Swimming beats defending champs, rise to 4-0

JAN 11, MARTIN LUTHER KING SWIM CENTER-

Blair's boys' swimming team remains undefeated after beating Walter Johnson High School (WJ), the defending County champions. An even match tested the Blazers, but the boys pulled out ahead, 93-76.

The two teams alternated winning events, keeping the score even and the competition high throughout the meet. After a strong start in the medley relay, Blair lost its second and third events, the 200-yard individual medley and the 200-yard freestyle. The Blazers bounced back in the 50-yard freestyle when seniors David Madej, Pete Johnson and junior Gordon Su swept the event. The Blair boys also won the 100-yard butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke to make a comeback after the Wildcats swept diving.

Two of WJ's boys placed first and second in last year's metro area diving competition, and the Blazers were outscored on the board 10-3.

Blair's girls also had a taste of success this weekend. WJ was equal competition for Blair's struggling squad, and the girls lost by less than they expected to, according to senior Leah Cowdrey. WJ beat Blair 95.5-75.5, but the meet was an "inspiration" for the Blazers, said Cowdrey.

The girls' success made for their closest meet of the season, despite the absence of junior Elizabeth Finn, whose dependable diving victories earn critical points for the team. Seniors Ilene Arnsdorf and Jessica Stamler took second and fourth respectively in girls' diving.

The girls' medley relay team has had a hard time keeping up with other Division I teams this season, but they beat the Wildcats in their first event of the day. Junior Abby Graber, who was returning from a shoulder injury, swam a strong first leg of the medley event. The girls also won the 100-yard butterfly when freshman Diana Frey swam one of her best times of the year, and freshman Kelsey Dean placed first in the 500-yard freestyle event.

Cowdrey said that the girls adopted a new attitude, which led them to victory in several events. "We don't walk into any meet thinking that it's going to be easy or that we're going to win without trying. Since we're in Division I and we haven't been for a long time, we expect a challenge," she said. "Even though we lost, we stepped up to that challenge."