Girls meet
The Poolesville High School girls swim team repeated as champions this past week at the 3A/2A/1A Maryland High School State Championships, registering 370 points to finish just over 100 points ahead of Easton High School, which earned second place honors for the second year in a row.
Poolesville’s title was an all-around team effort, with the squad sweeping all three relays and putting a pair of swimmers in the top eight in 7 of 8 individual swim events. Fanny Wu was the lone individual gold medalist, with a 59.16 in the 100 fly, but joined top sprinter Julia Wang (second place finishes in the 100 and 200 freestyles) on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Wang’s individual finishes were just behind double-winner Megan Cowan of C. Milton Wright High School. The senior clocked in at 1:57.62 and 54.32 to win the 200 and 100 freestyles.
The other double individual winner and lone record holder on the day was Thomas Jefferson High School senior Eliza Manning, who set an individual standard in the 200 IM (2:04.82) and later came back to win the 100 breast in 1:04.45.
Boys meet
The Poolesville High School boys took home their fifth consectuive 3A/2A/1A MPSSAA Swimming Championship this past weekend behind a strong display of all-around depth. Despite winning just one event (the 200 free relay) and registering just four other top-three finishes, Poolesville totaled 325 total points over the course of the contest, more than 125 points over second-place Rockville High School.
Similarly named, but unrelated, Justin and Jisu Kim led the way for Poolesville, registering four top-five individual finishes and swimming critical legs across all three relays. Jisu, a freshman, anchored the winning 200 free relay (with teammates Connor Dunathan, David Umansky, and Theodore Jagodits), touching first in 1:29.54.
The swimmer of the meet, however, was Griffin Alaniz of Rockville. The senior was unquestionably the fastest swimmer in the pool each of the four times he hit the water, including a 22.67 fly leg in the 200 medley relay to blow by the field and secure a win for Rockville. He came back later to run away with the 100 free (46.45) and 100 back (51.12), setting a pair of state records in the process, as well as anchor the winning 400 freestyle relay.
Two other swimmers were double individual winners on the day: Ryan O’Leary of Damascus High School and John Pressly of Middletown High School. O’Leary won the 200 IM thanks to a great back-half in 1:55.20, and later led a 1-2 Damascus finish in the 100 breast with a 57.65. Pressly took home gold in the 200 free (1:44.91) and 100 fly (52.21).
Freshman Nathan Watts of Rockville earned one individual (500 free, 4:47.68) and two relay (200 medley, 1:39.53, and 400 free, 3:18.43).