Athletes of the Meet - Oakton

Congratulations to Elizabeth Kuhlkin, Maddy Grosz, and Owen Dyson on being named athletes of the meet this week for their performances against Oakton.

Elizabeth had her strongest meet of the season, winning both of her events in state-qualifying times. She also had strong splits in both the 200 free and 400 free relays, leading her team to victory in the 200. Elizabeth is poised to accomplish great things for the team as championship season starts.

Maddy Grosz had another dominant performance in dive tonight. She was "on" throughout the night, earning one of the highest dual meet scores of her storied career. Her final score of 246.50 was less than 10 points off of her own school record. She will look to set the 11-dive record later this season, which is certainly within her grasp!

Owen had the strongest single meet of his young career tonight. He had state-qualifying times in the 50 and 100 free, winning both events. He also nearly completes an improbable comeback in the 400 free relay, pulling to within a fraction of a second against Oakton after starting several body lengths behind.

Competing against Oakton usually brings out the best in our team, and tonight's meet certainly fit that expectation. There many athletes who posted best times or otherwise distinguished themselves in a meaningful way, including:

• Maggie Shi -- Maggie continued her break-out season with yet another strong performance tonight. She dropped more than a second off her previous-best 200 IM time, and was just off her time in the fly from last week. The sky is certainly the limit for what she can accomplish this year!
• Regan Hau -- Regan also continued her strong season by setting a new personal-best in the 200 IM. Regan also posted the fastest 100 breast of her high school career. She will certainly be a force to be reckoned with when districts, regions and states come around!
• Hannah Carmen -- Hannah took her 500 free out fast in the hopes of earning a state cut in the event. While she fell short of that goal, she did earn a region-qualifying time in the event for the first time. She will have plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to make that state cut. 
• Anabel Huffstutler -- Anabel also had a strong 500 free tonight, posting a time nearly four seconds faster than her previous best. Annabel is an incredibly versatile swimmer who provides depth in a number of different events. 
• Lilly Jacobs -- Lilly swam the fastest regular-season 100 breaststroke in her career tonight. She was aggressive and strong throughout the race, finishing a very strong fourth place.
• Erica Rice -- Erica continued her return to swimming after an early-season injury by posting a strong lead-off leg in the 200 medley. Her 100 back time was also very strong. She continues to work hard every day to get back to where she was prior to her injury.
• Lilly Allred -- Lilly is also returning from an early-season injury. Her hard work continues to pay off as she dropped nearly four seconds from last week's 200 free time. Lilly is beginning to approach top form at the right time, with districts just a few weeks away.
• Camille Jacobs -- Camille competed in her very first high school meet tonight, successfully completing a full six-dive program. Camille is new to the sport but works hard every day is improving significantly from week to week. She has a can-do attitude that helps her grow in her abilities. 
• Women's 200 Medley Relays -- Both the "A" and "B" medley relays earned cut times this week. The "A" relay of Alexandra Dicks, Anna Keating, Darby Galbraith, and Morgan Howat earned a state cut and were only 0.6 seconds from the All-American Consideration  cut. The "B" relay of Erica Rice, Natalie Lauer, Maggie Shi and Ela Miralao posted a region-qualifying time as well. While we are only allowed one medley relay at regions, it is impressive to have so much depth!
• Benham Cobb -- Benham had a terrific time in the 100 freestyle, posting a time less than 0.5 seconds off of his personal best. He was also a key contributor to the 400 free relay, which just missed winning the event.
• John Klein -- John followed up a very strong week at practice by shaving nearly three full seconds off of his previous personal-best 100 fly. He also posted a strong leg in the 200 medley relay, helping his team post the best time in that event all season. 
• Ethan Asner -- Ethan was another key contributor to the 200 medley relay's success. His split was the first time he broke the 23-second barrier in his career.
• Michael Reed -- Michael followed up last week's athlete-of-the meet performance with another impressive performance. Tonight's 100 fly time set a new personal-best for Michael who continues to grow throughout the season.
• Aidan Jones -- Aidan joined the parade of athletes setting personal-best times with his performance in the 500. Aidan also swam the second-fastest 200 of his career to start the meet.
• Jackson Miller -- Jackson had an impressive performance in the 200 freestyle tonight, missing out on first place by 0.5 seconds. The second-half of his swim was impressive as he came from behind to very nearly win the event in the last few yards!
• Brayden Philpott -- Brayden posted strong times in both the 500 freestyle and 100 breast. While he fell short of his goal of a state cut in the 500, he did post his fastest regular-season swim in that event. 
• Collin Guo -- Collin was yet another young swimmer who set a personal-best in his event tonight. Collin's time of 1:02.63 was faster than any other time in his career.
• Will Bush -- Will Bush is quietly emerging as one of the most improved athletes on the team. He continues to set new standards for himself each week.He dropped time in the 200 IM for the third-consecutive week.