Media coverage from States

Both the men's and women's teams earned a little media coverage this past weekend at States. Here are the links in cased you missed them ...

1. Washington Post covers women's State championship
2. Sun Gazette covers both women's and men's teams at States (they even included a picture of the State Champions unlike the Post ...)

Women win States!! Men are runners-up!!

Congratulations to both the women's and men's teams on their fantastic finishes at States this weekend. The women won Madison's first-ever state title with 230 points (64 points more than second-place Robinson), while the men edged out Oakton for second place with 197 points. This weekend was the most successful weekend of swimming in Madison history!

Despite not winning a single event the women were able to pile up the points with 11 top-8 finishes among our 13 entries. Special recognition goes out to Madeline LaPorte for her performance in the 200 freestyle, where she earned her Automatic All-American status. Freshmen Anna Keating and Elizabeth Kuhlkin established themselves among the very best in Virginia with two top-8 finishes each (Keating placed 2nd in the 100 breaststroke and 3rd in the 200 IM while Kuhlkin finished 5th in the 100 freestyle and 6th in the 50 freestyle). Madison Grosz rounded out the wave of top-8 freshmen talent by placing 6th in the dive competition.

The men's team completed its shocking season by relying on incredible depth to finish in second place. This is the third time the team finished second in the state in the past nine years. Like the girls, the men did not have single first-place finish. Instead, they relied on contributions from eight different athletes top pull away from Oakton, who finished third. Top contributors included Jack Galbraith who finished 4th in the 100 backstroke and 8th in the 100 butterfly, and Abraham Zimmerman who finished 7th in both the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle events.

Both teams are incredibly deep and retain nearly all state competitors next season (only 2 competitors out of 16 are graduating) so the future is extraordinarily bright for Madison Swim and Dive!

A little media coverage..

The team has received some media coverage over the past couple of weeks that you may not have seen. Here is a sampling...

1. Sun Gazette covers the girl's conference championship (photos were posted here)
2. Washington Post covers the girl's region championship
3. Vienna Patch covers the girl's region championship
4. Sun Gazette covers the girl's region championship
5. Sun Gazette covers Greg Duncan's region title

One thing that I think is interesting is how much of the coverage gives short shrift to the team aspect of our success. Reporters love the individual exploits of event winners. What they often miss is the larger story of how a group of talented athletes can combine into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It may be cliche but it is true of our success here at Madison. And that is why we often get overlooked by others even as we establish our team as one of the most dominant in the area.

So keep up the good work. Compete hard for your teammates. And we'll gladly succeed and excel in relative obscurity. And if people choose to underestimate the talent we have then they will discover the error of their assessment soon enough!

Women Take Region Title While Men Finish 3rd

Madison's swim and dive program enjoyed one of its most successful weekends in school history this past weekend. The women's team won the school's first-ever 6A North Region title while the men finished a very strong third place. The women won the meet with a score of 229 points, 24 points more than runner-up Chantilly. The men finished third just 6 points behind Oakton. There were a number of notable performances during the weekend.

The meet started with three divers continuing Madison's tradition of diving success. Greg Duncan won the region title, while his brother, Sam, and Madison Grosz took 5th place respectively in the men's and women's competition.

The swimmers picked up from there with 2 automatic All-American swims, 6 All-American consideration times, and 6 new school records.

 Automatic All-Americans included:

• Madeline LaPorte in the 200 freestyle 
• Anna Keating in the 100 breaststroke

All-American consideration swims were posted by:

• The women's 200 medley relay (Rachael Holp, Anna Keating, Elizabeth Kuhlkin, and Anna Miller)
• The women's 200 freestyle relay (Julia Downing, Anna Miller, Anna Keating, and Madeline LaPorte)
• The women's 400 freestyle relay (Madeline LaPorte, Elizabeth Kuhlkin, Julia Downing, and Rachael Holp)
• The men's 400 freestyle relay (Abraham Zimmerman, Cole Dyson, Jack Galbraith, and Patrick Kuhlkin) 
• Anna Keating in the 200 IM
• Jack Galbraith in the 100 backstroke

New school records were also set in:

• The women's 200 medley relay
• The women's 200 freestyle relay
• The women's 400 freestyle relay
• The men's 200 medley relay (Jack Galbraith, Ian Cobb, Abraham Zimmerman, and Kyle Wu)
• Madeline LaPorte in the women's 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly
• Anna Keating in the women's 100 breaststroke 

Next opponent: The team's attention now turns to states in two weeks where the women will look to hold of Chantilly for a perfect season and state title. The men will also be competing for an opportunity to avenge their close loss to Oakton and claim one of the two top spots in the state. The meet will begin on Thursday, February 16 with diving at Oak Marr and will finish on Friday, February 17 with swimming at George Mason University. Be sure to come out cheer on the Warhawks!

