RMSC Boys Win Junior National Championship, Team finishes 3rd Combined

RMSC’s National Team travelled to the NCSA Spring Championships (Junior Nationals) on March 14-18 in Orlando, Florida.  The meet featured over 1300 of the fastest 18&Under swimmers from all across the country, representing over 120 clubs. After many close calls in recent years, RMSC’s Boys broke through and won the team title, taking home a 1st place banner for the first time since 2008.   RMSC finished 3rd in combined scoring to improve upon last year’s 4th place finish, and the Girls finished 7th.  The top 24 finishers in each event scored points for the club, while the top 40 made it back to finals.

Many swimmers contributed points to the Boys’ Team Title.  Adriano Arioti was our leading scorer, with 175 points.  He was 1st in 200 fly (1:43.40) in a Senior National cut and Senior and 15-16 Team records, and in 200 back (1:41.66) in a Senior National cut and 15-16 Team record.  He was 2nd in 200 IM (1:45.51) in a Senior and 15-16 Team record, and added a 3rd in 100 back (47.53), a 5th in 100 fly (47.27) in a 15-16 Team record, and top 16 finishes in 50 fly and 50 back (22.47) in a 15-16 Team record.  Toby Barnett was also a big contributor with 166.5 points.  His top finish was a 1st in 400 IM (3:43.28) in a Senior National cut, meet record, pool record, and Team record.  He added another Senior National cut and Team record taking 2nd in 200 breast (1:55.86), and was also 4th in 200 IM (1:47.17), 6th in 200 back (1:45.73) and 200 fly (1:45.85), and top 16 finishes in 50 breast and 100 breast.  Jed Garner took 3rd in 200 breast (1:56.96), 4th in 100 breast (54.21), and was top 16 in 50 breast.  Brady Begin was 7th in 500 free (4:27.32) and 1000 free (9:11.80), and top 16 in 1650 free.  Evan Mackesy had top 16 finishes in 1000 free, 1650 free, and 400 IM, and top 24 finishes in 200 back and 200 fly.  Nasim Elkassem was top 16 in 100 back, and top 24 in 50 free and 50 back.  Brian Wilbur finished top 16 in 100 breast, and top 24 in 50 breast and 200 breast.  Owen Watkins was top 16 in 50 free and top 24 in 100 free.  Cooper Zakorchemny was top 16 in 1000 free.  Fletcher Bautz and Samir Elkassem each finished top 24 in 400 IM.  Alex Nguyen added a top 24 in 1000 free.  Nick Arndt and David Yune added top 40 finishes.

Our Girls were led by Madison Smith, who scored 80 points.  She was 4th in 1000 free (9:53.73), 4th in 500 free (4:47.82) and 5th in 1650 free (16:27.57) in 17-18 Team records, and added a top 24 in 200 free.  Andrea Dworak was 6th in 500 free (4:50.95), and top 16 in 200 free and 1000 free.  Sarah Eliason finished 8th in 100 fly (53.72) in a Team record, top 16 in 50 back and 50 fly, and top 24 in 100 free.  Amy Qin was top 16 in 50 back and 100 fly, and top 24 in 50 free and 50 fly (24.63) in a 15-16 Team record.  Addison Webb broke a 25 year-old Team record in 13-14 500 free (4:54.47) with a top 40 finish.  Also adding top 40 finishes were: Isla Bartholomew, Angela Kadoorie, Livia Venditti, Maria Webb, and Joyce Wu.

Many of our best swims and much of our scoring in this team effort came on relays, where RMSC had its best depth in history.  In fact, all five of our Boys’ A relays broke Team records, including our 2nd place 400 Medley (Adriano Arioti, Jed Garner, Toby Barnett, Nasim Elkassem),  3rd place 800 Free (Arioti, David Yune, Samir Elkassem, Barnett), 4th place 200 Free (Owen Watkins, Nick Arndt, N.Elkassem, Arioti), 6th place 200 Medley (Arioti, Garner, Arndt, Watkins), and 10th place 400 Free (Watkins, Arioti, Yune, Arndt).  In addition, all of the Boys’ B relays scored by placing in the top 24, including three in the top 16.  Joining the previous names on these relays were Fletcher Bautz, Tyler Coapstick, and Parker Koenig.  Our Girls’ relays were led by two podium appearances, with 8th place finishes in 200 Free (Sarah Eliason, Amy Qin, Andrea Dworak, Livia Venditti) and 800 Free (Madison Smith, Eliason, Dworak, Venditti).  The Girls also had three other top 16 and two other top 24 finishes that scored for the team, as well as three other top 40 finishes.  These relay contributors included:  Isla Bartholomew, Lauren Clark, Elizabeth Linck, Kelsie Miller, Megan O’Hara, Reagan Phillips, Addison Webb, Maria Webb, Ashley Woo, and Joyce Wu.

