Looking Forward to 2022, Wahoos Finish Strong at All-Star Qualifiers and Meet

ALEXANDRIA, VA – On Saturday, July 24, the Chinquapin Wahoos competed in the Colonial Swim League White Divisional Championships in South Riding, Va. The team gave an all-around effort at the event, in which a number of swimmers recorded their best times of the season. The results determined which swimmers moved on to the All-Star meet.

“There were a ton of best times and a lot of big drops in time across the board for the Wahoos,” said Coach Dennis Bursteain  “This was a terrific season coming off of COVID with 30 swimmers qualifying for All-Stars. [My staff and I] are already looking forward to the summer of 2022.”

All-Star Qualifiers

The list that follows highlights the Wahoos who qualified for that competition. It is sorted by age group.

8 & Under Sawyer Blais, John Robertson, Bennett Sherry; Isabel Matorana

9-10 Chris Billips, Rodney Gardner, Karon Salee Moton, Luca Lorenzen-Schmidt, Ethan Sherry, Tyler Turner; Majara Jahi, Ellie Medina, Grace Wittmer

11-12 Alex Guevara, Alex Wittmer; Madison Schang, Camila Zuniga

13-14 Blake Conjura, Seamus Greiner, Paris Johnson, Jonathan Ramsdell; Eva Billips, Elisabeth Carroll

15-18 Jolan Foronda, Mikal Helms, Emil LaSida, Bodie Lauinger, Ronan Lauinger; Abi Altenburg, Catherine Salomons

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The All-Star Meet

The All-Star meet took place in Ashburn last Saturday. There are no relays. Rather, swimmers compete in different techniques, with distances determined according to age.

n the 8 & Under group, Sawyer Blais finished 4^th in the breast (27.30), 3^rd in the butterfly (24.97), and 2^nd in the entire league in the 100-m IM with a time of 1:53.72. Bennett Sherry was 17^th in free (27.33), and Izzy Matorana, who just started swimming this summer, was 11^th in the girl’s fly with a time of 26.53.

For the 9-10 boys Karon Salee Moton took 11^th in the IM (1:42.47) and 3^rd in the league in both the fly (17.11) and the 50-m free (36.00). Ethan Sherry finished 9^th in the back (46.48), and Chris Billips finished 7^th in the breast (50.94). For the girls, Ellie Medina finished 16^th in the free (39.31), 12^th in the back (47.52), and 4^th place in the league in the fly with a time of 17.99. Grace Wittmer was 17^th in the free (40.05) and 13^th in the IM with a time of 1:43.53.

In the 11-12 age group, Alex Guevara took 16^th in the IM (1:27.61) and 12^th in the backstroke (40.63). Alex Wittmer finished 15^th in the back (41.78) and 14^th in the fly (39.87). For the girls, Camila Zuniga finished 16^th in the back (40.58) while Madison Schang took 11^th in the fly (37.85), 7^th in the breast (42.68), and 6^th in the league in the IM (1:21.84).

For the 13-14 boys, Seamus Greiner took 18^th in the free (30.19); Paris Johnson was 17^th in the back (35.24). Blake Conjura finished 14^th in the back (34.71), 16^th in the free (29.10), and 12^th in the fly (31.67). Rounding out the quartet of All-Star boys was Jonathan Ramsdell who was 15^th in the fly (32.18), 8^th in the IM (1:11.75), and 5^th in the league for the breaststroke with a time of 36.01. Elisabeth Carroll finished a strong season for the 13-14 girls with 13^th place in the breaststroke (41.64), 13^th place in the IM (1:18.05), and a 7^th place finish in the freestyle (30.92).

In the senior group (ages 15-18), Mikal Helms took 17^th in the free (27.53). Jolan Foronda finihed 3^rd in the league in the breaststroke (32.16) and finished 8^th in the IM with a time of 1:05.25. Emil LaSida came in 4^th in the free (25.43), 2^nd in the backstroke (26.85), and 3^rd in the IM (1:01.68). Ronan Lauinger finished 9^th in the back (30.53) and 2^nd in the league in the IM with a time of 1:01.57. For the girls, Abi Altenburg took 16^th in the backstroke with a time of 35.54.

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