Gonzaga Men, Walter Johnson Women Win Washington Metro HS Champs

2017 WASHINGTON METRO INTERSCHOLASTIC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 8-11
• Germantown Indoor Swim Center, Boyds, MD.
• SCY
• Men’s results
• Women’s results
• High point 
• Team scores 

Men’s Team Scores

1. Gonzaga – 374
2. Churchill – 324
3. Georgetown – 318
4. Richard Montgomery – 304
5. Our Lady of Good Counsel – 233

The Gonzaga men were on top of things at these championships, medalling in two of three relays and having one swimmer win an individual title.

Gonzaga came way with a winning 200 medley relay, clocking in a collective time of 1:33.12 to defeat Richard Montgomery for the top-placed podium finish. Gonzaga beat RM once again in, this time in the 200 freestyle relay, but had to settle for second behind Our Lady of Good Counsel who won the race in 1:25.37.

Individually, Ryan Windus was the top finisher for Gonzaga, winning the 50 freestyle in 20.65. The team had no other individual event winners, however relied on their overall depth to send them to a championship victory.

Georgetown’s Matthew Hirschberger and Quince Orchard’s Eli Fouts were the only two swimmers on the men’s side who managed to claim multiple victories at the meet. Hirschberger ended up winning the 200 freestyle (an event which he’s the current meet record holder in) with a time of 1:38.31 before bringing his talents to the 500. There, Hirschberger dropped a time of 4:27.85 to claim his second win of the meet. Hirschberger also swam a 46.65 split on Georgetown’s winning 400 freestyle relay.

Fouts on the other hand won the 100 fly in a time of 49.46, and then backed up his performance with a win in the 100 breaststroke. There, Fouts was a 54.77 to take another win.

Other event winners

• Timothy Ellett (Walter Johnson) – 200 IM – 1:52.13
• Joseph Canova (Quince Orchard) – 1 meter – 506.25 pts
• Andrew Omenitsch (Georgetown) – 100 free – 45.37
• Matt Nguyen (Richard Montgomery) – 100 back – 51.56

Women’s Team Scores 

1. Walter Johnson – 311
2. Sherwood – 282.5
3. Churchill – 273
4. Holton-Arms – 269
5. Montgomery Blair – 266.5

Walter Johnson managed to defeat both Sherwood and Churchill with 311 points despite having no individual event winners, and only winning one event. The Walter Johnson women managed to win the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:36.85, demonstrating their depth that led to their eventual championship title.

Individually, there were three swimmers who managed to take home multiple event titles: Madison Waechter of Montgomery Blair, Sydney Knapp of Northwest, and Phoebe Bacon of Katie Ledecky’s alma mater Stone Ridge.

Waechter started off the meet with a win in the 200 freestyle, dropping a 1:49.60 to establish herself as the clear winner. In the 500 freestyle, she also made way with a victory, clocking in a time of 4:51.28. Weachter also played a huge role in Montogomery Blair’s bronze medal winning 400 freestyle relay. The team finished third to Madeira and Churchill.

Sydney Kapp of Northwest won the splash-and-dash in a time of 23.71. She was showing her speed once more as she went on to win the 100 freestyle in 51.40. Knapp managed to split a 23.91 to leadoff Northwest’s 200 freestyle relay that finished third behind eventual winners Walter Johnson and Madeira.

Stone Ridge freshman Phoebe Bacon was arguably the top swimmer of the meet as she took home to titles and set one meet record in the process. In her first swim, Bacon won the 100 fly in a time of 53.54. Following that performance, she swam the 100 backstroke where she was electric with a 53.94 time to smash the previous meet record of 54.12 set by Kristina Li back in 2014. Although Stone Ridge’s relays didn’t medal, Bacon played a large roll on the team.

Other event winners

• Jing Tan (Holton Arms) – 200 IM – 2:02.91
• Hannah Montau (Seneca Valley) – 1 meter – 457.10 pts
• Jaycee Yegher (Northwest) – 100 breast – 1:0244
• Churchill – 200 medley relay – 1:46.88