NVSL News

Wonder what it takes to be an All Star Champion?  Last Saturday out of the 48 first place winners, 36 (or 75%) dropped time for the win.

There has also been discussion as to whether or not Broyhill Crest was a fast pool. Of the 868 swims on Saturday, 407 swimmers (47%) dropped time.  Also, 4 NVSL records were broken.  Broyhill Crest is definitely not a slow pool; however, with less than half of the swimmers dropping time it cannot claim to be in the upper echelon of fast NVSL pools such as Cardinal Hill or Tuckahoe.

Below, listed by age group are the number of drops in time per event as well as whether  first place dropped time or was seeded first.

8 & Under Boys
Free: 2, 1st dropped
Back: 5
Breast: 10, 1st dropped
Fly: 9, 1st dropped and held

8 and Under Girls
Free: 7, 1st dropped and held
Back: 11, 1st dropped and held
Breast: 10, 1st dropped and held
Fly: 12, 1st dropped and held

9-10 Boys
Free: 11, 1st dropped and held
Back: 9, 1st dropped
Breast: 10, 1st dropped and held
Fly: 5, 1st dropped
IM: 11, 1st dropped and held

9-10 Girls
Free: 11, 1st dropped and held
Back: 10, 1st dropped
Breast: 12, 1st dropped and held
Fly: 9, 1st dropped and held
IM: 11, 1st dropped and held

11-12 Boys
Free: 13, 1st dropped
Back: 10, 1st dropped
Breast: 4, 1st dropped and held
Fly: 11, 1st dropped
IM: 10, 1st dropped and held

11-12 Girls
Free: 5, 1st dropped
Back: 8, 1st held
Breast: 6, 1st dropped
Fly: 8, 1st held
IM: 7, 1st held

13-14 Boys
Free: 8, 1st held
Back: 10, 1st held
Breast: 9, 1st dropped and held
Fly: 8, 1st dropped and held
IM: 8, 1st dropped and held

13-14 Girls
Free: 10, 1st dropped and held
Back: 11, 1st dropped and held
Breast: 5, 1st dropped
Fly: 3, 1st held
IM: 8, 1st held

15-18 Boys
Free: 4, 1st held
Back: 9, 1st held
Breast: 6, 1st dropped
Fly: 6, 1st held
IM: 8, 1st dropped and held

15-18 Girls
Free: 5, 1st dropped
Back: 11, 1st dropped
Breast: 11, 1st held
Fly: 9, 1st dropped and held
IM: 11, 1st dropped and held

The NVSL season was brought to a close with a bang this past Saturday at Broyhill Crest. For those who missed out, here are our Top 10 Swims of the meet (in no particular order).

This year’s All-Stars welcomed a few new records…

Sean Fletcher – Boys 15-18 IM (NVSL RECORD). Less than 10 swimmers have ever broken a minute in the IM, and only 2 swimmers have broken a 59. Going a 57.40 in the 100 IM is unprecedented and raises the bar to a new level in this event (just as Sean did by going a 24 in the 50 fly earlier this season).

Sinead Eksteen – Girls 8 & Under Backstroke (NVSL RECORD). Sinead dropped 4/10 of a second off her best time to best Janet Hu’s record of 18.47 by 3/10 of a second. Just for comparison, her time of 18.18 would have placed her 10th in the freestyle.

Amanda Kendall – Girls 15-18 Freestyle (NVSL RECORD). Amanda had never broken a 27 before Saturday. She picked a great place to do it, flying well under the 27 second barrier on her way to a 26.42. In doing so, she slipped just 0.03 under Katie Radloff’s previous record of 26.45. Icing on the cake: She was seeded to get second.

A great swimmer excels and takes advantage of whatever situation they may be put in…

Blake Sundel – Boys 15-18 Freestyle. It is a rare occurance that an alternate at All-Stars finds himself or herself with the opportunity to swim in their respective event. Blake Sundel found himself in this position when two of the 15-18 Boys dropped from the event. Not only did Blake go on to win his heat, but he jumped from his original 21st seed to finish in the top 10.