During the meet, the swimmers received a generous gift from the Riley Eaton Foundation, which has supported our team trips to NCSA Junior Nationals for many years.  Coach Riley Eaton was a huge part of RMSC for multiple decades, and was on the coaching staff for our previous NCSA team titles.  We hope that our fast swimming and team camaraderie makes Riley proud in his retirement.

RMSC Swimmers Compete at US Open & Jed Garner Qualifies for Olympic Trials!

Four RMSC swimmers travelled to Greensboro, NC from November 30 through December 3, to compete at the U.S. Open, alongside several Olympians and National Champions. The meet was held in long course meters, and was the first meet in the qualifying period for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Our best swim came from Jed Garner, whose time of 2:15.60 in 200 breast qualified him for the 2024 Olympic Trials, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN. His swim placed 9th, and also broke a 14 year-old RMSC team record, formerly held by NCAA Champion Eric Friedland. Jed also placed 19th in 100 breast in a best time of 1:02.98.

We also had several other very good swims, as all of our swimmers placed in the top 24 (which qualified them for finals) in at least one event. Madison Smith placed 12th in 1500 free and 18th in 800 free. As one of the youngest competitors at the meet, Angela Kadoorie placed 16th in 400 IM. Toby Barnett added top 24 swims in 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 breast.

Outstanding swimming by all, and congratulations Jed!

Angela Kadoorie & Adriano Arioti Invited to USA Swimming National Select Camp

Angela Kadoorie & Adriano Arioti were selected to participate in USA Swimming’s National Select Camp, which takes place October 6-9 for girls and October 13-16 for boys at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The elite training camp features 51 of the nation’s fastest emerging male and female swimmers.

 

"We are extremely proud to have Angela Kadoorie and Adriano Arioti representing the Rockville Montgomery Swim Club at the National Select Camp" said RMSC Lead Coach (MLK-NTG), Maneth Gravell. "Angela and Adriano work hard, they want to improve, and they are great teammates. They are definitely worthy of the prestigious honor, and we can't wait to see what they do in the coming years.

Congratulations Angela and Adriano and have fun in Colorado!"

 

This camp is designed for the top USA Swimming member athletes in the nation to have a once-in-a-lifetime camp experience. Swimmers are selected from the USA Swimming’s SWIMS database of top times in the country. During the camp, these swimmers will learn about post-race recovery, drug and supplement rules, psychological training skills, nutrition, race strategy and more.

Alumni of the camp include Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 medalists Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Lilly King, Michael Andrew and more. For more on the USA Swimming National Select Camp, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/swimmers-parents/swimmers/swim-camps#national-select-camps.

  

About USA Swimming

As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.

RMSC Swims to 4th Place in Return to Full-Capacity NCSA Junior Nationals

RMSC’s National Team travelled to the NCSA Spring Championships (Junior Nationals) on March 15-19 in Orlando, Florida. The meet was back to full capacity, featuring almost 1300 of the fastest 18&Under swimmers from all across the country, representing over 120 clubs. Despite the increase in competition, RMSC swimmers rose to the challenge and placed 4th combined, the same as their finish from last season’s limited-capacity meet. Scored separately, the men finished 3rd, while the women finished 9th. The top 24 finishers in each event scored points for the club, while the top 40 made it back to finals.

Many swimmers contributed points to the team effort, including five swimmers that earned medals by placing in the top eight. Madison Smith had two dominant swims, taking 1st in 500 free in a Team Record 4:44.62 and in 1650 free in a Team Record 16:21.60, and recording Senior National cuts in both. She was also 2nd in 1000 free and top 16 in 200 free. Toby Barnett led the team in scoring with 109 points. He placed 2nd in 200 breast in a Team Record and Senior National cut 1:56.48, 2nd in 400 IM in a Team Record 3:47.35, and 5th in 200 IM in a Team Record 1:46.73. He also placed top 16 in 200 back and 100 breast. Everett Oehler was 5th in 200 fly, 6th in 50 fly, and top 16 in 100 fly. Adriano Arioti was 6th in 200 fly in a 15-16 Team Record 1:46.40, 7th in 400 IM, and top 24 in 200 back and 100 fly. Sean Santos placed 7th in 1650 free, top 16 in 1000 free, and top 24 in 400 IM.

