Submitted photo In Saturday's Prince-Mont Swim League Division F meet Hawthorne's mixed 8-Under 100 freestyle relay team earned first place with a time of 1 minute 24.23 seconds. The relay team, from left, are Cole Rapczynski, Kaeleigh Cupples, Banks Wills and Esther Dugan.

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Hawthorne claims second straight Prince-Mont Division F meet crown

By AJ MASONStaff writer

Coaches, parents and spectators looked on as swimmers competed under cloudy and rainy conditions during Saturday’s Prince-Mont Swim League Division F championships at the Bannister neighborhood pool.

To help the swimmers surge in their events, all you could hear from those in attendance at times was, “Pull, pull, pull.”

Doing more of the pulling was Hawthorne as it claimed its second straight Division F championship with 329 points, 105 points more than runner-up Pointer Ridge Swim & Racquet Club of Bowie.

“It feels awesome,” Hawthorne head coach Mary Jane Cupples said when asked how she felt about winning the division title again. “We’ve been swimming well and the hard work has really paid off.”

Bannister took fourth with 208.5 points, 2 1/2 points less than Prince George’s Pool of Mount Rainer, who took the bronze. Indian Head finished in the fifth spot with 201.5 points.

Swimmers who earned the top spot in each event qualify for the league’s All-Star meet, which takes place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Belair Swim & Racquet Club in Bowie.

Hawthorne won 16 events, with nine of those wins coming in form of three triple winners. The Gators wins included victories in the mixed 100-meter freestyle relay and boys 18-Under 200 free relay.

Conor Vienneau (boys 10-U), Sydney Fuller (girls 15-18) and Megan Schuller (girls 9-10) all won three events each.

The 16-year-old Fuller, a rising junior at McDonough High School, won the 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke and capped off the day with a tight victory in the 100 individual medley at 1 minute 18.23 seconds.

“On that last turn, I just had to push myself. Everyone was encouraging and I was able to finish the race off strong,” said Fuller, who edged Pointer Ridge’s Melissa Eloshway by almost a half of a second. “I do a lot of interval training of laps and sprints and that has really help me improve.”

Vienneau, who swims for the Chesapeake Bay Aquatic Club year round, surged to wins in the 25 fly, 25 back and 50 free.

“It’s very exciting,” Vienneau said. “The hard work and dedication has helped me win a lot of my races. I’m happy to be an All-Star.”

Eight-year old Banks Wills was a double winner for Hawthorne, capturing first places in the 25 free and 25 breaststroke events. He was also the last leg on the 100 mixed relay team, who recently broke the 1989 team record and will be on their way to the All-Star meet.

“I’m very happy,” Wills said. “We’ve been practicing a lot, it’s fun because this is the first year we’ve been together as a relay. We have good teamwork and like swimming with each other.”

Bannister head coach Stephanie Weimert, who wore an orange lucky wig, was satisfied after Saturday’s meet, as she qualified six individual swimmers for the All-Star meet and the boys 200 medley relay after it collected a first-place finish.

“The wig worked its magic today,” Weimert said. “All of my kids swam their best times and it was great to host the meet. My parents and board did a great job of running the meet and have been very supportive all season.”

Isaiah Hall, 14, was the lone triple winner on the Barracudas, with first places in the 50 fly, 50 free and 50 breast. Hall broke the pool record in the fly with a time of 31.29 seconds. According to Weimert, he is close to the freestyle record.

“I was looking forward to breaking that record,” said Hall, a McDonough rising sophomore. “I took less breaths and use powerful strokes and that help me win. I’ve been doing a lot of sprints and conditioning.”

Indian Head was led by sisters Hannah and Merriam Hagadorn, who were triple winners and helped lead the 200 medley relay to a first-place finish. Geddy Fuller doubled up in the 50 fly and 100 free in the boys 15-18 age group.

Fuller, 17, is coming off a broken finger two weeks ago and mentioned that he felt much better on Saturday.

“I was happy with my two firsts,” said Fuller, who was runner-up in the 50 back. “I could pull a lot better in the pool and it doesn’t hurt as much. I’ve been working out a lot in the pool and I didn’t wear the cast and that helped out a lot.”

