By Marisha Goldhamer
ASHBURN, VA – Karon Moten of the Chinquapin Wahoos won the boys 11-12 50-meter backstroke race at the Colonial Swim League’s Cory Young All Star meet on July 27. Moten proved he was the fastest in the league with a dominant 32.77-second swim that beat the field by 2.2 seconds.
He was the top finisher among the 19 swimmers from Alexandria’s public summer swim team who competed in the meet, rounding out his day with a second-place finish in 50-meter freestyle (30.29 seconds) and second in the 50-meter butterfly (32.39 seconds).
“I felt really good and excited. I was really proud of myself,” Moten said of bringing back a league title to Alexandria. “I’m proud of everybody,” he said in praise of the team’s strong finish to the season.
The Wahoos earned the plaudits by securing 14 top six finishes and breaking three team records.
In one of Chinquapin’s top swims of the day, Chase Conjura dropped 2.02 seconds off his personal best to break the decade-old boys 9-10 50-meter breaststroke record. The new Wahoo record is 41.76 seconds which earned Conjura second place in the league.
Wahoo Elisabeth Carroll lowered her 50-meter backstroke record in the girls 15-18 division. The mark to top is now 33.59 seconds which scored her ninth place in the league.
She also lowered the team’s 50-meter breaststroke record to 38.35 seconds to come tenth, besting a time she had set in July 2023.
Alex Guevara had a great meet with two personal best swims to place second in 13-14 boys 50-meter backstroke (31.99 seconds) and second in the 50-meter breaststroke (35.50 seconds).
Bodie Lauinger finished his final meet in style, throwing down a 25.31-second personal best to jump from ninth seed in the boys 15-18 50-meter freestyle all the way to third place.
Senior Maria McLemore also left it all in the pool, putting up personal best times in both the girls 15-18 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly to take 13th (29.67 seconds) and 14th place (32.38 seconds).
McLemore said it was “bittersweet” to be swimming her last meet for the Wahoos, but was happy with her performance. “It was a really great season. Another year with my summer swim family and I always enjoy it.”
Elsewhere in the 15-18 division Jonathan Ramsdell won third place in the 50-meter breaststroke (31.37 seconds) just 0.24 seconds ahead of teammate Jolan Foronda in fourth (31.61 seconds).
Foronda said he could not believe it was his final meet. “I feel like I will be swimming next week,” he said.
Despite his eligibility as a swimmer coming to an end, he’s planning to return to the Wahoos next summer as a coach. He said he enjoys mentoring swimmers. “It’s always really fun to see them improve and get faster.”
Some of those younger teammates include Bennett Sherry who snagged two podium medals for the Wahoos with fourth place in both the boys 9-10 50-meter freestyle (34.12 seconds) and 50-meter breaststroke (44.50 seconds).
Elsewhere in the boys 9-10 division, Max Kessler-Gowell was sixth in the 25-meter butterfly (18.34 seconds).
To close out the meet, the Wahoos won two podium medals in the 100-meter individual medley (IM). Sherry placed 5th in the boy 9-10 division (1:29.33) and Ramsdell placed sixth for the 15-18 boys (1:02.86).
Nora Forde had the biggest time drop of the day for the Wahoos, cutting 8.73 seconds to come 15th in the 8 & under IM (2:08.21).
Wahoos head coach Dennis Burstein praised the many personal best times achieved by his swimmers including Sawyer Blais in the boys 11-12 50-meter breaststroke (43.67 seconds) and Christopher Billips in the boys 13-14 50-meter breaststroke (38.09 seconds).
The Wahoos all star squad also included Blake Conjura, Mary Ellis Jones, Katherine League, Freya Montes de Oca, Victoria Randall and Grace Wittmer.
The Wahoos offer stroke clinics throughout the school year. Registration information is available through the Alexandria Department of Recreation.