Our many other top finishes were important to the team’s results. Jed Garner was 9th in 200 breast and added a top 24 in 100 breast. Nina Allen had a top 16 finish in 50 free in a Team Record 22.81. Andrew Eliason was top 16 in 50 free and 50 back, and top 24 in 50 fly. Brady Begin had top 16 finishes in 1000 free and 1650 free. Carly Sebring took top 16 in 50 fly, and top 24 in 50 back and 100 back. Sarah Eliason was top 16 in 50 fly and top 24 in 100 fly. Parker Koenig placed top 16 in 50 fly and was top 24 in 50 free. Alvin Kimwon added a top 16 in 200 breast. Amy Qin had top 24 finishes in 50 free, 100 free, 50 back, and 100 back. Other top 24 scorers included: Teddy Ament in 1000 free, Nick Arndt in 200 free, Samir Elkassem in 500 free and 1000 free, and Liam McDonough in 50 back. Maria Webb finished top 32 to break the 13-14 Team Record in 200 fly in 2:01.98. Also adding top 40 finishes were: Isla Bartholomew, Katherine Blake, Orluke Borjigin, Harrison Cerone, Andrea Dworak, Nasim Elkassem, Evan Mackesy, Harrison Quach, Livia Venditti, Owen Watkins, and David Yune.

Many of the best swims and much of our scoring in this team effort came on relays, where RMSC displayed the best depth it has in years. In fact, six of our relay teams made the podium with top 8 finishes. The Boys 200 Free Relay of Owen Watkins, Nick Arndt, David Yune, and Andrew Eliason placed 5th, breaking the Team Record in 1:22.06. The Girls 200 Free Relay of Amy Qin, Andrea Dworak, Reagan Phillips, and Nina Allen also broke the Team Record in 1:32.80, finishing 6th. The Girls 200 Medley Relay of Carly Sebring, Hanna Bingley, Sarah Eliason, Nina Allen took 7th, also breaking the Team Record in 1:41.62. The Boys 400 Medley (Andrew Eliason, Toby Barnett, Everett Oehler, David Yune) finished 6th. And finishing 8th were the Girls 400 Free (Amy Qin, Sarah Eliason, Reagan Phillips, Nina Allen) and the Boys 200 Medley (Andrew Eliason, Toby Barnett, Adriano Arioti, Everett Oehler).

Showcasing our team’s depth, we had several other relays score by placing in the top 24, including the remainder of our A relays, and seven of our B relays. Contributors to these top 24 relays included: Arioti, Arndt, Barnett, Fletcher Bautz, Bingley, Sean Colson, Dworak, A.Eliason, S.Eliason, Nasim Elkassem, Jed Garner, Liam McDonough, Oehler, Phillips, Qin, Sean Santos, Sebring, Madison Smith, Rachel Soubier, Ainsley Taylor, Livia Venditti, Watkins, Maria Webb, and Yune.

NCSA Summer Junior Nationals

Three swimmers travelled to Huntsville, AL on August 10-14 for the NCSA Summer Swimming Championships. Due to the distance and dates of the meet, we did not have a big contingent at our usual longcourse Junior National meet, but the swimmers had a great meet there.

Madison Smith led the way with a 1st place finish in 400 free (4:17.31) that broke the RMSC 15-16 and Senior team records. She also broke 15-16 and Senior team records with her 3rd place finish in 1500 free (17:01.06). She added a 3rd in 200 free, a 7th in 800 free, and had best times in 100 free and 100 fly. Jed Garner also broke a pair of 15-16 team records with his 3rd place finish in 200 breast (2:19.57) and 6th place finish in 100 breast (1:05.63). He also finished top 24 in 50 breast, and recorded best times in 200 IM and 400 IM. Nikita Bityutskiy had a top 24 finish in 200 fly, and best times in 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, and 200 IM

Eastern Zone Senior LC Championships

RMSC had a big team of 49 swimmers travel to Buffalo, NY to compete in the Eastern Zone Senior Longcourse Championships, held August 5-8. RMSC had its highest finish ever, placing 2nd combined, 2nd in Girls, and 3rd in Boys. The meet featured over 60 teams from all over the Eastern Zone (Maine through Virginia). The team had several swimmers who scored for the team by placing in the top 16 in their events, and even more who qualified for finals by placing in the top 32.

