Common Sense

Senior swimmers and divers propel team into 13th at metros

Thursday, February 26, 2009 By Rachel Marcus

The swim and dive team, led by 21 seniors, placed 13th in this past weekend’s Metros. The girls did not finish in the top 15, but the boys finished tenth. 23 Wootton swimmers and divers qualified at the meet, the most ever for Wootton. “It is one of our best performances of the year,” senior swim captain Maddie Casey said. This season has been up and down for the Patriots, as they have had to rely upon their senior-laden team. However, the team managed to have a respectable showing in the Division One Championships and Counties before their solid performance at Metros. Wootton finished sixth as a team at the County Championships on Feb. 14. The boys had a strong showing, finishing fourth, while the girls finished tenth. Freshman Kenneth Ke had an impressive performance in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke. Senior Chris Emr also paced the boys with strong performances in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle. Sophomore Jordan Lesser finished fifth in diving. In the Division One Championships, Wootton placed fourth. Freshman Kenneth Ke had his personal-best swim in the 100-meter backstroke, as did sophomore swimmer Thomas Finn. Another freshman, Michael Fu, had a personal-best swim in the 200 IM and the 100-meter breast. Junior Raymond Zhou had his top swim in the 500-meter free and the 100-meter breast stroke. “Everybody gave it their all,” Casey said. “We had some really good races.” Although the team did not finish in the top three in the Division One championships, the showing was still respectable. “The important result is that Wootton will stay in Division One,” Blume said. “I am pleased with the results for the most part.” The two recent results came after two disappointments; a loss and a tie. Following a 111-60 loss to a perennially high-ranked Walter Johnson team on Jan. 17, the Patriots tied Whitman. However, in Wootton’s next meet on Jan. 31, the team was able to bounce back, beating Gaithersburg 122.5-48.5. Even though Gaithersburg is in a lower division, the win would be considered dominating against anyone. “The [Gaithersburg] win was a good confidence booster,” Casey said. “The senior captains will be a big loss [at season’s end],” Blume said. The team still has a solid core of underclassmen returning, however. “The freshmen boys [along with freshman Liz Dickerson have] done excellent jobs this year,” Blume said. “Sophomores Finn and Emily Bolek [have also been] productive.”