Boys' swimming prances past Patriots

JAN. 14, GAITHERSBURG AQUATIC CENTER -

The boys' swim team outswam Wootton High School today, beating the Patriots 95-76, bringing them to a still-undefeated record of 3-0. Unfortunately, the girls' team did not fare as well and had a crushing defeat, 60-111, bringing their record to 1 - 2. The boys swam a strong and consistent meet, while the girls had mediocre times and showed erratic strength.

Once again, the Blazer boys remained in first place throughout the entire meet, even though Wootton is one of Division II's top competitors. The team outscored Wootton in 8 of the 10 events, and was never less than 6 points ahead. Several of the boys got their best times, according to coach David Swaney, and the team scored seven first place victories.

The 200 Medley Relay team of sophomores Sam Bullard-Sisken and Eddie Tang, junior captain Robert Feasley and senior captain Tyler Wilchek took a commanding four second lead in the first event, beginning Blair's instant and unrelenting lead.

Wilchek went on to take two more firsts in the meet, in the 50 Free and 100 Free, where he beat out top Wootton swimmer Jason Cross. The two races were extremely close, with Wilchek pulling narrow victories of 0.41 and 0.04 seconds, respectively. However, Blair could not compete with Wootton in the two long distance freestyle events, the 200 and 500, where Wootton won by 3 seconds and an incredible 33.89 seconds.

Tied with Wilchek for individual victories in the meet was sophomore Yang Yang, who took easy wins in both the 200 IM and 100 Back. Feasley took a four second victory over Wootton in the 100 Fly, and Tang won by three seconds in the 100 Breast.

While the boys' team fared extremely well against Wootton, swimming in either close races or easy victories, the girls' team fought a losing battle against the Patriots. In a strange coincidence, the girls' team never had the lead and remained at least six points behind Wootton throughout the meet - the exact opposite of the Blazer boys.

The girls only managed three victories this meet. Senior captain Anna Chiplis took first in 100 Fly, followed immediately by freshman Melanie Snail in a close 100 Free race, where she won by under half a second. Finally, senior Kelsey Dean took first in the 500 Free.

According to Swaney, the meet went surprisingly well considering the location. "This pool is famously slow. We usually have a terrible meet here, and we didn't have a terrible meet." Junior captain Sally Chang agreed, "The pool didn't lend itself to best times at all." The Gaithersburg Aquatic Center is old and has virtually no space for visitors, leading to a cramped swimming area.

Swaney especially commended the boys' team for not letting the pool slow them down. "David Goode had a great time in the 500 Free and the last relay," he said, adding that it was unexpected but amazing that Wilchek beat Cross in the two free events. Swaney also pointed out that "[Dean] swam a great 500 race. [Senior] Minh Huynh-Le had a good back and [freshman] Rachel Nicholson had a good breaststroke."

The girls' loss in this meet hurts Blair's chances of moving back up to Division I next year. "Winning this meet would have increased our chances of moving up next year. This shows that Wootton may move up. However, staying in Division II is probably good for us," said Chang. The Blair team was moved down to Division II after last year.

Blair's next meet will be against Damascus at the Montgomery Aquatic Center on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.