Athletes of the Meet - Northern Region Championships

Championship season is all about the team. No school can be successful unless there are a number of athletes working together to make things happen. While many schools have individual stars, schools that want to win championships have teams. Madison has a very strong team. And it was the full team that helped lead to the women's victory and the men's near-upset of Oakton.

While the team is important to our overall success, it is made up of individuals who performed at a very high level tonight. There were several performances that deserve special recognition:

1. Cole Dyson - Cole had a very strong meet overall. His time in the 200 freestyle was more than a second faster than last week, which helped him move up 2 spots from his seed. In a three-point meet, moving up to 2 spots is a major help to the team's success.
2. Kyle Wu -- Kyle continued to lead his team both on-deck and in the pool. His 100 breaststroke was a magical swim, setting a new school and region record. He turned around a few minutes later and posted one of the fastest 100 freestyle splits in school history. While the 400 freestyle relay fell short it wouldn't have been as close without Kyle's anchor leg!
3. Patrick Kuhlkin -- Patrick had an absolutely amazing 100 butterfly tonight, setting a personal record by 1.5 seconds! Patrick was originally seeded 10th, but with his time tonight he finished 2nd. Again, in a razor-thin meet those extra points were a huge help to his team.
4. Jacob Roth - Jacob had strong swims in both the 100 butterfly and backstrokes. Jacob earned his first-ever state cut in the 100 fly while just missing out in the 100 backstroke. Jacob was another athlete who helped the team make it's move, jumping 6 spots in the fly and 3 spots in the back.
5. Brayden Philpott -- Brayden followed-up his personal-best performance in the 500 freestyle last week with the exact same time tonight. He is clearly establishing a new, faster normal for himself. More importantly, though, Brayden also made his first-ever state cut by dropping 2 seconds from last week's 100 breaststroke time. Brayden was seeded 15th in the breast but finished 8th!
6. Joey Eisen -- Joey also had a tremendous meet tonight, giving his all for the team. Joey's 200 IM was nearly 2 full seconds faster than last week. He also gave a gutsy performance in the 100 breaststroke, finishing just off his time from last week.
7. Anna Keating -- Anna once again dominated the 100 breaststroke. She broke the one-minute barrier for the second week while shattering her own Northern Region record. Anna's 200 IM was also very strong as she finished second in the event.
8. Darby Galbraith -- Darby posted a personal-best time in the 100 butterfly while finishing 5th in the event. She also posted an extraordinary split in the 400 freestyle relay, which helped the team jump from the 8th seed to 3rd place in the event.
9. Morgan Howatt -- Morgan was absolutely invaluable to the team tonight. She provided the flexibility we needed to restructure the relays and ensure a razor-thin victory over Yorktown. Her time in the 200 freestyle relay was easily the fast she's ever swum in the event. And it cements her status as one of the greatest success stories of the season.
10. Michael Hynes -- Michael had yet another strong and steady meet this week. His 100 freestyle was not among the top-16 seeds. But after posting a personal-best time Michael finished a strong 5th place in the event. He followed that swim up with a personal best in the 100 back.
11. Alexandra Dicks -- Alexandra continued her break-out season with yet another All-American consideration time in the 50 freestyle. Her split in the 400 freestyle relay was also a personal best.