Wilchek explodes past divisional competition

Sophomore Tyler Wilchek defied even his own expectations at the division I championship on Sat. Feb. 14. Seeded fifth, Wilchek surged to a second-place finish in each of his best events, the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke.

Wilchek broke the 23-second mark for his first time ever in the 50 free, with a time of 22.93 seonds. "I didn't really think [breaking 23 seconds] was reachable this season," said Wilchek, whose times have dropped significantly since he began the season as Blair's most powerful male swimmer.

The girls' team reached a high note probably not to be repeated in the postseason two weeks earlier, with a win against Watkins Mill on Jan. 31, their first in three years. The Blair girls have battled for three seasons as the weaker side of mismatched boys' and girls' teams, finally beating the Wolverines 97-75.

The girls placed first in six out of 11 events against Watkins Mill and recorded three metro-qualifying times, one individual by sophomore Diana Frey in the 50 free, and the other two in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.

At divisionals, the boys recorded a handful of fourth and fifth place finishes to secure a fifth place (out of six teams) finish and the girls finished last. Junior captain Ari Halper-Stromberg emerged from a season of relative obscurity with performances in the 100 fly and 200 free that were each four seconds under the Metro cutoffs.

Swimmers on the boys' (2-4) and girls' (1-5) teams must now seek individual glory in this week's county meet and at the metro meet, the biggest high school swimming event of the season. Wilchek and freshman David Vuong are each expected to final (place in the top 16) at metros. Other individual Metro qualifiers include senior captain Robin Hernandez, junior captain Patrick Detzner and sophomores Kelsey Dean and Bryan Erickson.