(Feb. 27, 2015) Last Saturday’s 3A/2A/1A swimming state championship meet at Eppley Recreation Center on the University of Maryland-College Park campus was postponed due to snow and rescheduled for today, Friday, at 4 p.m. (weather permitting) at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover.
A total of 15 Stephen Decatur swimmers – eight boys and seven girls – will participate.
The top three finishers in each regional event qualified for the state championship. Individual competitors and relay teams who, in their regional meet, had the next top-12 statewide times also qualified for states.
Lady Seahawks who automatically advanced to states because of top three performances in their individual Feb. 14, 3A/2A/1A East Regional events were: junior Hailey Williams (200-yard freestyle, 2:11.91, third; 500-yard freestyle, 5:57.28, second) and seniors Madison Tinus (50-yard freestyle, 26.14 seconds, first; 100-yard freestyle, 57.38 seconds, second) and team co-captain Carly Deickman (200-yard IM, 2:33.69, third; 100-yard breaststroke, 1:13.54, second).
Williams, Deickman, Tinus and senior Stephany Smith took second in the 200-yard medley relay race (2:01.72).
Tinus, Smith, junior Marley Rakow and senior Maria Zweifel scored a second-place award in the 200-yard freestyle race (1:51.09).
Rakow, senior Molly Wooten, Williams and Deickman came in second in the 400-yard freestyle relay race (4:13.05).
Because of her regional time of 59.91 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle (fourth), Rakow will compete in the event at states.
Smith’s time of 1:10.84 in the 100-yard butterfly (fifth), earned her a spot in the state event. Zweifel finished the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:19.90 (eighth) to secure a position in the state race. She is an alternate in the 200-yard IM after placing sixth (2:38.70).
Wooten is also an alternate in the 200-yard freestyle (2:17.52, sixth) and 100-yard butterfly (1:12.19, sixth).
Coach Steve Deakyne thinks some of the girls have the potential to reach the podium in their events.
“It would be awesome if some of them finish in the top five. That’s a pretty good goal,” he said last week.
Because of their performances during the regional meet, senior captain Dalton Warren, junior Andrew Gottfried and freshman Kevin Williams automatically advanced to states in their events.
Warren won a regional title in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.16). Gottfried placed second in both the 200-yard IM (2:11.29) and the 100-yard butterfly (55.60 seconds).
Williams finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.63). His time of 2:19.70 advanced him to states in the 200-yard IM (fifth).
Warren, Williams, Gottfried and senior captain Chris Poole raced to second place in the 200-yard medley relay event (1:45.84).
Poole will participate in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races at states with his regional qualifying times of 24.68 and 54.90 seconds, respectively. He finished fifth in both events.
Senior Jake Lathroum is an alternate in the 100-yard breaststroke for his regional time of 1:12.94 (sixth).
Poole, Warren, sophomore Dustin Berkey and Gottfried took fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay race, but their time of 1:39.34 advanced them to states.
Sophomore Tucker Cordial, Warren, senior Noah Sackadorf and Williams came in fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay race. Their time of 3:55.28 qualified them for the championship meet.
Deakyne and Coach Damien Sanzotti said they are expecting tough competition at states. The goal, they said, is for the Decatur swimmers to get their best times of the season.
“Right now, our goal is to just improve our times,” Sanzotti said last week. “Wherever that may lead, that’s the place that we’ll get.”