Brady Begin led our individual scoring with a 3rd in 1500 free, 5th in 800 free, and top 16 in 400 free. Maria Webb placed 3rd in 200 fly, breaking a 23 year-old RMSC team record for 13-14 girls (2:18.28). AJ Navaleza was 4th in 100 breast and top 16 in 200 breast. Reagan Phillips was 5th in 200 IM and top 16 in 100 free. Rachel Soubier was 6th in 800 free and top 16 in 200 IM. Erin Haines was 8th in 200 breast and top 16 in 400 IM. Other scoring top 16 finishes were turned in by Orluke Borjigin in 800 free, Sean Davis, Jason Doan, and Sophie Elliott in 200 fly, Katy Wade in 200 breast, and Owen Watkins in 100 fly. RMSC was very well represented in finals, with the following swimmers also placing in the top 32 in their events: Kaden Alguard, Teddy Ament, Jamie Anderson, Fletcher Bautz, Nia Bowrin, Harrison Cerone, Konnor Chen, Emma Dorsey, Gabe Fouts, Aidan Goettsch, Josh Hernandez, Michael Kueh, Anna Li, Annie Liu, Kelsie Miller, Ben Nachod, Megan O’Hara, Emmanuel Odim, Liam Sheerin, Sam Spasoff, Ainsley Taylor, Michael Truong, Umi Vilbig, Natalie Webb, Jordan Webster, and Abigail Yo.

Much of our team scoring came in relays, where RMSC swam particularly well. In fact, each and every one of our Girls and Boys A and B relays scored by placing in the top 16! Our best finish was in the Girls 800 free relay, where Maria Webb, Rachel Soubier, Natalie Webb, and Reagan Phillips finished 3rd. Nia Bowrin, Ainsley Taylor, Reagan Phillips, and Karis Noboa were 4th in the 200 free relay. Our top Boys’ relays were 5th place finishes in the 800 free relay by Orluke Borjigin, Fletcher Bautz, Sean Davis, and Umi Vilbig, and the 400 medley relay by Emmanuel Odim, AJ Navaleza, Owen Watkins, and Umi Vilbig. We also had a 20 year-old RMSC team record broken in the 15-16 Girls 400 medley relay by Annie Liu, Erin Haines, Kelsie Miller, and Reagan Phillips (4:31.59). Also contributing to RMSC’s scoring in relays were: Teddy Ament, Konnor Chen, Tyler Coapstick, Gabe Fouts, Josh Hernandez, Ben Jo, Nick Keeler, Anna Li, Alex Nguyen, Megan O’Hara, Julie Schwieters, Sam Spasoff, Michael Truong, and Jordan Webster.

USA Swimming Summer Championships

Four RMSC swimmers competed in the highest-level Summer culminating meet in the Nation, the USA Swimming Speedo Summer Championships, held August 3-7. Due to capacity reasons, the meet was split into an East and a West site, with our swimmers travelling to Greensboro, NC for their half of the meet. Each of our four swimmers made finals appearances by placing in the top 32 in their events.

Adriano Arioti was 14th in 200 fly (2:02.71), and finished top 32 in 400 IM. Sean Santos was 15th in 1500 free (16:10.10) and added a top 24 finish in 400 free. Toby Barnett had three top 24 finishes, breaking RMSC team records in 15-16 200 breast (2:20.97) and 200 IM (2:07.13), with the 35 year-old 200 IM record now formerly held by U.S. Olympian Mike Barrowman. Pierre Zeineddin added a top 24 finish in 200 fly (2:04.45).

The foursome also finished 15th in the 400 free relay.

USA Swimming Futures

USA Swimming’s series of Junior National meets, known as Futures, were split regionally due to capacity reasons. 25 RMSC swimmers competed at the at Richmond, VA site from July 29 – August 1. RMSC finished in 9th place out of over 80 teams from the Eastern United States.

RMSC had several individuals scoring points for the team by finishing top 16, and making finals by placing in the top 32. Everett Oehler was 4th in 100 fly, 6th in 200 free, and top 16 in 100 free. Chris Ma was 6th in 200 fly and top 16 in 100 fly. Nina Allen was 7th in 50 free. Hanna Bingley was 8th in 100 breast and added a top 32 in 200 breast. Jane Umhofer placed top 16 in 100 breast and 200 breast. Liam McDonough finished top 16 in 200 back and added a top 24 in 100 back. Jonik Surprenant placed top 16 in 200 fly. Andrea Dworak broke the RMSC team record in 13-14 50 free (26.68), finishing top 24. Also making finals appearances with top 24 finishes were: Isla Bartholomew in 100 breast and 200 breast, Andrew Eliason in 100 back, Nasim Elkassem in 100 fly, Amy Qin in 50 free and 200 back, and Joyce Wu in 100 breast and 200 breast. Katherine Blake added a top 32 finish in 800 free.

