SPORTS

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

Alex Wittemer starts the 50-m butterfly. (All photos: Dennis Burstein)

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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Ronan Lauinger (second from left) swims the breaststroke section of the 100-m IM, in which he placed second in the League.

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

Madison Schang (left) and Camila Zuniga represented the 11-12 girls at the All-Stars competition.

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

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

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

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

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Kevin Dauray

Kevin is Publisher's Assistant with The Zebra Press. He has been working for Alexandria's "Good News" newspaper since 2019. A graduate of George Mason University, he earned a bachelor's in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He also studied at the Columbia School of Broadcasting and holds a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marymount University. He is an alumnus of T.C. Williams High School. Go Titans!

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