroke
Cassidy Kalisz of NBAC prevailed in a tight race, going 58.13 for the win. Kalisz’s teammate Lauren Poole touched second in 58.50. Alayna Nielson of Eagles followed close behind for third in 58.71

Boys 13-14 100 Backstroke
Zach Althoff of Monocacy took first in 53.41, just beating out Tyler Kim of Eagles, who touched in 53.81. Back in third was Dylan Arzoni of NBAC in 55.47.

Girls 11-12 200 Freestyle
Although near as fast her 1:56.02 from prelims, NBAC’s Samantha Ai still dominated the final with a 1:58.42 result. Tori McCullough of Naval Academy took second in 2:01.98

Boys 11-12 200 Freestyle
Connor Vienneau of Chesapeake destroyed the second 100 to take the win in 1:54.45. Yahshua Garcia of Frederick County pushed the pace early and placed second in 1:55.85. Justin Nguyen of Eagles nabbed third in 1:57.19.

Girls 10 & under 200 Freestyle
In a thrilling race, Naval Academy’s Ella Martin upset top seed Caroline Benda of NBAC, 2:12.29 to 2:12.49. Amanda Cradock was third in 2:15.12.

Boys 10 & under Freestyle
Alex Lakatta of NBAC won his second event of the evening with a commanding victory. Lakatta finished well clear in 2:07.24. Alan Cherches of JCC-MD was second in 2:14.64. Robert Fry of NBAC was third in 2:16.67.

Women’s 500 Freestyle
Thirteen year-old Easop Lee of NBAC decided to challenge herself and take on the older girls in the 500 freestyle. She ended up winning the whole event, going a 4:50.69 for top spot. The 1000 free champion, Dani Potis of NBAC, took second in 4:52.16. NBAC’s Mary Pelton finished third with a 4:58.31.

Men’s 500 Freestyle
Central Chesapeake’s Ben Lawless continued to swim extremely well, taking the win in 4:24.79. Like his 1000 win on Thursday, Lawless won thanks to very consistent splits. Cole Buese of NBAC had a strong swim in 4:27.39 for second. NBAC Paralympian Ian Silverman was third with a person best 4:29.35.

Girls 13-14 500 Freestyle
NBAC grabbed first and second thanks to Megan Fields and Ellie McComas. Fields won in 5:07.59 with McComas not far back in 5:09.28. Jessie Williams of Monocacy stole third in 5:10.63.

Boys 13-14 500 Freestyle
Naval Academy’s Zach Dean got out in front and never let up, racing hard to a 4:48.14 win. Dean’s teammate Will Roberts swam a strong back half to take second in 4:52.50. The 100 backstroke champ, Zach Althoff of Monocacy, was third in 4:54.86.

Girls 11-12 200 Freestyle Relay
Monocacy Aquatic Club suffered a heartbreaking result as they touched in first place, but were disqualified. As a result, NBAC took home the title in 1:43.36. Naval Academy was second in 1:46.26, while GBSA swam a big race to out touch Eagle Swim Team for third, 1:48.13 to 1:48.14.

Boys 11-12 200 Freestyle Relay
Eagle Swim Team dominated this event, leading from start to finish en route to a 1:42.61 win. NBAC was second with a 1:44.69, while Columbia Aquatics finished third with a 1:46.35.

Girls 10 & under 200 Freestyle Relay
A close three-team race had NBAC finishing on top with a 1:59.24 win. Loyola Blakefield took second with a 1:59.90, while Naval Academy finished close behind with a 2:00.07.

Boys 10 & under 200 Freestyle Relay
NBAC won this comfortably with a 1:56.92 final time. Naval Academy nabbed second with a 1:58.56, while Annapolis Swim Club took third with a 1:58.89.

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay
NBAC took the top spot, winning by seven seconds ahead of Chesapeake Bay. NBAC went 3:27.47, while Chesapeake took second with a 3:34.47. Arena Club took third on the strength of a 51.9 anchor leg by Megan Cowan, which gave a final time of 3:35.04.

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay
NBAC was not going to be stopped as they raced to a 3:04.44 win, highlighted by a 45.00 split from Cole Buese. Loyola Blakefield grabbed second with a 3:06.82, while Arena Club had another good race to take third with a 3:09.47. Retrievers took 4th, but had a great leadoff leg of 45.91 from Andrew Sanchez, which was the fastest leadoff leg.

Girls 13-14 400 Freestyle Relay
Eagle Swim Team was out with a good lead for three legs. Unfortunately for them, NBAC had Easop Lee anchoring, and she split a 50.73 to run down Eagles for the win. NBAC was 3:34.36 with Eagles second in 3:35.42. Monocacy Aquatic Club finished third in 3:43.67.

Boys 13-14 400 Freestyle Relay
NBAC also won this relay by a wide margin, taking the event with a 3:20.53. Naval Academy took second with a 3:25.99 thanks to 49.1 anchor leg by Zach Dean. Annapolis Swim Club finished third with a 3:26.42.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x