In addition to the individual swims, the team of Andrea Dworak, Nina Allen, Amy Qin, and Livia Venditti placed 4th in the Girls 400 free relay, with Dworak breaking the RMSC team record in 13-14 100 free (58.53) leading off that relay. Everett Oehler, Chris Ma, Nasim Elkassem, and Zach Bayler added a 14th in the Boys 400 free relay.

Upcoming 2021 RMSC Team Tryouts

The initial 2021 RMSC Tryout Information is posted in the Joining RMSC tab above. Tryouts will be for team placement for the RMSC 2021 - 2022 Season beginning in September. 

Tryout Dates - Monday, June 28 and Monday, July 19, 2021

For more information please click the link under the ‘Joining RMSC’ tab above for pre-registration details.

RMSC Wins Eastern Zone Super Sectionals!! Abby Carr Qualifies for Olympic Trials!

65 RMSC swimmers travelled to Richmond, VA to compete in the Speedo Super Sectionals, on May 13-16. The meet featured top swimmers from over 50 teams covering the entire Eastern Zone (Maine to Virginia). Swimmers competed in Long Course meters, which was challenging, as only a handful of our swimmers had competed in long course since August, 2019 due to COVID. But the RMSC swimmers rose to the challenge, and came away with the Team Title in the Men’s, Women’s and Combined divisions.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the meet was Abby Carr’s 3rd place finish in 100 fly (1:00.32), which qualified her to represent RMSC at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha next month. It was also a 17-18 and Senior Team record. Abby also finished 3rd in 200 fly and 6th in 100 back. Adriano Arioti rewrote the record books as well, finishing 3rd in 400 IM (4:34.48), 6th in 200 IM (2:07.42), and 9th in 200 fly (2:04.98), all in 13-14 Team records. Toby Barnett broke the 15-16 Team record in 200 breast (2:21.75) with a 3rd place finish, and added a 6th in 400 IM and 7th in 200 IM. Alvin Kimwon had our top individual finish with a 1st place in 200 breast (2:19.94). Madison Smith was our team’s leading scorer at the meet with 59 points. She placed 3rd in 400 free, 4th in 1500 free, and 5th in 200 free and 800 free.

Joyce Wu was 3rd in 100 breast, and added another top 16 finish. Sean Santos was 4th in 1500 free, 8th in 400 free, and had two other top 16 finishes. Hanna Bingley was 4th in 100 breast and 7th in 200 breast. Sarah Culkin was 4th in 200 back, and added two other top 16 finishes, while Pierre Zeineddin was 4th in 200 fly and added another top 16 finish. Isla Bartholomew and Jed Garner were each 4th in 200 breast, girls and boys. Carly Sebring was 6th in 200 IM and had three other top 16 finishes, while Nina Allen was 6th in 50 free.

Also scoring for the club by finishing in the top 16 were: Melina Anschutz, Brady Begin, Katherine Blake, Orluke Borjigin, Adrianna Caponiti, James Case, Sean Colson, Erin Haines, Liam McDonough, Niko Natsvlishvili, Everett Oehler, Rachel Soubier, Livia Venditti, and Maria Webb. In addition, the following swimmers made finals appearances by placing in the top 24: Sean Davis, Connor Decatur, Emma Dorsey, Sophie Elliott, Gabe Fouts, Jack Ossi, Luciana Ossi, and Katy Wade.

Congratulations to all swimmers and coaches on the total team effort and hard fought victory. And best of luck to Abby at Olympic Trials!

RMSC Swimmers Committing to Colleges

Great Team Effort Leads to Great Results at NCSA Spring Junior Nationals

RMSC’s National Team recently competed at NCSA Spring Championships (Junior Nationals) on March 16-20.  The meet featured approximately 800 of the fastest 18&Under swimmers in the country, representing over 60 clubs.  The meet has held at lower capacity than in previous years, and RMSC swimmers took advantage of that to produce some of our best results in several seasons.   Combined, the team finished 4th overall with 1223 points, which is an improvement of over 400 points from 2019 (the meet was not held in 2020).   The team was as balanced as it has been in recent memory, with Boys finishing 3rd with 608 points, and Girls finishing 4th with 615 points.  The top 24 finishers in each event scored points for the club, while the top 40 made it back to finals.