Athletes of the Meet - Liberty Conference Championships

This week's conference championships featured so many personal-best swims and performances that it is impossible to name an athlete of the meet. It is the combined performances of our team that made the difference in this meet. That is why the coaching staff has decided to name the entire team as athletes of the meet for this week.

There are several athletes, though, that deserve some special recognition for their achievements this weekend:

• Greg Duncan -- Greg set a personal-best score in the dive competion Thursday night with a score of 594.10. His performance was the second-best score in Madison history. And Greg is now setting his sights on eclipsing Grayson Campbell's record set at last year's state competition. Greg's performance easily qualified him for All-American consideration where he will be in the running for national diver of the year.
• Anna Keating -- Anna took her first Liberty Conference Championship by storm by setting two new school and conference records. Her times of 2:03.51 in the 200 IM and 1:02.16 in the 100 breaststroke broke the previous records by nearly two seconds each! She also earned automatic All-American status in the breast and All-American consideration for her 200 IM.
• Madeline LaPorte -- Madeline set two new school records as well this weekend. Her times of 1:49.98 in the 200 free (set during preliminaries) and 56.12 in the 100 butterfly broke her own records. Her 200 freestyle also earned All-American consideration status and established a new personal-best for her.
• Elizabeth Kuhlkin -- Elizabeth also asserted herself as a force in the Liberty Conference and North Region with breakout swims in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. Elizabeth broke the previous 100 freestyle record, which was set in 2002 by Allison Cameron, in a time of 51.87. She also finished a strong third in the 50 freestyle.
• Cole Dyson -- Cole continued to improve his personal-best times in the 200 and 500 freestyle events throughout the weekend. His splits in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays were also impressive and helped both relays be successful.
• Patrick Kuhlkin -- Patrick had a breakout weekend as well with his times in the 200 freestyle and 100 freestyle. He earned his first career state cut with his time in the 200. He is also just off of the state cut in the 100, which he hopes to meet at next week's region meet.
• Anna Sullivan -- Anna made her first careet state cut as well by posting a personal-best time of 5:11.80 in the 500 freestyle. She also broke the one-minute mark in her 100 backtroke for the first time in her career. Anna provides some important depth as the team moves to regions and states.
• Women's 200 medley relay -- The team consisting of Rachael Holp, Anna Keating, Elizabeth Kuhlkin and Anna Miller not only set the conference and school record, but they also earned All-American consideration status. Their time of 1:46.09 broke the previous school record by nearly three seconds!
• Women's 400 freestyle relay -- The team consisting of Madeline LaPorte, Elizabeth Kuhlkin, Julia Downing and Rachael Holp set a new team and conference record with a time of 3:30.01. Not only that but the team earned All-American consideration status with that swim.
• Men's 400 freestyle relay -- The team consisting of Abraham Zimmerman, Cole Dyson, Jack Galbraith, and Patrick Kuhlkin set a new conference record with a time of 3:09.78. The team just missed All-American status but will look to improve their time and meet that standard next week at regions.

Liberty Conference Championship Results

Congratulations to both the men's and women's teams for an incredible Liberty Conference Championship Meet this weekend. The men finished a very strong third while the women won their first title since 2010! There were so many personal bests, team records, conference records and All-American times that it was difficult to keep up. The team finished the meet with 8 new school records, 5 new conference records, 4 All-American consideration swims, 1 automatic All-American swim and 1 All-American consideration diving score.

Next opponent: The team will look to continue its success next week at the 6A North Region Championships at Oak Marr.

