Richard Montgomery Snags Girls’ State Title; Churchill Reclaims Boys’ Championship Title

MPSSAA SWIMMING & DIVING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 23-24, 2024
• College Park, MD
• Meet Central
• Girls Results
• Boys Results
• Team Results

Girls’ Recap

The Richard Montgomery girls’ swim and dive team took home the state championship title at the Maryland class 4A/3A high school swimming and diving state championships. RM won with 299.5 points, jumping up from last year’s 3rd-place finish to surpass two-time defending champion Walter Johnson High School’s 280 points.

Five new state records were set on the girls’ side during the meet, including one by RM senior Sarah Eliason in the 100 fly. Eliason swam a time of 54.33, lowering her own record originally set in 2023 by 0.05 seconds.

Also smashing state records was Andrea Dworak. A junior at James Hubert Blake committed to University of Wisconsin, Dworak broke her own 200 freestyle record by nearly two seconds, taking first in a time of 1:46.72. She later shattered the 500 free record, posting a 4:46.55 and shaving almost six seconds off the previous record of 4:52.25 set by Maren Conze back in 2020.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase sophomore Virginia Hinds was another record breaker at the meet, taking down two state records in the 100 free and 100 back. Hinds lowered the 100 free record to sub-50 for the first time, winning the race in a time of  49.93. She followed it up by posting a 53.35 in the 100 back, breaking the previous record of 53.68 set by La Plata High School’s Addy Donnick in 2022. Hinds’ performance in the backstroke also makes her the tw0-time defending champion in the event, as she won last year as well.

These record-breaking races continued Hinds’ winning streak following a strong performance at the Metros Championship a few weeks ago, where she took 1st-place in the 100 back and 100 free.

Another standout race from the meet was the 200 IM, which turned out to be a rematch from Metros as Eliason and Walter Johnson junior Madeleine Simmons battled for the state title. Simmons, who had taken second at Metros, got her redemption here as she posted a personal best, out-touching Eliason by 0.01 seconds in a time of 2:01.93.

RM took 1st-place in both freestyle relays. Livia Venditti, Anna Mitchum, Lauren Gotting and Eliason secured the 200 free relay in a time of 1:35.81. The team of Venditti, Julie Schwieters, Gotting and Eliason took home the 400 free relay in a time of 3:29.07, just ahead of Walter Johnson’s team of Healey Morgan, Isla Bartholomew, Elanor Saybolt, and Simmons, who touched second in a time of 3:29.97.

Venditti proved a strong contributor to RM’s success, turning in two 2nd-place finishes in the 200 free and the 100 back in times of 1:52.66 and 55.85, respectively. Teammate Mitchum followed in the 100 back, taking 4th-place with a time of 58.17, while Schwieters tied for 3rd-place in 50 free with a time of 23.86.

Walter Johnson fought for a chance at the State Championship title throughout the meet. Junior Bartholomew claimed victory in the 100 breast in a time of 1:04.08, less than a second off her best time set just weeks prior at the Metros Championship. Also securing valuable points was Morgan, a William & Mary commit, who boasted a 2nd-place finish in the 50 free, touching in a time of 23.77.

Other Event Winners

• Wootton High School took home the 200 medley relay (1:45.54). The team of Elizabeth Chen, Amy Qin, Campbell Scofield and Anna Nishnianidze cruised in ahead of Bethesda-Chevy Chase to secure valuable points for their team, which placed 4th overall.
• Qin, a senior at Wootton High committed to University of Pennsylvania, won the 50 free (22.86) by 0.9 seconds. She was just narrowly off her best time of 22.73, set just weeks prior in her win at the Metros Championship.
• Kaarina Williams finished first with 395.95 points in the 1-meter diving competition. A sophomore at Walt Whitman, her score fell slightly under her best performance at the Metros Championship earlier this month, where she racked up 439.10 points.

Girls Team Scores

1. Richard Montgomery High School – 299.5
2. Walter Johnson High School – 280
3. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School – 223
4. Wootton High School – 199.5
5. Winston Churchill High School – 199
6. Montgomery Blair High School – 151
7. Walt Whitman High School – 136
8. Magruder High School – 126
9. Quince Orchard High School – 106
10. Leonardtown High School – 94

Boys’ Recap

The Winston Churchill boys’ swim and dive team won by a landslide at this year’s Maryland 4A/3A High School State Championships, racking up 377 points to surge ahead of Wootton High School, who came in second with 228 points. Churchill’s victory gave them back the State Champion title that they last held in 2022.

The boys’ competition saw three new state records set by Churchill’s swimmers. Senior Nasim Elkassem, committed to University of Southern California, was the only competitor to break an individual record. He finished in a time of 20.54, .01 seconds faster than the previous record from 2022.

Elkassem went on to post a personal best in the 50 free from the leadoff position on the 200 free relay, touching in a time of 20.29. He was joined on the relay by teammates Samir Elkassem, Michael Kaiser and Kyle Wang, whose combined efforts resulted in a time of 1:22.82, smashing the previous state record and finishing almost six seconds ahead of 2nd-place.

Churchill also shattered the state record in the 400 free relay, lowering the record by 1.41 seconds. The team of Brady Begin, Elkassem, Wang and Elkassem posted a time of 3:01.98 and took 1st-place by nearly eight seconds.

The 200 medley relay turned out to be another exciting race for Churchill, as the boys narrowly out-touched Wootton to take first. Charlie Begin, Maximus Devinney, Kaiser and Jonah Ginsburg finished in a time of 1:35.06, while Wootton’s team of Ashton Sun, Jason Li, Michael Kueh, Tyler Coapstick raced in just behind with a time of 1:35.11.

Seniors Wang and Brady Begin turned in top points for Churchill throughout the meet. The pair of them went 1-2 in the 200 free; Wang touched first in a time of 1:39.93 while Begin followed in a time of 1:40.90. Wang, a Northwestern commit, also won the 100 free in a time of 45.61, half a second off his personal best from the Metros meet a few weeks prior.

Begin, who is committed to UNC Chapel Hill, took 2nd-place in the 500 free, finishing in a time of 4:31.05 behind Magruder High School senior Evan Mackesey, who posted a time of 4:29.04. Sophomore Charlie Begin secured 3rd-place, finishing in a time of 4:33.46.

Churchill turned in another 1-2 performance in the 100 back: Nasim Elkassem took 1st-place in a time of 49.31, with Charlie Begin snagging 2nd-place in a time of 49.60. They were the only two swimmers in the field to throw down sub-50 performances.

RM senior and Yale commit Elliot Lee turned in top swims as well, taking 1st-place in the 200 IM and posting a personal best in a time of 1:47.26. He also took home the 100 fly, winning in a time of 48.57. In both races, Lee beat out Churchill competitor and Duke commit Samir Elkassem for the victory.

Other Event Winners

• Brian Wilbur, a senior at Sherwood High School, took first in the 100 breast (55.45). His time was just off of his personal best (55.11) that he swam at the Metros Championship in early February.
• Tynan O’Donoghue took home the state title in the 1-meter diving, racking up a total score of 488.20 points for his 11 dives. A senior at Walt Whitman, his best performance was 529.30 points at the Metros Championship a few weeks ago.

Boys Team Scores

1. Winston Churchill High School – 377
2. Wootton High School – 228
3. Walter Johnson High School – 224.5
4. Montgomery Blair High School – 205
5. Richard Montgomery High School – 197
6. Walt Whitman High School – 133.5
7. Northwest High School – 127
8. Sherwood High School – 124
9. Quince Orchard High School – 120
10. Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS – 117