Michaela Morrison – Girls 9-10 Breaststroke. Lane 1 is not exactly the lane you’re hoping for coming into a meet like All-Stars. But then again, it gives you the opportunity to label yourself as the infamous “outside smoke” if you are ready to step up to the challenge. Michaela Morrison didn’t let lane 1 phase her for a minute, as she dropped over two seconds from the dreaded lane 1 and swam her way to the silver.

Larry Dow – Boys 15-18 Backstroke. Some may call it an off swim, some may call it strategy. Regardless, Larry Dow found himself in heat 2 as opposed to heat 3 at this year’s meet. Larry took full advantage of his clean water as he rocketed his way to 2nd place overall from heat 2, only missing 1st by 0.01.

Connor Cason – Boys 11-12 Butterfly. After Michaela Morrison warmed up lane 1 earlier in the meet, Connor Cason decided he wanted some outside smoke action. Connor dropped four places and nearly two seconds as he swam his way to the gold from lane 1.

Paying our last respects to some graduating seniors…

Patrick Sullivan – Boys 15-18 Freestyle. When Patrick’s name was announced as he stepped up to the edge of the pool for his final NVSL race, he stuck the pose of a Greek God. The pose was fitting. Sullivan won, finishing more than 3/10 faster than the second place finisher in the event.

Hilary Fritz – Girls 15-18 Backstroke. Hilary Fritz showed her dominance in the water as she dropped over half a second from her seed time to win the event after being seeded fourth. Fritz will be back coaching Mclean next summer to pass on her expertise.

Ashley Danner – Girls 15-18 I.M. As Ashley Danner raced towards the wall on the last leg of her I.M., several 15-18 boys nervously watched the clock to see if Danner’s time would beat their own. Danner’s time of 1:04.15 crushed the competition, winning the event by over 2 seconds and cementing her as the best Girls 15-18 I.M. swimmer the NVSL has ever seen.

It’s interesting to note that not every NVSL record broken becomes an official NVSL record. First off, an individual record setting swim must occur at one of the 5 allotted Saturday dual meets throughout the season, or during Divisionals or All-Stars. Granted a record is broken, the swimmer’s birthday, team, and original time card must all be verified before declaring the record “official.”

This past Monday, Sean Fletcher swam his way to an “unofficial” NVSL record in the 15-18 Boys 100 Meter I.M. finishing the event in 58.12, besting Steve Scheren’s 58.50 from 2005.

Why is Fletcher’s record “unofficial”? Well, this past Monday a group of 15-18 boys gathered for what has been dubbed “The B-Meet of the Century.” The idea was to gather some of the NVSL’s top 15-18 Boys in a 100 I.M. showdown. Included in the field was Sean Fletcher, last year’s champion at All-Stars in the event. Since the swim occurred during a Monday night meet, the record will not yet hit the books “officially.” However, look for a grueling rematch at this year’s All-Stars as the boys make things “official.”

Click here to see the record breaking swim.

Our apologies for the delay on the Division 1 Championship Meet wrap up; however, duty calls (literally) for some members of the NVSL News Team.

The meet was not quite as close as anticipated with Overlee taking the win 219.5 to 182.5. However, both teams had some great swims. The MVPs of the meet were easily Overlee’s 11-12 girls who had two sweeps, two 1st and 2nds, all in addition to their relay win. Chesterbrook never fully recovered after Overlee’s 11-12 girls light up the pool. This all made it only fitting that it was Overlee’s 11-12 girls who broke the 201 point bearier and secured the victory for Overlee.