Conferences Psych Sheet

The psych sheet for tomorrow night's Liberty Conference preliminaries is available here. Take a look and see what times you need to achieve to be competitive.

Meets cannot be won at preliminaries but they can certainly be lost. Keep in mind that the top 16 places score and that heats are locked. So if you qualify 8th tomorrow then the worse you can do at finals is 8th place. But if you qualify 9th then the best you can do is 9th no matter how well you do at finals. So the more people we place in the top 8 the better it is for us on Saturday.

My advice is to rest up tonight and come ready to go fast tomorrow. It's perfectly reasonable to bring your speed suits for preliminaries -- especially if you're currently seeded near the 8th spot. Treat tomorrow like finals and Saturday should be a good night for us all.

Rest up and see you tomorrow at 3:15 for the bus!

Conference Meet Sheet Available

The meet sheet for this week's Liberty Conference Championship is now available.

Those in the meet should plan on attending practice as normal this week. All practices will be at the pool. Weight room workouts are canceled for this week. We will meet for the bus at 3:30 on Friday to head out to the pool. Our warm-ups are at 4:30 so be prepared for a quick turnaround once we get to the pool. It should be an exciting meet so get ready to go fast!!

Athletes of the Meet - Hayfield

Congratulations to Madeline LaPorte and Kyle Wu on being named athletes of the meet for our meet against Hayfield.

Madeline earned her recognition for her strong performances in the relays as well as the 500 freestyle. Madeline's time of 5:03.52 set a new Madison school record, breaking the previous record held by Laura Kellan by more than a second. Madeline is well-positioned for another breakout performance at conferences next week.

Kyle was named athlete of the meet for the men on the basis of his performance in the 50 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. Kyle posted his best individual swim in the 50 freestyle by posting a time of 0:22.51. He also provided strong splits in all three relays to help power his teams to victories in each event.

There were several other athletes who deserve honorable mention for their performances this week:

1. Luke Wilson -- Luke demonstrated what hard work can do during the week by posting his best-ever 50 freestyle tonight, and second-best 100 breaststroke. He works hard every day at practice and it shows in his times.
2. Quinn Hughes -- Quinn continued his run of strong performances by posting a personal-best time of 2:05.04 in the 200 freestyle. In the past two weeks Quinn has continued to post personal-best times in every event he is placed in.
3. Jackson Miller -- Jackson is being recognized for his personal-best times in both the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle. Jackson's time in the 500 was the most impressive as he dropped an unbelievable 21 seconds off his previous best!
4. Sam Duncan -- Sam is being recognized not only for his continued success at diving but also for his breaststroke leg in the 200 medley relay. His time showed that Madison's divers are true athletes who can compete on the board and in the pool.
5. Lilly Jacobs -- Lilly posted her fastest high school time in the 100 breaststroke tonight, with a time of 1:15.39. She is fully healthy and ready to drop even more time next weekend at Conferences!
6. Ciara Barrett -- Ciara is being recognized for her willingness to step and face a challenge. When asked what event she wanted to compete in Ciara asked for a shot at the 200 IM, an event most people try to avoid. Her willingness to challenge herself is worthy of recognition.
7. Sophia Lee -- Sophia also took on a significant personal challenge tonight by volunteering for the 500. Next to the 200 IM, the 500 is the one event most people look on with fear. Sophia, though, took it on with a smile while posting a personal-best time in the event.
8. Heather Tuft -- Heather Tuft also set a personal-best time during the meet tonight. Her time of 2:29.65 in the IM was more than 3 seconds faster than her previous best. She will look to drop even more time next weekend at Conferences.

Hayfield Results

Congratulations to both the men's and women's swim and dive teams for their victories tonight against Hayfield. The men won their meet by a score of 230-84 while the women cruised to a 239.5-75.5 victory over the Hawks. Both teams dominated the meet with the men winning 11 events while the women won all 12. Both teams also swept the top two spots in each of the relays.

Next opponent: The Warhawks will look to continue their winning ways at the Liberty Conference Championships next weekend.

Preliminary Meet Sheets for Hayfield

The preliminary meet sheets for our meet against Hayfield are now available. We were able to put most of you in your top one or two choices, but not all. So please be sure to check your events so that you are prepared to do well. Meet for the bus at the front door by 4:30. And come ready to hang one on the Hawks!

