Making a splash
La Plata boys win title at 3A-2A-1A South Region swim meet
La Plata and Hunting- town each earned team wins at the Class 3A-2A1A South Region swim championships Saturday at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Cen- ter in Landover.
La Plata won the boys title with 322 points, 14 ahead of runner-up Lackey. Calvert and Hunting- town tied for third place with 292 points and Mc- Donough (166) grabbed fifth.
In the girls competition, Huntingtown earned 359 points while county rival Calvert took second with 308 points. La Plata (283), Lackey (180) and West- lake (173) rounded out the top-five finishers.
“Oh absolutely [I’m ex- cited]. The girls were awesome,” Hurricanes head coach Kandia Spain said. “They worked hard and it really paid off.”
The top two finishers qualify for state champion- ships this weekend at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center in College Park, while the rest of the qualifiers are determined by their times.
“I am really proud of these kids as they were able to see all of their hard work and dedication pay off today,” Calvert head coach Bryan Dryer wrote in an email to Southern Maryland Newspapers. Dryer said his team set 10 new school records and had 27 PRs. “[And] many of them were significant drops from the SMAC meet. To [accomplish all this] from last week was really a great feeling for the team.”
The Warriors won 7 of 11 events and were paced by Liam and Conor Vien- neau, who each won two events. Liam, a senior, took the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute 50.40 seconds and won the 100 butterfly in 56.18 seconds, which was a new regional record. It eclipsed the 59.06 set by former Warrior Ethan Chung last year.
Conor Vienneau won the 100 backstroke (55.73) and the 200 individual medley in 2:05.16. The latter mark by the fresh- man set a new record, shattering the 2:04.58 set by Patuxent Chris Kahl in 2014.
La Plata also won the 200 medley relay (1:45.44) and the 200 free relay (1:34.77), both of which were new regional records. The Warriors also took third in the 400 free relay (3:53.22).
La Plata freshman Kris- topher Schueller set a new regional record when he won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.99, which beat the old mark of 1:08.33 set by Joseph Watson of Hun- tingtown in 2016.
Calvert had nine top-3 finishes. Freshman Ben Voelker placed second in the 200 IM (2:08.58) and 100 back (56.20) and junior Walter Kuhaneck was runner-up in the 50 free (23.51) and 100 fly (57.37), while the 200 medley relay team (1:47.02) and 200 free relay (1:37.51) teams also placed second. Connor Gleason was third in the 50 free (23.53) and 100 free (53.35) and Paul Goldsmith placed third in the 100 breast (school record 1:07.59).
The Hurricanes received a win from Connor Currie in the 500 free (5:06.71), who also took third in the 200 IM (2:10.68). Huntingtown was also runner-up in the 200 medley relay (1:52.60) and 400 free relay (3:46.65). Ethan Williams (200 free, 1:55.87), Watson (100 breast, 1:06.86) and Carlos Balazs (500 free, 5:37.96), who was under the weather, each added one second-place finish, while Michael Dunphy was third in the 100 back (1:04.53).
“The boys were awesome,” Spain said. “We had a few glitches in the road and some kids who weren’t feeling 100 percent. They all worked the best they could. I couldn’t ask for more; they gave everything.”
Lackey won the 400 free relay (3:42.01) and Shaun Butler’s victory in the 100 free (53.26), four
one-hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Jermaine Thompson. Garrett Batchelor was third in the 200 free (2:02.18) and 500 free (5:48.56), while Brett Culhane placed third in the 100 fly (59.79). Lack- ey’s 200 free relay was also third (1:38.86).
Marc Landicho of Mc- Donough claimed a win in the 50 free in a regional record 23.48, three one-hundredths of a second ahead of Kuhaneck.
On the girls side, the Hurri- canes won seven events.
Junior Sarah Cole took top spot in the 100 fly (1:07.18) and 500 free (5:34.80), while Olivia Cole (200 IM, 2:36.36), Rebekah Johnson (100 back, 1:02.25, which broke her own record from last year).
Huntingtown’s 200 medley relay (record 2:03.73) and 400 free relay (regional record 4:11.07) teams also swam to wins. Oliv- ia Cole (200 free, 2:20.12) was second, while Johnson (50 free, 25.71), Margaret Foulkes (500 free, 5:59.94) and Katie Wojcieszek (100 breast, 1:20.01) all placed third.
“It’s been really hard keeping them motivated,” Spain said, referring to the team competing in just one meet — the SMAC championships last weekend — since the third week of Jan- uary. “It’s been very hard practicing, practicing, practicing but they’ve managed to maintain [their high level] and it’s been awesome.”
For Calvert girls, sophomore Melissa Jacobs won the 100 breast in a regional record 1:11.88. The Cavaliers also had runner-up finishes in the 200 medley relay (2:05.23, which beat previous PR by five sec- onds), 200 free relay (1:56.40) and 400 free relay (4:39.41). Amara Soffos (100 back, 1:07.03). Teagan Gates (100 fly, 1:22.47) and Jacobs (100 free, 59.50) each had third-place finishes.
La Plata won the 200 free relay in a regional record 1:51.01 and Megan Schueller was runner-up in the 50 free (25.48) and 100 free (57.75). The 200 medley relay team (2:06.82) and Sar- ah LaBarbera (200 IM, 2:40.25) each placed third.
Emily Decker won a pair of events for Westlake and set two new regional marks in the process. The junior won the 50 free in 25.37, breaking the old mark of 26.21 set by Gabrielle Griffon of Friendly in 2012. And her 100 free time of 56.26 eclipsed the 56.66 by Johnson set a year ago.
Patuxent was led by senior Mackenzie Morgan, who won the 200 free in a regional record 2:09.41 and was second in the 500 free (5:40.78).
Lackey’s Calla Ziebell was second in the 200 IM (2:39.58) and third in the 100 back (1:13.12). The Chargers placed third in the 400 free relay in 4:44.48.
Sophomore Bailey Duffield of McDonough was third in the 200 free (2:24.83) and the Rams took third in the 200 free relay in 1:58.48.