 Many swimmers contributed points to the team effort, including seven swimmers that earned medals by placing in the top eight.  Individually, Toby Barnett led the team with 125 points.  His three 3rd place finishes were all RMSC Team records: 200 breast (1:57.87) was a 15-16 and Senior record and a Senior National cut, 200 IM (1:48.53) was a 15-16 record, and 400 IM (3:49.42) was a 15-16 and Senior record.  He also placed 6th in 500 free, top 16 in 200 back, and top 24 in 100 breast.  Madison Smith was our Girls’ leading scorer with 85 points.  She was 5th in 1000 free, 6th in 1650 free, and top 16 in 200 free and 500 free.  Carly Sebring was 7th in 50 fly (24.76) in a 15-16 Team record, top 16 in 50 back (25.10) in a 15-16 and Senior Team record, top 16 in 100 back (54.97) in a 15-16 Team record, and top 16 in 50 free and 100 fly.  Abby Carr was 7th in 200 fly (1:57.79) in a 17-18 and Senior Team record and Senior National cut,  8th in 200 back, top 16 in 100 back and 100 fly, and top 24 in 50 back.  Pierre Zeineddin was 6th in 200 fly and top 24 in 100 fly.  Everett Oehler was 7th in 200 free, top 16 in 50 fly, 100 fly, and 200 fly, and top 24 in 100 free.  Jonik Surprenant was 7th in 100 fly and 200 fly.  Sean Santos was top 16 in 1000 free and 1650 free, and top 24 in 500 free, 200 breast, and 400 IM.  Sarah Culkin was top 16 in 50 fly  and 200 fly, and top 24 in 100 fly.  Alvin Kimwon was top 16 in 200 breast, and top 24 in 50 breast and 100 breast.  Katherine Blake was top 16 in 1000 free and 1650 free.  Sarah Eliason was top 16 in 100 fly.  Andrew Eliason was top 24 in 50 free, 100 back, 100 fly, and 200 fly, while Jane Umhofer was top 24 in 100 breast and 200 breast.  Other top 24 scorers included: Hanna Bingley in 200 breast, James Case in 200 back, and Jed Garner in 200 breast.  Also adding top 40 finishes were: Nina Allen, Teddy Ament, Nasim Elkassem, Gabriel Fouts, Erin Haines, Rin Iimi, AJ Navaleza, Amy Qin, Aiden Rooney, Maria Sawadogo, and Rachel Soubier.

Many of the best swims in this team effort, and much of our scoring, came on relays.  Our top finish came from the Girls 200 Free Relay of Carly Sebring, Nina Allen, Amy Qin, and Sarah Eliason, who took 4th in a Senior Team Record (1:33.49).  Qin, Madison Smith, Eliason, and Sebring also had a 5th place finish in the Girls 400 Free Relay.  Our top Boys relay finish was a 5th in the 400 Medley Relay by Andrew Eliason, Alvin Kimwon, Jonik Surprenant, and Everett Oehler.  Oehler, Surprenant, Sean Santos, and Toby Barnett also turned in a 6th place finish in the Boys 800 Free Relay.  Abby Carr, Hanna Bingley, Sarah Culkin, and Sebring added an 8th place in Girls 200 Medley Relay.  Showcasing our team’s depth, we had several other relays score by placing in the top 24, including the remainder of our A relays, all five Girls B relays, and four Boys B relays.  Contributors to these top 24 relays included:  Katherine Blake, James Case, Nasim Elkassem, Liam McDonough, AJ Navaleza, Emmanuel Odim, Maria Sawadogo, Rachel Soubier, Jane Umhofer, David Yune, and Pierre Zeineddin.

Great Swims & Top Finishes for RMSC at PVS 18&U Winter Championships

RMSC had 46 swimmers compete at the Potomac Valley Swimming 18&Under Winter Championships, held December 3-6 in Sterling, VA.  The team swam extraordinarily well in the meet, which featured all of the best National-level swimmers from our LSC.  By virtue of qualifying times, these swimmers’ results will also be entered in the USA Swimming 18&Under Winter National Championships, which are taking place virtually at various separate meets across the Country in the month of December.