Smallwood second in Division E, Westlake fourth in Division B

On a rainy Saturday, the Waves of Westlake, which came off of its 11th straight Charles County title earned 222 points in the Division B meet and took fourth place. The Whitehall Pool & Tennis Club of Bowie, the hosts of the event, won the division championship with 330 points.

Westlake won 11 events on the day as Anthony and Denny Nguyen led the way with three wins apiece.

Anthony (boys 10-U), who holds league records in two events, claimed top spots in the 25 fly, 25 back and the 100 IM. Denny (boys 15-18) surged to victories in the 50 breast, 50 back and the 100 IM.

Andrew Nguyen (boys 13-14) doubled up in the 50 breast and the 100 IM, while was runner-up in the 50 free.

Christian Fisher (boys 13-14) and Tyler Whitsett (boys 11-12) earned wins in the 50 fly and 50 breast.

The boys 200 medley relay which consists of Denny, Austin Fisher, Myles Ellis and Nick Essing picked up a victory and will be going to all-stars this weekend.

“We had a couple swimmers qualify for All-Stars,” Westlake head coach Nate Stephens said. “The rain definitely played a factor, but we still had a strong meet.”

In the Division E meet Saturday in Temple Hills, Smallwood collected 287 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Montpelier Marlins of Prince George’s County won the crown with 299 points.

Smallwood collected 10 first-place finishes, led by Tyler Perrie and Nathalie LaFontant, who both were triple division champions on the day.

Perrie (boys 9-10) earned wins in the 25 fly, 25 back and 50 free, while LaFontant (girls 9-10) won in the 25 fly, 50 free, and the 25 breast.

Other victories came from Ashlee Latour (girls 13-14) in the 50 breast, Sydney Marohn-Johnson (girls 9-10), 25 back and Kaitlyn Peltzer (girls 15-18) in the 100 IM.

The girls 200 free relay also earned a division title, which consisted of Nathalie, her sister older Lisette, Latour and Peltzer.

ajmason@somdnews.com

Prince-Mont Division F meet results

Hawthorne 329, Pointer Ridge 224, Prince George’s Pool 211, Bannister 208.5, Indian Head 201.5

Triple winners: C. Vienneau (H) 25 fly, 50 free, 25 back; Nolan (PGP) 50 fly, 50 free, 100 IM; M. Hagadorn (IH) 50 fly, 50 free, 100 IM; Hall (B) 50 fly, 50 free, 50 breast; S. Fuller (H) 50 fly, 50 back, 100 IM; Schuller (H) 50 free, 25 breast, 25 back; H. Hagadorn (IH) 50 free, 50 back, 100 IM

Double winners: G. Fuller (IH) 50 fly, 100 free; Wills (H) 25 free, 25 breast; Edelman (PGP) 25 free, 25 back; Matteson (B) 50 back, 100 IM

Single winners: Alexander (PGP) 25 fly; McCain-Hertzler (PGP) 50 fly; Sandy (B) 100 free; Smack (PR) 25 breast; Dugan (H) 25 breast; Steck (PGP) 50 breast; Baker (PR) 50 breast; McClure (H) 50 breast; Stevens (B) 50 breast; Eloshway (PR) 50 breast; Mauldin (PR) 50 back; Kacar (PR) 50 back; Bainter (B) 50 back; Nicholson-Massey (PGP) 25 back; L. Vienneau (H) 100 IM; Bannister boys 200 medley relay (McKay Stevens, Jacob LaBarbera, Isaiah Hall, Eric Matteson); Indian Head girls 200 medley relay (Hannah Hagadorn, Natalie Griffin, Kristine Chen, Merriam Hagadorn); Hawthorne mixed 100 freestyle relay (Kaeleigh Cupples, Cole Rapczynski, Esther Dugan, Banks Wills); Hawthorne boys 200 free relay (Conor Vienneau, Mark Landicho, Elliott Etter, Michael Gregory); Prince George’s Pool girls 200 free relay (Lini Lyndaker, Khymi Russell, Aleja McCain-Hertzler, Hannah Russell)