Four days later, the Eagles ended their season as state champions at Takoma Aquatic Center. Gonzaga cruised to a 461-point end, outpacing second-place St. Albans (410). Gonzaga got here in second at DCSAAs final season to St. Albans after not utilizing lots of its high athletes, opting to present the workforce’s less-experienced swimmers an opportunity to shine.
This yr, Gonzaga’s high expertise was within the water — albeit in races they wouldn’t usually swim. Senior captain Aiden Bond, who received the 100 freestyle at Metros in 45.43 seconds, swam only one particular person occasion — a 200 freestyle he hadn’t swum all season.
“I made sure our lineup was good enough that we’d be able to win the meet,” Kilner stated. “But otherwise, I just wanted the kids to have fun and swim in an event that they haven’t swum too much yet this year.”
Bond broke the meet report in 1 minute 44.37 seconds regardless of having no competitors within the opening warmth of the occasion, a mark that stood for just some minutes till Maret’s Xavier Orlic edged him for the title within the ultimate warmth in 1:43.86.
Sophomore Palmer Bice, usually a distance freestyler, dropped six seconds within the 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.74. Junior Hank Holden picked up 5 locations within the 50 freestyle, an occasion wherein he didn’t have an opportunity to shine throughout earlier meets.
“It gave us a great chance to showcase the depth we have on our team,” Kilner stated.
Other notable meet performances included Georgetown Day junior Adriano Arioti’s 4:36.77 500 freestyle, a mark that shattered final yr’s meet report by over 25 seconds, and Kai Henrikson-Brandt’s 52.41 within the 100 backstroke.
National Cathedral’s dominance on the ladies’ aspect was evident from the very first occasion. The foursome of Keira Gutierrez, Katie Albert, Natalie Garre and Adele Muoio coasted to a 1:53.79 within the 200 medley relay, beating second-place Jackson-Reed by virtually seven seconds.
Coach Rich Bettencourt’s workforce had no bother defending its DCSAA crown with a 516.5-point end, away from second-place Georgetown Visitation by 183.5 factors.
“At the beginning of the year, [Bettencourt] gave a speech and explicitly mentioned that one of our goals this year was to get the banner again,” senior Helen Yingling stated. “So it feels really good to be able to have done that.”
Garre and Gutierrez took the highest two spots within the 100 backstroke, whereas junior Ellie Denney was first within the 50 freestyle.