 Toby Barnett continued his record-breaking ways, taking 1st place and breaking RMSC 15-16 Team Records in 200 breast (2:00.38) and 400 IM (3:52.71).  He also broke the 15-16 Team Record in 200 IM (1:50.21), taking 2nd, and recorded best times in all six of his events.  Sean Santos had 1st place finishes in the distance free events, winning the 1000 (9:16.70) and 1650 (15:38.16).  He added a 2nd in 500 free, was top 8 in 200 breast and 400 IM, and had five best times.  Carly Sebring had a great meet, breaking the 15-16 Team Records in 100 back (55.00) and 100 fly (54.24) with a top 8 finish.  She also had top 8 finishes in 50 and 100 free, and added a pair of 9ths.  Everett Oehler was 2nd in 200 fly, 3rd in 200 free, and top 8 in 100 free and 100 fly.  Madison Smith took 2nd in 1000 free, and added top 8 finishes in 500 and 1650 free.  Jane Umhofer was 2nd in 200 breast and top 8 in 100 breast.  Alvin Kimwon took 2nd in 200 breast, and had best times in both breast events.  Chris Ma was 3rd in 100 fly, and had top 8 finishes in 50, 100, and 200 free, and 200 fly.  Sarah Culkin had a great meet with all best times, including a 3rd place in 200 back cracking the 2:00 barrier, and top 8 finishes in 100 back, 100 fly, and 400 IM.  Andrew Eliason was 3rd in 50 free, top 8 in 100 back, and broke several barriers such as 21 in 50 free and 50 in 100 back and fly.  Jonik Surprenant was 3rd in 1650 free, and added top 8 finishes in 100 and 200 fly, breaking 50 and 1:50 in the process.  Joyce Wu took 3rd in 100 breast and was top 8 in 200 breast.  Ziad Bandak and Katherine Blake each had top 8 finishes in 500 and 1000 free, while Rachel Soubier was top 8 in 500 and 1650 free.  Hanna Bingley had big time drops and top 8 finishes in 100 and 200 breast, while Erin Haines added a top 8 in 200 breast.  Competing as 14 year-olds, Sarah Eliason had four top 16 finishes, while Amy Qin and Livia Venditti each added two others; and the three had best times in all of their events!  Also placing in the top 16 in their events were: Nina Allen, Max Chen, Kate Cosgrove, Sean Davis, Ryan Gruner, Alison Kaiser, Niko Natsvlishvili, AJ Navaleza, Aiden Rooney, Maria Sawadogo, and Brookelynn Weinberg.

RMSC Swimmers Compete at Toyota U.S. Open

RMSC’s top swimmers travelled to Richmond, VA to compete in the Toyota U.S. Open, on November 12-14.  Due to capacity restrictions, the meet was held nine sites across the Country, with all swimmers and coaches socially distanced.  100 of the top men and 100 of the top women in the East competed at the Richmond site.  The meet was in Long Course meters, which was challenging, as our swimmers had not competed in long course since August, 2019 due to COVID. 

Toby Barnett broke the team record in 15-16 400 IM, finishing 7th in 4:34.24.  The record had stood for 34 years, and was held by Olympian and former World Record Holder Mike Barrowman.  He added a 6th in 200 breast and 7th in 200 IM, with all three of his swims in best times.  Abby Carr was 6th in 100 fly and 8th in 200 fly.  Sean Santos was 7th in 1500 free and 8th in 200 breast, and had best times in all three of his swims.  Chris Ma added an 8th in 200 fly, and a best time in 50 free.  Carly Sebring, Jane Umhofer, and Joyce Wu each added top 16 finishes, and were each just off their best times.  In addition, RMSC alumnus and current Harvard swimmer Jaycee Yegher accompanied us to the meet, and swam an outstanding 1st place 1:09.12 in 100 breast, and added a 3rd in 200 breast. 

Our National Team will next compete at the PVS 18&U Winter Championships, from December 3-6 in Sterling, VA.

COVID Can’t Slow Down RMSC NTG Showdown

RMSC held a COVID-safe version of its annual NTG Showdown, October 10-11 at Martin Luther King Jr. Swim Center in Silver Spring, MD.  Swimmers and coaches from each of the NTG groups were drafted into three teams: Red, White and Blue.  The meet was scored with Hy-Tek power points, and split into four sessions for facility capacity reasons.  Despite the challenges these swimmers faced this Summer and Fall, there were dozens of lifetime bests and several new Junior National cuts at the meet.

In a tightly contested meet, the "White Team" came out on top.  They were led by Chris Ma, who won the 50 free (21.69), 100 free (46.68), 100 fly (49.91), and 200 fly (1:49.38), and Carly Sebring, who won the 50 free (23.81), 100 free (51.24), and 200 free (1:50.44).  They also got wins from Sean Santos in 500 free (4:34.73) and Andrew Eliason in 100 back (51.34).

"Blue Team" took second, led by Katherine Blake's wins in 500 free (4:57.90) and 400 IM (4:25.21), Jane Umhofer's win in 200 breast (2:18.32), and Everett Oehler's win in 200 free (1:41.32). 

Despite the “Red team's” 3rd place finish, they had the two top individual scorers at the meet.  Toby Barnett won all five of his events in five best times, scoring his first U.S. Open cut and a new 15-16 Team Record with a 2:00.89 in 200 breast, and also taking the 200 IM (1:50.84), 400 IM (3:55.38), 100 breast (56.98), and 200 back (1:51.27).  Abby Carr also won her five events: 100 back (55.16), 200 back (1:59.47), 100 fly (54.70), 200 fly (1:59.57), and 200 IM (2:04.18).  Joyce Wu added a win in 100 breast (1:04.78).

