Jonathan Ramsdell of the Chinquapin Wahoos swims to break the Colonial Swim League boys 15-18 50-yard breaststroke record. (Credit: Judy Davis)
By Marisha Goldhamer
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Jonathan Ramsdell of the Chinquapin Wahoos smashed a Colonial Swim League (CSL) record in the boys 15-18 50-yard breaststroke that had stood since 1986.
Ramsdell set the new mark at 27.94 seconds, toppling the previous record of 28.16 seconds, as Alexandria’s public swim team faced the Fort Myer Squids on July 13, 2024.
He offered a huge thanks to his teammate Jolan Foronda – who also swam a personal best at 28.48 seconds – saying they had pushed each other to ever faster times.
The Wahoos also won two league titles at the CSL Relay Carnival on July 14.
In the opening relay of the morning, Karon Moten, Bennett Sherry, Alex Guevara and Bodie Lauinger shocked the competition by claiming the league title in the mixed age 200-yard medley relay. The squad beat MannorGate by .17 seconds with a time of 1 minute 47.61 seconds, a new team record.
L-R: Bodie Lauinger, Bennett Sherry, Karon Moten and Alex Guevara celebrating winning the league title in the boys 5-18 200-yard freestyle relay at the Colonial Swim League Relay Carnival. (Credit: Marisha Goldhamer)
The Wahoos snagged a second win in the boys 9-10 100-yard medley. Sherry, Chase Conjura, Max Kessler-Gowell and Axel Odom won by 2.05 seconds with a time of 1 minute 6.66 seconds, the fastest time in the CSL this season in that age group.
On Saturday, a second CSL record fell at the Old Town Pool as Zack Berner of Fort Myer swam the 15-18 boys 50-yard backstroke in 23.97 seconds. The previous record of 24.06 was set in 2012.
Berner led a strong Squids team to win the meet 281 points to 170.
Despite the loss, Wahoos Moten and Micaela Zuniga had excellent swims as both won three races for the 11-12 squad.
Moten took the 50-yard freestyle by nearly three seconds in 27.09 seconds. He was equally dominant in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 30.81 seconds and topped the 50-yard butterfly by more than 7 seconds with a time of 29.78 seconds.
Zuniga also dominated the butterfly with a more than six second win (33.00 seconds). Wahoo Eloise Sumner was third (43.45 seconds). In backstroke, Zuniga swam a 37.49 and in freestyle she touched in 31.18 seconds.
In the 11-12 breaststroke, Wahoo Freya Montes de Oca went 1-2 with Isabel Martorana (40.54 seconds and 46.60 seconds).
Zuniga, Sumner, Martorana and Montes de Oca combined to win the 200-yard medley relay by more than 13 seconds in 2 minutes 29.66 seconds.
The Squids also had two triple winners as Berner added to his backstroke win with a blue ribbon in 15-18 boys freestyle (23.00 seconds) and butterfly (25.07 seconds).
Fort Myer’s Ellie Browne topped the 9-10 girls 50-yard freestyle (34.66 seconds), 50-yard backstroke (39.25 seconds) and 25-yard butterfly (17.82 seconds). Wahoo Madison Forde was third in backstroke (48.95) and the butterfly (20.03 seconds).
In the 9-10 breaststroke, Squid Sophia Bhave won (48.95 seconds), followed by Wahoos Charlotte Reyna (52.78 seconds) and Winnie Cloninger (54.77 seconds).
Double race winners for the Wahoos were Sherry in the 9-10 boys and Guevara in the 13-14 boys. The boys were also key to the final relay win of the day, joining Moten and Lauinger to win the 5-18 200-yard freestyle relay in 1 minute 52.32 seconds.
Sherry went 1-2 with Kessler-Gowell in the 50-yard freestyle (31.02 seconds and 33.08 seconds) and 1-3 with Kessler-Gowell in the 50-yard backstroke (36.28 seconds and 40.90 seconds).
Kessler-Gowell won the 25-yard butterfly in 16.87 seconds.
He was also essential in the Wahoos win in the mixed 5-18 200-yard medley relay. Grace Wittmer handed off to Foronda who took the lead in breaststroke. Zuniga was pitted against Berner in the butterfly and Kessler-Gowell jumped in just behind the Fort Myer’s Browne, but he turned on speed and was able to overtake off the wall to help the Wahoos win by .46 seconds in 2 minutes 10.29 seconds.
In the 9-10 50-yard breaststroke Wahoo Chase Conjura captured his first win of the season at 39.73 seconds, followed by Sherry (41.24 seconds).
Guevara’s two wins came in backstroke (29.88 seconds) and breaststroke, where he went 1-3 with Chris Billips (33.76 seconds and 37.04 seconds). He was third in freestyle at 27.44 seconds.
The 13-14 boys also saw Wahoo Chris Paz place second in the 50-yard butterfly (29.94 seconds).
The Wahoos 13-14 girls were represented on the podium by Wittmer who was second in freestyle (29.58 seconds), Ellie Medina second in butterfly (34.54 seconds) and Julia Davis third in breaststroke (40.53 seconds).
The Squids grabbed two wins each through Presley Henderson and Alieen Kee in the 8 and under girls.
For the youngest Wahoo girls, points were awarded to Katherine League for second in the 25-yard freestyle (20.44 seconds), Nora Forde for second in the 25-yard breaststroke (28.75 seconds) and Rose Sparrow for second in the 25-yard butterfly (26.61 seconds).
More double victories were had by Squids Bruce Truong in the 8 and under boys and Sasha Taylor in the 15-18 girls.
Wahoo Elisabeth Carroll had a win in the 15-18 girls freestyle (27.39 seconds) with Maria McLemore third (28.99). Carroll and Abigail Altenburg went 2-3 in backstroke (31.79 seconds and 32.03 seconds), while McLemore and Carroll went 2-3 in breaststroke (36.91 seconds and 37.01 seconds).
In the butterfly, Maria beat her sister Bella McLemore for second place by .13 seconds in 30.86 seconds.
The Wahoos senior girls combined to win the 200-yard medley relay by more than 4 seconds with a time of 2 minutes 05.88 seconds.
In addition to Ramsdell’s win in breaststroke, he also took second in 15-18 backstroke (26.67 seconds) while Foronda was second in butterfly (25.67 seconds).
Ramsdell, Foronda, Blake Conjura and Lauinger touched just .48 seconds ahead of Fort Myer in the 15-18 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute 45.71 seconds.
Super Seniors
The Wahoos used the final meet of the regular season to honor Alexandria City High School graduates Foronda, Conjura, McLemore, Altenburg and Audrey Jarrett.
Altenburg, who, along with Foronda, has been swimming with the Wahoos for 11 years, encouraged her younger teammates to “stick with it.” She said: “It only gets more fun as you get older.”
McLemore credited the community built by the Wahoos for giving her “so many of my lifelong friends.”
This sentiment was echoed by Conjura who said he would miss swimming friends and coaches as he heads off to study psychology in college. “These are like my second family,” he said.
Jarrett, who put up three personal best times in the meet, credited the sport with teaching her to “overcome fears.”
Asked what lessons from the Wahoos he’ll use to execute his plan of becoming a nurse, Foronda said swimming teaches “discipline.” He said he had learned the importance of showing up and working to improve. “As you keep going in life, you’re going to use dedication and your friends to keep you going.”
The Wahoos will compete in the CSL White Division Championship in South Riding on July 20.
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