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McLean upsets Langley for Liberty District girls’ championship; Warhawk boys win fourth title in a row

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McLean’s girls won a single relay and individual swimming event at Saturday’s Liberty District championship meet — not the typical formula for a championship team. Instead, their 425 points were earned the hard way — in the outside lanes and in close finishes, plus help from their divers before the swimming portion of the meet began. While not dramatic as winning behind the efforts of All-Met team selections and exciting victories, it was all that was needed for the Highlanders to win their school’s first Liberty District girls’ championship in 16 years in a stunning upset of the two-time defending champions Langley.

“On paper it looked like Langley would take it,” said McLean head coach Kevin Burke. “Our team lost by 48 points to Langey in the dual meet earlier in the year, so Saturday’s result was a bit of a surprise.”

The heavily favored Saxons fell, 425 to 404, despite entering the meet undefeated in dual meets through the last three seasons. In the boys’ meet, Madison captured their fourth consecutive district title, 486 to 416, over Thomas Jefferson.

“I told my girls before the meet that we had to swim fast because McLean was on our heels,” said Langley head coach Ryan Jackson. “We finished the dual meet season 7-0. [Our seniors] lost one dual meet to Madison their freshman year and then won the championship their sophomore and junior years. I think some of the girls though they were untouchable going into this meet. McLean showed up and we didn’t. They earned the district championship.”

McLean kicked off their championship run with a win in the 200 medley relay. Nowell Boardman, MJ Ulrich and Kat Pardo led it off for the Highlanders giving anchor swimmer Megan Murphy a lead. But on the opposite block stood Langley senior Abi Speers, a two-time first team All-Met. Murphy held on to touch out Speers by .15 seconds in a winning time of 1 minute, 49.45 seconds, breaking the district record set in 2005 by South Lakes state championship winning relay.

“[Murphy] was nervous, but we gave her a lead to work with. Holding off an all-American like she did was quite a feat,” said Burke. “The first relay was a battle with Langley that really set the tone for the meet. It made us realize this was doable, that we had a chance to win it.”

The Highlanders also earned victories from freshman Veronica Wolff in the girls’ 500 freestyle (5:11.79) and sophomore Carolina McCleary on the 1-meter board (376.90 points).

“We didn’t win with our first place finishes. We needed swimmers to step up from the first and second heats and they did,” said Burke.

In her second event, the 200 freestyle, Wolff didn’t finish in the top six, but she held her seed by out-touching South Lakes Natalie Obando by .08 seconds. A heat earlier, her freshman teammate Mia Cleary dropped 2.27 seconds to jump from 14th to 11th place and move ahead of two Langley swimmers. Freshman Claire Greene dropped 15 seconds in the 500 freestyle to move from 15th to eighth — a nine point difference.

“It was our depth that really did it for us. Everything just fell into place,” said Burke.

Complete results

Madison’s boys team, whose only loss of the season came from Jefferson two weeks prior, used both depth and strength to pull away from their district rivals.

Senior Evan Owens crushed in the 50 freestyle (21.71) and 100 breaststroke (59.42) for the Warhawks. Fellow senior Danny Mittell touched second in the 50 freestyle behind Owens in 22.52. He was also second in the 100 butterfly in 54.61. Howe Wang, another senior, was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.30.

Sophomore Ian Russiello captured the win for the Warhawks in the 500 freestyle in 4:48.15. Madison cleaned up the event taking third, fourth and fifth place as well. Russiello finished second in the 200 IM in 1:56.93 as well.

Owens, Mittel, Russiello and Peter Kinton combined for the victory in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:29.71. Madison was second in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays behind Jefferson’s relays led by 2012 first team All-Met Andrew Seliskar.

While McLean and Madison dominated in the team category, talent from every team in the district was on display during Saturday’s timed finals.

Seliskar split 21.78 seconds in the butterfly leg of the medley relay before handing it off to Miles Oakley to finish it off. Luke Thorsell and Bohe Hosking joined Seliskar and Oakley for the win in a time of 1:36.57. In the 400 free relay, Seliskar anchored in 46.35 seconds to finish in a winning time of 3:11.38 along with Thorsell, Reese Frerichs and Emilio Sison.

Seliskar’s relay performances were just icing for the all-American sophomore who claimed two individual wins and a new meet record. He cruised in the 200 individual medley, touching in 1:50.99 — the fastest time in the Northern Region by six seconds and a Liberty District record. In the 100 freestyle he opened up the first lap in a time that would have placed second in the 50 freestyle. He finished in 46.40 — four-tenths of a second off the meet record set last year by Cyrus.Hashemi.

Fairfax‘s John Kim won the 200 freestyle (1:46.02) ahead of Jefferson’s Frerichs (1:47.04). Kim was second in the 100 backstroke behind Jefferson’s Thorsell, 52.41 to 52.50. Madison’s Grayson Smith was third in 52.78. Smith touched second in the 100 freestyle (48.28) behind Seliskar.

Stone Bridge sophomore Andi Mack dominated the 200 freestyle in 1:54.61. She finished second in the 100 freestyle, 53.60 to 52.37, to Langley’s double-winner Speers, who also won the 50 freestyle (24.23). Speers’ teammates Fiona Muir and Gretchen Roesel were Langley’s other individual winners. Muir captured the 100 backstroke title in 58.74, while Roesel won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.81.

Madison sophomore Sidney Owens won the 200 IM in 2:10.75. Jefferson’s Oakley won the 100 butterfly in 53.99 and placed third in the 50 freestyle in 22.52. Oakley’s sophomore teammate Carrie Heilbrun won the girls’ 100 butterfly in 57.35.


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