Swimmers from all teams showed the club's excellent depth.  In addition to the above event winners, USA Swimming 18&U Winter Championship qualifying times were earned at the meet by: Nina Allen, Ziad Bandak, Hanna Bingley, Sean Colson, Kate Cosgrove, Sarah Culkin, Sean Davis, Sarah Eliason, Sophie Elliott, Gabe Fouts, Jed Garner, Erin Haines, Rin Iimi, Alvin Kimwon, Maddie Mara, Liam McDonough, Amy Qin, Maria Sawadogo, Eamon Smith, Madison Smith, Rachel Soubier, Jonik Surprenant, and Pierre Zeineddin.

SwimSwam.com also picked up on some of the fast times at the meet:

https://swimswam.com/toby-barnett-and-alvin-kimwon-battle-to-breakout-200-breaststroke-swims/

Thanks to Montgomery County Recreation and the City of Rockville for pooling time and resources to make this event happen, and to run smoothly and safely.

Select members of RMSC’s National Team will next be in action on November 12-14 at the Toyota U.S. Open, which will be held at multiple sites due to capacity restrictions.  Toby Barnett, Abby Carr, Chris Ma, Sean Santos, Carly Sebring, Eamon Smith, Jane Umhofer, and Joyce Wu will be competing at the Richmond, VA site, against top local and National swimmers.

Five RMSC Swimmers Named To USA Swimming Scholastic All-America Team

Congratulations to RMSC's five 2019-2020 USA Swimming Scholastic All-Americans!

Sarah Culkin, Chris Ma, Sean Santos, Carly Sebring and Pierre Zeineddin were all named to this prestigious team.  They achieved this honor with a combination of high-level success in the classroom and in the pool.  Qualifiers are required to maintain a 3.5 GPA and achieve at least one USA Swimming Winter Junior National qualifying time.

For more information on the team you can visit: 

https://www.usaswimming.org/news/2020/09/17/over-1-000-swimmers-named-to-2019-2020-scholastic-all-america-team

2020 RMSC NTG Showdown

The 2020 NTG Showdown will be held on Saturday, October 10 & Sunday, October 11, 2020 at the Martin Luther King Jr Indoor Swim Center in Silver Spring, MD.

Below are the links for the Meet Programs

Saturday, October 10 - Boys Session

Saturday, October 10 - Girls Session

Sunday, October 11 - Boys Session

Sunday, October 11 - Girls Session

Ladies & Gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure this swim meet will be live-streamed on Facebook Live each day! Each days video will be available from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Day 1 (Saturday Session) - NTG Showdown Day 1 will be at - https://fb.me/e/1GXIu5CqD 

Day 2 (Sunday Session) - NTG Showdown Day 2 will be at - https://fb.me/e/1XgTdKvwG

Ordering RMSC Personalized Caps

Families, It is that time to order personalized silicon team swim caps for your swimmer!

RMSC Name Caps - order a set of swim caps for your child with their name on them.

https://t-shirtpeople.com/rmsc_arena_silicone_name_caps/shop/home

NAME CAPS ORDERS DUE 10/31

Additional RMSC Team Apparel (Swim suits, hoodies, bags, jackets & pants) is also available online at https://www.casselsonline.com/swim/club-swim-team/rockville-montgomery-swim-club.html

Swim Practice Equipment

SWIM EQUIPMENT

Parents below is a list of equipment needed by our swimmers athletes for each practice.  Swimmers, please bring your swim equipment to all practices. If swim equipment is needed please visit https://www.casselsonline.com

COUNTY SITES  

Minis*, Juniors*, Junior 1*, Junior 2* & Advanced Juniors* – Kickboard, Fins & Mesh Bag 

Seniors *, Advanced Seniors * & NDG * – Kickboard, Fins, Paddles & Mesh Bag

NTG * - Alignment Kickboard, Fins, Paddles & Mesh Bag

*Pull Buoy & Snorkel are also suggested for these groups 

CITY OF ROCKVILLE

ISS & Junior 2 – Kickboard, Fins & Mesh Bag. Junior 1 Add Paddles & Pull Buoy 

Junior Select, Seniors, Senior Dev., Advanced Seniors & HSTP – Kickboard, Fins, Paddles & Mesh Bag 

NTG – Kickboard, Fins, Paddles, Snorkel, Pull Buoy & Mesh Bag