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This winter could be an historic one in Montgomery County swimming. The Good Counsel girls have won 13 consecutive Metropolitan Area Swimming and Diving Championships, while the Georgetown Prep boys won their fifth straight in 2007-08.
Both are still among the strongest in the area, but there are several teams ready to capitalize and catapult them off the pedestals they've held for so long.
Two-time defending Division I champion Walter Johnson, Churchill, Wootton, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Sherwood and Whitman top the public school ranks. The Good Counsel boys boast the strongest team they've featured in awhile, while Holton-Arms is looking to build on its school-record five consecutive Independent School League titles, as well as last year's 10th-place finish at Metros.
The Good Counsel girls graduated a ton of scorers, but returning senior Blair Webb, junior Kaitlin Mills and freshman Sarah Haase — whose older sister, Colleen, holds Metros records in the 200-yard medley relay and 100 breaststroke — will likely be big scorers.
Seniors Casey Stodter, Kevin Vallario, Zack Wepasnick — who each racked up four top-10 finishes at Metros last year — and Matt Reinheimer, helped the Falcons boys to their best Metros finish (4th) in '08 since finishing second in 2000.
"I don't think we're the favorites on the girls side this year," Falcons coach Billy Howard said. "We're going to have to scratch and claw for extra points. These four senior boys, this is their last chance to win. And we do have a chance."
Eight-time defending Interstate Athletic Conference champion Georgetown Prep (8-3 last year) has a different look this winter. The Little Hoyas normally post points in every event, and while still diverse, they predominantly specialize in the freestyle this year.
Senior Brady Fox, who set a record en route to winning the 100 butterfly at last year's Metros in addition to taking the 100 back and 200 medley relay, senior Adam Spencer (three top-10 finishes) and junior transfer Matt Thomas, who finished second and third in the 500 and 200 freestyles for Magruder last year, will be the Little Hoyas' top performers.
Churchill's girls (4-2) are likely the favorite to win Metros this year. Their third-place finish last year was the highest of any public school. The Bulldogs return most of those points — seniors Dorothy Yu, juniors Alicia Watkins, Karen Chen, diver Alex Stanton and sophomore Yvonne Huo — and picked up freshman Natalya Ares, who will likely make an immediate impact.
Seniors Michael Stanton, who finished fourth at last year's Metros diving competition, and Drew Fisher, juniors Verboncoeur and freshmen Chris Wysocki and international-caliber diver Timothy Faerber lead the Bulldogs boys (5-1).
Walter Johnson has become a perennial power. Led by senior Mina Vucic, who won the 50 freestyle at last year's Metros and finished second and third in the 400 freestyle relay and 100 freestyle, and sophomore diver Katie Collins (3rd), Walter Johnson will be a strong contender at counties and Metros. The Wildcat boys should still be among the county's elite, led by seniors Ben Cimons and Aaron Budner and juniors Andrew Tollefson and Kevin Spak.
Wootton's boys lost their one-two punch: Sean Stewart (University of Maryland) and Stephen Sakaris. Senior Chris Emr will be the Patriots' go-to, while senior Madeline Casey and juniors Emily Bolek and Jessica Ding will be among the Patriots girls' top performers.
The Whitman boys bounced back from a winless 06-07 to finish last year at 3-2; the girls were 4-1. Backed by juniors Jackson Janzich, Serge Gould, Lauren Poore, Jenna Mahaffie and Danielle Schulkin, both should be competitive again.
Sherwood, behind Emily Ryczek, Kelly Stout, Ricci Sargent, Katie Relihan, Mike Anderson and Eric Conrad, remain a formidable obstacle.
Richard Montgomery dropped down to Division II this year. Seniors Anais Menguy, who signed to swim at University of Virginia, and Ari Fein, will be big scorers on the girls' side, while senior Danny Isaacson leads the boys.
Led by senior Andrew McGeehee, junior Jeff Lin and sophomore Eric Ruggieri, Blair is looking for its second-straight undefeated season. The Blazer girls, powered by seniors Melanie Snail and Caitlin Ludington, are stronger than they've been in a while.
Defending county and Metros diving champion, Magruder senior Brittany Powell (slated to dive at Harvard next year), younger sister Shannon, Caroline Hanson and Katie Hartman anchor the Colonels' campaign.
Led by Cara Chuang, who won the 100 back and 200 individual medley last year, senior Devan Maneely and freshman boys Matthew Liu, Huy Lam, Patrick An and Chuck Miller, Poolesville looks to make its mark on Division II.
Damascus senior Sarah Van Doren set a county record en route to winning the 100 breaststroke at last year's Metros. The Swarmin' Hornets dropped down to Division III in 08-09 but hope to be more competitive there.
Holy Cross' top swimmer, Katie Rogers, will be sidelined most of the year with a leg injury but led by seniors Jennifer Kotonias, Jessica Donahue and Allie Gibeily, the Tartans (6-3) look to build on last year's fifth-place finish at Metros; they finished second at the Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swimming and Diving League Championships.
Stone Ridge (10-2) lost its top four scorers and will rely on seniors Elizabeth Gutermann and Kerry Goodson, sophomore Haley Kameros and freshman Katy Gillis to keep afloat.