Region and State Cuts

If you've been wondering what it takes to make the region and state meets then wonder no more! You can find the region cuts here and the state cuts here. Remember that the top six finishers at conferences automatically make regions, while the top 10 finishers at regions immediately qualify for states.

E-Award Recipients - McLean

Congratulations to Ciara Barrett and Joel Hines on earning their "E's" this week.

Ciara continues to be one of the hardest working members of the team day-in and day-out. She never gives up on a set or complains about how difficult a workout is. More importantly, she is dedicated to improving times and technique. And it shows in her times during the meet. Ciara is still relatively new to the sport of swimming and has come a long way since her first few days of practice with Madison. Her willingness to put forth maximum effort is what makes her an important member of the team and an example for anyone who wants to improve.

Joel is a quiet leader among the divers who is always ready to get to work each practice. Coach Massey points out that he is always the first person ready to get on the boards each practice. While he may be quiet on deck, Joel lets his hard work do the talking each week as he continues to provide valuable depth to the men's team. His good-natured personality and commitment to excellence will certainly be missed when he graduates this year.

Athletes of the Meet - McLean

Congratulations to Katie Rooney and Reece de Kramer on being named athletes of the meet for this week's meet against McLean!

Katie earned recognition not only for her strong performances in the pool this week but her continued hard work and leadership as captain this season. Katie set personal-best times in both the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Her time in the fly was nearly 4 full seconds faster than her previous best this season. More importantly, Katie demonstrates the kind of focus and hard work that makes good swimmers great. And she continues to provide steady leadership to the team both in and out of the pool.

Reece is being recognized for his outstanding times this week and his continued attention to detail during practices. Reece's time in the 100 freestyle was a personal-best 0:51.81 while his 100 backstroke continued his streak of sub-minute times. Just as important as his times in the water, though, is his work ethic during the week. Reece did a fantastic job of implementing some of the stroke mechanics he is learning in practice. And it showed in his times!

Congratulations go out to several other athletes who deserve honorable mention for their performances this week:

1. Anna Keating -- Anna continued her brilliant freshman season with extraordinary performances in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Her time in the 200 IM was the sixth fastest in Madison history -- and fastest ever in a dual meet -- while her time in the 100 breaststroke was a fraction off of her school-record. Anna is certainly primed for even better times as conferences, regions and states approach!
2. Garrett Smith -- Garrett had a very successful meet tonight, including a personal-best in the 200 IM. More importantly that his time was his finish, where he managed to out-touch the McLean swimmer next to him by a half-second for valuable points.
3. Ian Cobb -- Ian flashed his fierce competitiveness again by racing to the wall and out-touching his nearest rivals. Ian took out-touched the same swimmer from McLean in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke by a combined 0.65 seconds. The lesson learned here is that if Ian's close at the end you'd better watch out!
4. Michael Hynes -- Michael posted a season-best time in the 200 IM and was just off of his best time in the 100 back. More importantly, Michael stepped up when we needed him and took first place in the 100 backstroke.
5. Jacob Roth -- Jacob continued to establish himself as a key contributor to the team with strong performances in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle. He dropped nearly a full second in the back and an eye-popping 1.5 seconds in the free!
6. Ryan Straka -- Ryan celebrated senior night with a best-ever split in the 200 freestyle relay and a personal-best in the 100 butterfly. Ryan continues to work hard in practice and it shows in his times.
7. Jonathan Laredo -- Jonathan also took a big step forward during the meet with a 2.5 second drop in his 200 IM. What makes his accomplishment even more impressive is that he dropped so much time in what is easily one of the most grueling events in high school swimming.

McLean Results

Congratulations to the senior class of 2017 on a successful senior night meet against McLean!

The men's team won their meet by a score of 172.5-140.5 while the women cruised by a 186-129. The team continued to show their dominance by taking 8 out of 12 events in the men's meet and 9 out of 12 events in the women's meet. More importantly, the team's underclassmen continue to flex their muscles as 6 of the 12 individual winners were sophomores or younger. The youth movement was even more pronounced on the women's side where 4 of the 5 individual winners were freshmen!

