Washingtonian Woods at Wheaton Woods
Division O is often thought of as the pit of MCSL, the lowest point that a team could go and where teams could ‘care less’ if they won or loss. Those people obviously have not had a run in with Washingtonian Woods where “we go hard in division O” has been the soundtrack of their summer.
They are fully aware that they are in the lowest division in the league, yet they are not letting titles restrain them from putting out fast times and having fun. Like other lower-division teams, they have difficulty filling events, but the ones who do come are ready and willing to put it all on the line for their team.
“The kids came up with the slogan on their own, so if they’re behind it, then I’m behind it,” said Washingtonian Woods Head Coach Scott Collins.
Washingtonian Woods is a small team, so spirit is important to retain an identity. At their relay carnival, in which they placed third behind Flower Hill and Wheaton Woods, they went all out, covering their bodies with their key-note slogan. To these swimmers, it does not matter if they are in A or O, all that matters is that they have a lane and a team that stands behind them.
They have been coached by Collins for over ten years, and he has molded together strong teams during his tenure. He is hoping to move his team up and avoid an eventual return to O. His sister, Katie Collins, joined him three years ago, and they have stood side-by-side on the deck as a dynamic head-assistant coach duo since.
For Wheaton Woods, this season has been historic. When the scores were read after the completion of the first meet, they could not believe it and, after the initial shock passed, were overwhelmed with excitement. A 147-point victory over Tanglewood in Week 1 tied the number of wins they had in the previous two seasons. Since that key win, they have not loss and do not plan to do so.
Both teams have very few club-level swimmers, making it difficult to be competitive with the upper-division powerhouse teams that are composed almost entirely of them. Despite this, they have been giving their opponents harsh times, enabling them to retain their undefeated records. The winner of this division is usually customarily given the golden ticket out of O, and with strong talent, they both looked poised to do so.
“To beat a team that came down from N would be a huge jump in the right direction,” Collins said. “We have been working to stay out of O and this team has the chemistry to do so.”
Sarah Marcolin,12, of Wheaton Woods has not lost a single individual race all season. Lillie Spivey, 16, of Washingtonian Woods has only lost one. Spivey has chosen to swim this season despite a unstable shoulder that will require surgery upon the completion of the season. Although her shoulder has caused her to scratch the occasional event, her fighting spirit has become a staple for her team to look up to.
“[Spivey] has been a role model to the younger kids in and out of the water for as long as I can remember, but swimming with an injury has really proved it,” said Collins. Spivey is one of the few swimmers that swim on a year-round club team.
Among the most competitive events should be the 13-14 boys’ events. Joseph Kilmer, 14, Gabriel Morales, 14, of Wheaton Woods and Ricky Ruiz, 14, of Washingtonian Woods will be within a couple of seconds in all of their events, with the closest race being between Kilmer and Ruiz in the 50 breast.
The relays are always a challenge for these two teams, and getting together enough swimmers to fill all eight relays is rare. In the 14 & under 175-meter free relay, their seed times separate these two teams by only two seconds.
Regardless of the outcome of this meet, it is guarantied that these two teams will be fighting just as hard as the top teams in the league, and having more fun doing so.
Calverton at Old Farm
Calverton enters this week as the division J leaders with a 3-0 record, but lying in wait is Old Farm, who is coming on strong at the end of the season and hopes to spoil their run when they face off this weekend. Through the first three weeks, Old Farm suffered just a single loss, an eight-point heart-breaker to Ashton in Week 2. They can put the sour taste of defeat behind them, however, by beating their division foe and taking control of division heading into the final two weeks of the divisional season.
“[We] may be the best in the division, but we need to show up and swim well in order to win,” said Calverton Head Coach Tony Murray. “We need to focus on not making silly mistakes and go out there and steal the close races.”
It’s the last home meet of the season for Old Farm and that means for their handful of seniors it will be an emotion-filled morning as they say goodbye to the place that has brought them so many great memories. It will be the last time they go all out and embrace themselves during ‘get weird’ and other cheering traditions. And it will be the last time they get to swim at home in front of all of their friends and family.
“This team been amazing, the attendance is high at practice and as a whole have really gotten a lot closer,” said Old Farm Head Coach Ali Benjamin.
Benjamin came back for her second year as head coach, along with the entire staff from last season. This, she says is key because they are able to get to know the swimmers and pay close attention to detail. Their first season brought them surprising success, a 4-1 record and second place finish in the division.
Calverton is known for their strong first half performances, while Old Farm has the depth and talent to make their second half catastrophic for their opponent.
“We know that if we have a lead after the first half, the kids will be pumped up and we can win,” Benjamin said.
In order for Calverton to keep their roll going, they will have to get off to a strong start, and with the addition of Claire Ryland, 11, and Kyle Ryland, 16, in the lineup for the just the second time this season, they could earn those crucial points to maintain the Chargers’s perfect record. At the one meet they did swim, Claire won every event that she was entered in while Kyle was right behind her with either a first- or second-place finish in every event that he swam.
Old Farm is seeded to win by 20 points, but with the addition of the Ryland’s who were not included in that calculation, the meet will be up for grabs.
It should be noted, however, that while Kyle Ryland is seeded first in the 15-18 boys’ 100-meter free, with a time of 58.80 seconds, Old Farm will be looking to pick up the 2-3-4 finish, with Patrick Johannessen, 16, James Orsak, 18, and Colby Zucker, 16, stacked up between 1.00.22 and 1.00.97. Zucker will be next to unstoppable in his best event, the 100 breast, where he is he is seeded eleven and a half seconds ahead of his closest competitor with a 1.07.11 and ranked second in the Coach’s Long Course Invite seeding list.
The boys 8 & under free could also be a deciding factor in the meet. The top four swimmers separated by just six tenths of a second. Jean-Alexandre Gaultier, 7, of Old Farm has the advantage going in with a 19.40 seed time.
On the girls side, Abbey Holmes, 16, of Calverton will be looking for first-place finishes in all of her events. Her closest competitor will be Old Farm’s Chrissy Cernoch, 18, who is seeded a second and a half behind her in the 50 fly.
In the 9-10 girls’ 25 fly, Hanna Bingley, 10, of Old Farm and Julia Flick,10, of Calverton will be battling it out in the 50 free and fly events. Their seed times separate them by two seconds in free and just one second in fly.