Here is the point breakdown from the meet, including the relays for each age group (Overlee took both mixed ages):

8 and Under Boys:  Chesterbrook-22 Overlee-10

8 and Under Girls:  Chesterbrook-23 Overlee-9

9-10 Boys:  Chesterbrook-18  Overlee-23

9-10 Girls:  Chesterbrook-16  Overlee-25

11-12 Boys:  Chesterbrook-9  Overlee-32

11-12 Girls:  Chesterbrook-2  Overlee-39

13-14 Boys:  Chesterbrook-30 Overlee-11

13-14 Girls:  Chesterbrook-23 Overlee-18

15-18 Boys:  Chesterbrook-32 Overlee-8

15-18 Girls:  Chesterbrook-7  Overlee-34

The VAC vs. Hamlet meet for 3rd place in Division 1 was the closest meet of the weekend.  The meet came down to the final relay, the mixed age girls.  The VAC girls took the relay by 4 seconds and thus took the meet by 6 points with a score of 204 to 198.

Videos of races from last weekend’s battle between Overlee and Chesterbrook are now posted. Visit the “Overlee vs. Chesterbrook” page under “Videos” to view freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke races from the meet.

After the quick overview of the meet, its time to discuss last night in a little more depth. First topic: MVPs of the meet. With 8 league records broken, choosing an MVP was not an easy decision. There were upsets, come from behind victories, and races won by tenths of a second… but last night, one relay team rewrote the record books in two different events. The Shouse Village 8 & Under girls put on quite a performance en route to two new NVSL records. Two members of their relay, Sinead and Paige, have been coming to All-Star Relays since they were 6 years old.  A third member, Sara , was so small when she first came to the meet that she rode to the meet in a car seat.  Now teaming up with their fourth member, Heather, these four girls have combined to make quite the relay.  Last night, these girls displayed great determination, as well as resilience. These Shouse Village girls earn the MVP of the meet for their two record breaking performances.

Another noteworthy aspect of the meet was Tuckahoe and Fairfax surprising everyone with their 2nd and 4th place finish, respectively. Tuckahoe upset Chesterbrook last night as it snatched up 2nd place by a mere 42 points. Division 4, led by Fairfax, went on to cumulatively outscore Division 3 by 58 points.

Tuckahoe Coach Jesse shares his thoughts on his team’s preformance.

Fairfax Coaches explain how they took 4th.

Not to be ignored, Overlee added another notch to its belt last night with another Relay Carnival win.  Congratulations flying fish… or should we say goats?

Overlee Senior Tyler Gehrs tells all about the goat.

Last night was epic to say the least.  Eight league records were broken, several teams upset the field, and Overlee won it all for the third year in a row.  For those who missed the meet (Jenny York, Breanne Smith), or those who forgot what happened during their indulgence at the post meet meal, here is how the meet broke down:

Event 1.
The meet began with the Fairfax Girls Mixed Age taking down a 27 year old record by 8/10 of a second.

Event 2.

Fox Mill Woods Boys Mixed Age dropped 3 seconds, but missed the record by a heartbreaking 8/100 of a second.

Event 3.
The 8 & Under Girls from Shouse Village shattered a 26 year old record by almost three seconds. This outstanding swim now makes the 8 & Under Girls’ record even faster than the 8 & Under Boys’ record.

Event 4.
Highland’s 8 & Under Boys dropped 4 seconds to come out of nowhere and take 1st.

Event 5.
Returning champion, Overlee, took its first win of the night with their 9-10 Girls dropping 1.5 seconds.

Event 6.
Dunn Loring’s 9-10 Boys dropped 4 seconds to take first and set the stage for their later free relay performance. However, they remain indecisive as to their post meet plans.

Event 7.
Orange Hunt’s 11-12 Girls, led by a strong butterfly leg, upset Overlee’s relay to take the win.

Event 8.
The 11-12 Boys from Mclean set new NVSL record by knocking a second off their previous time.

Event 9.
Overlee seals up a come from behind victory in the 13-14 Girls medley.

Event 10.
No horror story here… Sleepy Hollow 13-14 Boys take first.