Next opponent: The Warhawks will take on Hayfield next SATURDAY night at 6:00 at Lee District. (The meet is on Saturday night due to school closings for the inauguration on Friday.)

Preliminary Meet Sheet for McLean

Preliminary meet sheets for our meet against McLean are now available. Please take a look and come prepared to compete. Tomorrow night is senior night so let's try and give the seniors one final win over McLean for their careers! Meet for the bus at the main entrance at 7:15. And come ready to maul McLean!

"E" Award Recipients - Yorktown

Congratulations to Luke Wilson and Sam Duncan for earning their "E's" this week. Both of these young men demonstrate the kind of hard work and dedication to excellence that makes them and others around them better.

Luke is being recognized for a variety of reasons. The first is because of his dedication throughout winter break to make practices. But more importantly, Luke is always pushing himself to move up in his lane. Luke's desire to be at the front only challenges others in his lane to work harder to keep their spots. He is testament to the fact that working hard in practice helps more than just yourself. Our swimmers can certainly gain from Luke's example as they evaluate their own approach to practice.

Sam is being recognized for his continued support of his teammates. Coach Massey continues to rave about how helpful Sam is during practice in providing tips and advice to his fellow teammates. Sam's natural abilities certainly make him an important asset to the team. But it's his selfless attitude toward his teammates that have already made him an indispensable part of our team. We are extremely fortunate that Sam will be around to provide instruction and encouragement to the next generation of Madison divers.

Athletes of the Meet - Yorktown

Congratulations to Greg Duncan and Madison Grosz for being named athletes of the meet for our meet against Yorktown.

Greg was named athlete of the meet for his steady, consistent performance in diving. His score of 325.20 matches his career-best performance at Madison. Greg's commitments to USA Diving have kept him away from us for several weeks this season so it was good to have him back. He continues to provide the team with a scoring edge and will be a force to be reckoned with at conferences, regions and states!

Madison also earned recognition this week for her continued, steady performance in diving. She easily topped the 200-point barrier with a score of 228.10. With this performance Madison moves ever closer to the school record. And as a freshman it is clear that she will be a key contributor to the success of the team for several more years to come!

There were several other athletes that deserve honorable mention for their performances this week:

1. Anna Sullivan -- Anna had a very strong meet, especially in the 500 where she just missed the region cut.
2. Katie Rooney -- Katie posted a personal best in the 100 butterfly, and with a little more focus will almost certainly continue to lower her mark.
3. Rachael Holp -- Rachael also set a personal best in the 100 butterfly while taking second place in a time of 1:00.39.
4. Lilly Jacobs -- Lilly dropped nearly 4 seconds in her 200 IM as she also set a new personal best in one of the most demanding races in high school swimming.
5. Riley DeLacy -- Riley continues to work hard on improving her technique and it showed tonight in the 500 as she had perfect turns throughout the race.
6. Ian Cobb -- Ian demonstrated great competitiveness in both of his races, including third in the 200 IM and a commanding win in the 100 breaststroke.
7. Quinn Hughes -- Quinn did a great job of competing in the 500 for the first time at Madison. More importantly, he actively volunteered to fill in when one of his teammates was unable to compete in the 400 freestyle relay.

Yorktown Results

Both the men's and women's teams defeated Yorktown last night. The men won their meet by a score of 178-137 while the women defeated the Patriots by score 185-130. The men are now 5-2 while the women are a perfect 6-0. The women's victory is even more significant because they defeated the defending Liberty Conference champions.

Both teams continued to show significant top-end strength, with the men winning 9 out of 12 events and the women winning all 12! Several swimmers won two events, including Jack Galbraith (100 fly and 100 back), Madeline LaPorte (200 free and 100 fly), and Anna Keating (200 IM and 100 breast).

Next opponent: Next week the team celebrates senior night as they face-off against McLean at 8:30 at Oak Marr.

Preliminary Meet Sheet for Yorktown

The preliminary meet sheets for tomorrow night's meet against Yorktown are now available. Keep in mind that last-minute changes are to be expected so please be prepared to compete in any events you may be placed in. The weather does not appear to pose much (if any) threat so assume we're on as scheduled for tomorrow night. Meet for the bus at the main entrance at 4:45. And come ready to pound the Patriots!