Athletes of the Meet - Concorde District Championship

This week's Concorde District Meet was a tremendous event for both the men's and women's teams. There we so many personal best times throughout the weekend that it became nearly impossible to keep track. Everyone came ready to compete and race, and their preparation showed.

At the risk of leaving out someone who had a noteworthy weekend of success, here are several athletes who deserve special recognition for their achievements in the water and on the boards:

1. Sam Duncan - Sam won the Concorde District title for the second year in a row. Along the way Sam earned a state cut and qualifying for All-American consideration. Sam also demonstrated leadership and commitment to the team by coming out to watch the swimmers after the dive contest and during finals on Saturday night. 
2. Maddy Grosz - Maddy had a strong dive meet as well. She finished third with a state cut while just missing All-American consideration by a few points. She will try again at regions where she will have an opportunity not only to reach All-American but help her team defend last year's championship.
3. Kyle Wu - Kyle is a tremendous leader who models the kind of mental and physical preparation that makes champions. He is focused and committed to excellence. And it is that commitment that paid off this weekend. Kyle set a school and district record in the 100 breaststroke. He also led the 400 freestyle relay to an electrifying win over Oakton to end the meet.
4. Anna Keating - Anna's career at Madison is marked with jaw-dropping performances ever since she burst onto the scene as a freshman. She continued her dominance this weekend with wins in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. While both swims earned her automatic All-American status, it was her 100 breast that was most impressive. In that race Anna broke the one-minute barrier for the first time!
5. Alexandra Dicks - Ever since states last year Alexandra has established herself as one of the top sprinters in the state. Her 50 freestyle time continues to drop each week. This week she narrowly missed automatic All-American status by 0.01 seconds! She's added the 100 backstroke to her program and is now setting team records and earning All-American consideration in that stroke as well!
6. Jackson Miller - Jackson plays an important role on our team that often gets overlooked. His ability to compete in a number of different events gives our team a level of flexibility that other teams do not have. This week Jackson was called on to compete in the 500. He met that challenge head on and dropped 13 seconds off his previous personal best!
7. Hannah Carmen - Hannah competes with the heart of a warrior. Her focus and intensity are impressive - especially for a freshman. This weekend she met nearly all of her goal times, including setting a personal best mark in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. She will compete in regions next week where she will look to continue dropping time and taking names in both events. 
8. Ben Shroeder - Ben's tremendous season took another major leap forward this weekend. Ben set a personal-best time in the 50 freestyle by breaking the 0:22 barrier for the first time in his career. He followed up his 0:21.98 with an even faster time of 0:21.70 in the 200 freestyle relay. Ben also does a noteworthy job of encouraging his teammates and leading through example at practice and in warmups.
9. Louis Tucker - Louis had a break-out meet in his signature event -- the 100 butterfly. Louis dropped nearly 3 full seconds from his previous-best time. He also played an important role in leading the 200 medley relay to a strong second-place finish.
10. Morgan Howat - Morgan's breakthrough year continued this weekend as well. She dropped a full second in the 50 freestyle, just narrowly missing a region cut in the event by 0.05 seconds. She followed that success up with a 2-second drop in the 100 backstroke as well. Morgan has established herself as an important part of our success and a force to be reckoned with moving into next season!
11. Erica Rice - Erica joined the club of record-breakers by establishing new personal bests in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. Her drop in the IM was the most impressive, beating her previous best by 4 seconds! Erica is a strong swimmer who competes in every race. It was particularly enjoyable watching her chase down competitors during the breaststroke leg of the 200 IM. She's continuing to improve and will make a major impression at regions and states!
12. Joey Eisen - Joey is another of our swimmers that seemingly emerged from nowhere this weekend to establish himself as a future leader for our team. Joey's 100 breaststroke was just off his previous-best time. He will have an opportunity, though, to improve on his time at regions. His 200 IM was even more impressive, as he dropped 4 seconds from his previous best time! Joey is a fierce competitor who takes full advantage of his opportunities to excel!
13. Michael Hynes - Michael Hynes continued his strong season by re-establishing himself as one of the best in the state at the 200 IM. Michael dropped 3 seconds from his season-best time, while also setting a personal-best time for the event. He also set a new standard for himself in the 100 backstroke. Michael's improvement over the season gives the men's team another weapon in their pursuit of a state championship.
14. Darby Galbraith - Darby's times in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke were right on her previous bests. More importantly, she showed tremendous strength and endurance as she chased down competitors in the final lap of both her individual races. Her split in the 200 free relay as also instrumental in helping her teammates establish a new district record in the event.
15. Collin Guo - Collin works hard every day to improve his times and technique. While he is not as seasoned as some of our older swimmers, Collin continues to gain experience and expertise each week in the 500 freestyle. That experience paid off this weekend as Collin dropped 13 seconds in his 500 freestyle to finish 11th in the event. His growth throughout the season gives our team an additional weapon next season.
16. Brayden Philpott - Brayden is another member of our team who is a true competitor. He sees a challenge and faces it head-on. That trait was certainly on display during the 500 freestyle on Saturday night. Brayden was given the opportunity to set a new personal-best in the event and he took full advantage. His time of 4:51.57 was more than 5 seconds faster than any time he'd posted in the past. And it is just off of what would be his first-ever state cut.
17. Veronika Miller - With all of the superstars on our team it is easy to overlook the contributions that athletes like Veronika make to our team. Veronika's steady work in the 200 and 500 freestyles during the year helped her team succeed in dual meets. This weekend it was her ever-improving 500 that helped us secure our second straight Concorde District title. Veronika dropped 8 seconds from her former best and helped score valuable points during finals. Every point counts in a 17-point victory and Veronika's performance added needed distance between us and Oakton!
18. Anna Sullivan - Anna is incredibly valuable for our team and this week was no different than normal. She gives our team a lot of flexibility throughout the season by excelling at the 200 and 500 freestyles as well as the 100 backstroke. This weekend she added the 50 freestyle to her repertoire. Her split as the anchor leg of the 200 medley helped power her team to victory both in the event and in the meet.
19. Aaron Diehl - Aaron's 100 backstroke improved by leaps and bounds throughout the season, and this weekend was no different. Aaron progressed from a 1:02 backstroker to start the year to a 0:57.60 this weekend. Aaron works very hard at practice and he is currently reaping the benefits. The coaching staff looks forward to seeing what another year of training will do for Aaron next season!
20. Lilly Allred - Lilly entered this weekend's meet as a wildcard. She was seeded in the dreaded 9th position with a number of talented swimmers seeded ahead of her. Lilly took on the challenge with great success, though, dropping more than 4 seconds from her season-best time to qualify 8th. Her ability to make the A final not only gave her a spot in next week's region meet but secured valuable points against Oakton.