Event 11.
Tuckahoe Senior ladies break meet record, although don’t best their time from last Saturday.  None of these ladies graduate this year, so don’t think they’ve had their last shot at going sub 2:00.

Event 12.
Reminiscent of Dunn Loring’s victory from Heat 1 back in 2005, Sean Fletcher leads Hunter Mill to 2nd place from Heat 1. In the end, however, the Highlands Senior boys maintained their medley crown from last summer.

Break: Epic, chance to sit down and fill up a water bottle with water that wasn’t 98 degrees. (although the little cups of water being brought around were awesome!)

Volunteers bag the ribbons during break

Event 13.
Shouse Village 8 & Under Girls do it again, this time breaking the record by a mere 3/100 of a second. Oh, and did we mention that this record was over 20 years old as well?

Event 14.
Highlands 8 & Under Boys go big again with another huge time drop, sneaking in for the upset.

Event 15.
The 9-10 Girls from Overlee didn’t think just one gold medal was enough.

Event 16.
Dunn Loring 9-10 Boys set new NVSL record and finalize post meet plans for Chuckie Cheese.

Event 17.
Orange Hunt claims the Orange crown from Overlee’s 11-12 girls by dropping 6/10 of a second for the win.

Event 18.
No record for the Mclean 11-12 Boys here, but they’ll take the double win.

Event 19.
Mount Vernon Park’s 13-14 Girls bust out a second drop and take home some gold.

Event 20.
Sleepy Hollow wakes up to a new NVSL record in the 13-14 Boys free.

Event 21.
Tuckahoe’s Senior Girls take the win again, but without a record. Katy and Katie get to hold onto their record for yet another year.

Event 22.
Highlands Senior Boys take down VAC’s 2008 record by 3/10 of a second. Touche.

End of Meet. Tuckahoe upsets Chesterbrook for 2nd place overall, and Fairfax from Division 4 takes 4th overall.  Bob York admits to having one too many diet coke’s, and teams depart for ravaging of local pizzerias and burger joints.

Quick Stats:

Teams with double wins: Shouse Village 8 & Under Girls, Highlands 8 & Under Boys, Overlee 9-10 Girls, Dunn Loring 9-10 Boys, Orange Hunt 11-12 Girls, Mclean 11-12 Boys, Sleepy Hollow 13-14 Boys, Tuckahoe 15-18 Girls, Highlands 15-18 Boys

Most events in between record breaking swims: 4 events

A special thank you goes out to all the NVSL officials who were especially accommodating to the NVSL News team today.  Especially Liz Murphy, Jack Schaeffer, Betsy Stevenson, and Dave Dinardo.

This Saturday, Sean Fletcher of Hunter Mill went an absurd 24.56 in his 50 fly. NVSL News prevsiously stated that Sean going a 24.7 would put his record in the realm of Ed Moses’s 50 breast record.  Now with a 24.56, Sean Fletcher may have the fastest NVSL senior boys record.  Only three other swimmers have ever broken 26 seconds in the 50 fly, Jeff Somensatto (25.90), Greg Landrum (25.92), and Robbie Parker (25.97).  Going 24 seconds in the 50 free for a senior boy is an impressive career achievement, and Sean has eclipsed that mark in the 5o fly.  If Sean had swum butterfly during the freestyle event, he would currently be seeded 4th overall in the NVSL.  Sean’s record breaking swim this weekend is coming off a U.S. Nationals taper, where he went 54.39 in the 100m fly, and 24.10 in the 50m free, a U.S. Nationals cut and a U.S. Open cut respectively.  It should also be noted that Sean swam his fly at Mclean pool, which was described by another Divsion 2 senior swimmer as a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of a pool’s speed.  Maybe Sean should consider swimming fly against the freestylers for some extra competition…

The senior girls from Tuckahoe also had a great NVSL record breaking swim this weekend.  Check out their splits and their coach’s take on the race here in the comments section.

This morning at Mosby Woods 14 year old Philip Hu went a 27.81 in the 50 back, earning another NVSL record.