(Feb. 22, 2013) Jenny Miller, coach of the Stephen Decatur girl’s swim team, was confident prior to last Saturday’s 3A/2A/1A East Regional competition that the Lady Seahawks would be a contender for the title.
The squad held a lead throughout the entire meet at the Arundel Swim Center, finishing with 303 points to take home the coveted award. Easton finished in second place with 259 points.
“It was a lot of good racing and a lot of best times. They were very happy overall with winning and getting that plaque,” Miller said.
The top three finishers in each regional event qualified for the 3A/2A/1A state championship, scheduled for Saturday at Eppley Recreation Center on the University of Maryland-College Park campus. Individual competitors or relay teams who, in their regional meet, were among the next top-12 statewide times also qualified for states.
Seahawks who automatically advanced to states are freshman Hailey Williams (200-yard freestyle, second, 2:13.34; 500 freestyle, second, 5:57.68), sophomores Madison Tinus (100 freestyle, second, 59.71 seconds; 50 freestyle, third, 26.69 seconds) and Carly Deickman (100 breaststroke, second, 1:17.16).
Deickman, Tinus, sophomore Maria Zweifel and senior captain Julia Wellen finished in second place in the 200-yard freestyle relay race (1:55.85).
Because of her regional time, sophomore Molly Wooten (200 freestyle, fifth, 2:17.71) earned a spot at states, as well.
The girls’ 200-yard medley team of Wellen, Deickman, Williams and Tinus finished fourth at regionals, but their time of 2:09.46 was good enough to advance them to the state meet.
Wooten, Zweifel, Williams and freshman Marley Rakow placed fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay race. Their time of 4:20.25 secured them a spot at states.
“I’m proud of the team and how we preformed at regionals. At states, we just need to persevere and give it everything we have,” Wellen said.
The Decatur boys’ team was competing for its third consecutive regional title, but came up a bit short.
Queen Anne’s won the meet with 294 points. Decatur scored 289.
“Basically, it came down to one event and we did not come out on top. I think the seniors were more disappointed than anyone else because they won it the past two years,” said Coach Damien Sanzotti. “They preformed really well. Every single one of them dropped time.”
Senior captain Shayne Custodio won the 100-yard backstroke. His time of 56.68 seconds broke the regional meet record (1:02.2).
Junior Jake Middleton was victorious in the 200-yard freestyle. He broke the regional meet record (1:55.94), which he set last year, by completing the 2013 race in 1:55. Middleton also broke his regional record (5:15.33) in the 500-yard freestyle races. He finished the race in 5:14.69.
Custodio, Middleton, sophomore Chris Poole and junior Cory Campbell won the 200-yard freestyle relay event (1:37.49).
Because of top three performances during the regional meet, Custodio (200 IM, second, 2:04.92) and junior Collin Bankert (100 freestyle, third, 55.35 seconds) automatically advanced to states in their events.
Senior captain Jeff Middleton will join his teammates for the state competition because of his regional times. He placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.88) and sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:51.53).
“I want to do whatever I can for my team. Make myself better to hopefully impact them a little bit,” Middleton said. “We had a good team this year and we’ve been closer than ever. I’m proud of how everyone stepped up.”
Bankert took fifth in the regional breaststroke event and his time of 1:12.63 earned him a stop at states.
The boys’ 200-yard medley relay team of the Middletons, Custodio and Poole finished in fourth place, but their time of 1:52.83 was good enough to qualify the group for states.
Bankert, Jeff Middleton, senior captain Zack Keiser and junior Tate Socha placed seventh in the 400-yard freestyle relay race. Their time of 3:55.18 advanced them to states.
