Division-I swim team soars above lower-ranked opponents
DEC. 4, OLNEY AQUATIC CENTER—
The Blair swim team kicked off its season today with a non-divisional tri-meet against the Paint Branch Panthers and the Magruder Colonels. Because the meet does not factor into the participating teams' divisional records, official scores were not calculated and only parts of the meet were scored. Based on the events that were tallied, the Blazer boys led 103-39 against Paintbranch and 104-42 against Magruder, while the girls were ahead 35-8 and 36-18, respectively.
As those scores indicate, the Division-I Blazers easily outperformed the Division-II Colonels and Division-III Panthers. The boys' team took first in both of its relays, and powerful swims from freshman talents such as Sam Bullard-Siskin (200 Medley Relay, 100 Back), Pascal Yang (200 Free, 200 Medley Relay) and Yang Yang (100 Free, 200 IM) helped the Blazers secure top finishes in nearly every event.
The Blazer girls were not as obviously dominant as the boys, but they still swam a solid meet. Junior co-captain Kelsey Dean was the star of the day, breaking Blair's 200 IM record with a time of 2:26:17. Junior Vanessa Penney also shined in her freestyle events, and freshman Elissa Fischel had a solid first meet.
Though no Blair divers took first or second, Coach David Swaney was pleased with the talent they displayed. Blair's sole girl diver performed well even though she had never dived before, Swaney reported, and "the Sams”—juniors Sam Rosenthal and Sam Silsbee—"did great.”
According to Swaney, today's meet represented a solid start to the season. "Most people had a decent meet,” Swaney said, and he feels that the team will be able to trim its times even more as the season progresses. "We're looking great,” Swaney said. "Our boys are deep, and our girls are as good as last year.”
The Blazers' next meet will occur at the Montgomery Aquatic Center on Saturday, December 11 at 11:45 a.m. The Blazers will be facing their first divisional opponents of the season, the Walter Johnson Wildcats.
Kristina Yang. Kristina Yang is 1/10 of the Blair girls' volleyball team. When not on the court, she most likely to be running away from Magnet math homework, trying to pay off her three speeding/redlight tickets, or feeding her bubble tea addiction. She would also like to … More »
No comments.
Please ensure that all comments are mature and responsible; they will go through moderation.