The Prince-Mont Swim League is set to open its dual meet season this Saturday, with 40 teams ranging in divisions from A to G getting ready to make their season debut. Often overshadowed by the Montgomery County Swim League and Northern Virginia Swim League due to its smaller size, the PMSL has produced some of the top swimmers in the area over the last decade. It is comprised of teams from seven counties including Prince George’s, Montgomery, Charles, Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert and the District of Columbia.
Take a look at what to watch for in the PMSL this season:
Tiger Sharks continue hunt for divisional titles . . .
For the past five seasons, Theresa Banks has been on an unprecedented run, winning 25 straight dual meets and recording four first place finishes in the Division A championship. The Tiger Sharks will vie for the top spot in the league’s premier division again this year.
Gabrielle Standfield, 13, owns three league records, in the 10&under girls’ 25-meter butterfly, 11-12 50 butterfly and the 12&under 100 individual medley. Her 50 butterfly time of 31.27 would have placed first in the 13-14 50 butterfly at divisionals last summer, and she will likely be chasing Morgan Hill’s league record of 29.63 over the next two years.
Theresa Banks will also be lead by Sean Barbour and Niyette Johnson in the senior division, 9-10s Ceyon Young, Christian Jackson and Joanna Mofor and 14-year-old Leah Broome, all of whom are coming off of strong seasons last summer.
The Tiger Sharks begin their season against Smallwood Village, who moved up to Division A after winning Division B last season. Last season, their next closest competitor, Takoma Park, was 132.5 points behind them at divisionals.
A family affair . . .
Although Whitehall lacks the depth of Theresa Banks, the Wahoos have star siblings who can help them challenge Theresa Banks reign. The Hayburn family, consisting of now 11-year-old Joseph, 13-year-old Patrick, 15-year-old Jimmy, and 17-year-old Annie, led Whitehall to a third place finish in A in 2014.
Annie broke the league record in the 50 butterfly three times last season and her record stands at 29.29. Her butterfly time was three seconds faster than any other 15-18 girl a year ago, while her 100 IM time was three seconds ahead of her next closest competitor.
At all-stars last season, the Hayburn family won seven individual events, and the relay of Joseph, Jimmy, Patrick and Colin Snyder won the mixed-age 200 freestyle at all-stars. Although the three boys will have a challenge this season competing in new age groups, they will still be able to help Whitehall compete against the best teams in the league.
A new start in a new division . . .
Although Adelphi Rec. was bumped out of Division A after a last place finish last season, it will be one of the strongest teams in Division B this season. Led by 13-year-old Keyla Brown, who broke the league record in the 11-12 girls’ 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke last season, Adelphi should have the depth to make a splash in its new division this year.
Brown, who dominated the 11-12s last season, enters her new age group with a 50 freestyle time of 28.59, which would have placed first at all-stars in the 13-14 age-group by over a second in 2014. Meanwhile, her backstroke time of 32.58, two seconds faster than any other 11-12 girl in the league last season, would have placed second. Barring no improvement, she is immediately counted among the best 13-14s in the league.
Brown’s teammate Nathan Widman finished fourth at all-stars last season in the 25 breast and was the highest ranked 7-year-old finisher. At the top of his age-group this season, Widman will be one of the top 8&unders in the league. Along with the help of Jeanette Betke, 14, and Taylor Witte, 18, Adelphi will try and fend off Greenbelt Municipal, which finished second at the Division B championship last summer and will be among its biggest challengers this season.
Only getting stronger at the top . . .
After dominating Division E last season, Severn Crossing jumped up two divisions and will be swimming in C this summer.
Its top two age groups, the 11-12s and 13-14s, gained new swimmers that will only make them stronger this season. Morgan Steele, Alexis Council and Sydnee Washington, all of whom had multiple top finishes at all-stars last year, will be joining the likes of Hailey Steele in the 11-12 age group this year.
Meanwhile, Zohra Hall, Jermaine Thompson Jr. and Mikayla Salmon will lead the 13-14 age group.
Moving on up . . .
Accokeek accomplished a feat that no other team in the PMSL, even top ranked Theresa Banks, was able to do. At their divisionals meet last year, the Gators scored over 400 points, which helped them jump up two divisions from Division F to Division D for this season.
At divisionals last year, Accokeek won 22 of the 49 events, including two of the relays. The last time the Gators were above Division F was in 2006, when they competed in Division E. Accokeek has top swimmers in every age group that will help them go against the best in Division D this summer.