Athletes of the Meet - Oakton

Congratulations to Noah Zimmerman and Regan Hau for being named athletes of the week for our meet against Oakton.

Noah had a tremendous meet tonight, making him a worth recipient for this honor. His 50 freestyle split in the medley relay was a personal best by more than a half second. He followed it up with a personal best in the 400 freestyle relay, too. Noah is a strong leader who works hard for his teammates. He sets a positive example on a daily basis and is a major contributor to the overall success of the team.

Regan earned recognition this week for her performances in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. In the IM, Regan set a personal best by nearly a full second. And her finish in the 100 breaststroke was tremendous. She came from behind to just out-touch Oakton's swimmer to steal a second-place finish. Regan works hard at practice to perfect her strokes. She takes instruction well and implements it in her strokes. While Regan may be a freshman she is an important part of our team's success and will be for years to come!

There were several other athletes that deserved honorable mention for their efforts tonight:

1. Anna Sullivan -- Anna had a strong swim in the 500 freestyle tonight as well as in the 400 freestyle relay. Her split in the relay was the fastest of the group, leading the team to a time that was just off of a state cut.
2. Maggie Shi -- Maggie had a tremendous swim in the 100 butterfly where she was just off a state cut. She also had a strong performance in the 500 -- especially in the back half. She came back from behind to pull ahead of Oakton's swimmer with 100 left and never looked back!
3. Maddie Grosz -- Maddie had another strong week in the dive competition. She earned a region cut once again and dominated the competition. She was the only competitor to crack the 200-point barrier, with a score of 230.80.
4. Alexandra Dicks -- Alexandra gave all she had in each of her races tonight. Her 50 freestyle was particularly inspiring as she fought off a strong challenge from Oakton to take first place in the event.
5. Anna Keating -- Anna posted a state cut in her 200 IM, coming from behind after the backstroke to win by nearly three seconds. Her time in the 100 breaststroke was fast enough to earn All-American consideration.
6. Sarah Carmen -- Sarah's performance in the 100 freestyle continued her streak of sub one-minute swims in the event. Breaking the one-minute barrier is a significant accomplishment in a swimmer's career and now Sarah does it on a consistent basis!
7. John Klein -- John set a personal best in both the 50 and 100 freestyles. He continues to drop time each week and is making himself a consistent contributor to the team. 
8. Sam Duncan -- Sam dominated the dive competition again this week, earning first-place in the event. What is impressive is not that Sam is so talented but that he shares his expertise with his teammates. Sam provides helpful feedback and advice each week in practice in order to support and develop his teammates. 
9. Brayden Philpott -- Brayden had a strong performance in the 500 freestyle tonight. Despite being sick and not feeling well, he kept up with some two of the best distance swimmers in the state. He followed that up with a region cut in the 100 breaststroke, just missing out on a second-place finish by 0.16 seconds.
10. Joey Eisen -- Joey had one of the best meets of his career tonight. His time in the 200 IM was a personal best by over a full second. And his breaststroke race was also the fastest time he's ever posted in a high school meet. Joey is positioning himself to be a real threat at the district level and beyond.
11. Sam Deege -- Sam just continues to shed time at an astronomical rate each week in the 500. Last week he dropped 11 seconds. This week he dropped an additional 14 seconds! At this rate he will be just off the region cut by the end of the season. And while that might seem far-fetched, few people have dropped as much time as Sam has in so short a period of time!
12. Aaron Diehl -- Aaron not only set a personal record in the 100 backstroke, but he also broke a major milestone at the same time. Aaron's time of 58.99 was the first time he ever broke the one-minute barrier. He came out of the water excited about his time but also upset that he didn't do better. He self-diagnosed his swim and is primed to drop even more time next meet.