Score:

Boys: 115.50 LCHS (2-4) vs. 170.5 DHS

Girls: 127 LCHS (3-3) vs. 159 DHS

Combined: 242.50 LCHS (1-5) vs. 329.50 DHS

The Lady Raiders broke two Loudoun County High School Swim Team Records and earned a state qualifying time in the 200 Medley Relay in their meet against Dominion High School this past Friday, January 29, 2010, at Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of these girls,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda. “We’ve been working on starts, turns, and stroke technique in order to get this final relay a qualifying time for States.” Grzeda is referring to the Lady Raiders already having the 200 and 400 Yard Freestyle Relays with state qualifying times for the season.

The Lady Raiders who earned the state qualifying time/LCHS Swim Team Record were Senior Captain Julie Strange, Sophie Newton (So.), Katie Russell (So.), and Adrienne Rivera (Fr.) and their time was 2:02.00.

The Boys fell to Dominion High School but had a great start going into the meet with Senior Captains Nick Cechak and Will Shoemaker, Joe Gibson (Jr.), and Jake Koenig (So.) taking first in the 200 Yard Medley Relay in 1:50.81 missing the state qualifying time in this event by two hundredths of a second.

Freshman Kyle Bowers placed third in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:14.78 while Junior Jay Wareham also took third in the 200 Yard IM in 2:21.75. Bowers would later take third in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:10.53 as well.

Jake Koenig (So.) earned two first place finishes for the Raiders in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:00.28, and 100 Yard Breaststroke 1:09.57, the two events that he hopes to place in at the District Meet next weekend. He has already qualified for States in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and the two Raiders relays.

Senior Captain Nick Cechak took second place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 56.12 and Senior Captain Will Shoemaker tied for third place in the same event capturing a time of 56.78.

Nick McCord (Fr.) and Chris Stowell (Jr.) earned first and second place in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:31.88 and 5:57.83 for the Raiders and Joe Gibson (Jr.) took third in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:09.13.

After capturing the state qualifying time and LCHS School Record in the 200 Medley Relay the Lady Raiders Abby Gribbin (Jr.) took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:23.12 and Julie Strange (Sr.) took first place in the 200 IM in 2:34.65 and Amanda Armstrong (So.) captured third place in 2:44.38. Strange would later take third place in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:15.06.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, the LCHS Swim Team participated in a Swim-A-Thon at Ida Lee Recreation Center to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The athletes swam a total of 5,528 lengths during the hour-long event!  Each swimmer received pledges from friends, family and teachers for each length that they completed; the team is excited to see how much money they have raised for LLS! There was a three-way tie between Jake Koenig, Nick McCord and Chris Stowell for the most lengths completed during the sixty minutes; the boys swam 156 each!  The entire team worked extremely hard to get in as many lengths as they could; the Swim-A-Thon will now be part of the regular season for years to come!

A big thanks goes out to all the parents that volunteered their time to help count the lengths! 

Pictures of the event can be found at:

http://s842.photobucket.com/albums/zz344/lchsswim/Swim-A-Thon/?albumview=slideshow

Score:

Boys: 129 LCHS (2-3) vs. 157 PFHS

Girls: 114 LCHS (3-2) vs. 172 PFHS

Combined: 243 LCHS (1-4) vs. 329 PFHS

Sophie Newton (So.) and Jake Koenig (So.) individual swims were the highlights of the Raiders defeat to Potomac Falls High School this past Friday, January 22, at the Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

The addition of Newton’s two State Qualifying times this week (in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:33.83 taking first place and the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:03.69 taking second place) gives her six State Qualifying times in individual events for the season; those events are the 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Butterfly, 200 Yard Individual Medley, and 50 Yard Freestyle. Sophie has also helped the Lady Raiders 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays State Qualifying times this season.

“Sophie is an amazing swimmer with a vast amount of talent,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda. “It is not often that such a well rounded swimmer comes your way; especially one who is so humble and yet steadfast in succeeding on her terms. I am excited to see what she will be capable of in two years when she is a senior.”

Sophie now has five individual LCHS School Records as well as one relay: the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.

Sophomore Jake Koenig earned his first individual state qualifying time in the 100 Yard Breaststroke narrowly defeating Potomac Falls HS’s Eoghan (pronounced Owen) Foley with a time of 1:07.09. This will be the second time that Jake has broken the LCHS School Record this season in this event.

“Jake truly devoted himself to this race tonight,” said Raiders Assistant Coach Jess Fry- Jones. “Before going to the block, he said, “I’m getting the State Cut,” and he did! There was no one that was going to distract him from doing so.”

Koenig (So.) also earned a win in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 59.92 for the evening with teammate Courtner Clark taking a close second place in 1:00.65.

The Raider Boys fell to the Potomac Falls 200 Medley Relay at the beginning of the meet, but Senior Captain Will Shoemaker took second place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:04.69 capturing a personal best time in this event. Courtner Clark (So.) had an amazing swim in the 200 Yard I.M. taking first place in 2:11.69 and earning a personal best time in this event. Junior Jay Wareham took third place in 2:25.10 while Senior Captain Nick Cechak took third place in the 50 Yard Freestyle in 24.75.

Senior Captains Will Shoemaker and Nick Cechak took second and third places in the 100 Yard Freestyle for the evening; Shoemaker second place in 55.55 and Cechak third place in 56.02.

Junior Chris Stowell earned a personal best in the 500 Yard Freestyle for the evening, taking second place in 5:56.93 while fellow juniors Joe Gibson and Jay Wareham took first and third places in the 100 Yard Backstroke; Gibson first place in 1:05.29 and Wareham third place in 1:10.43.

The Raider Boys won the final relay, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:43.60. The relay was made up of Raiders Senior Captains Will Shoemaker and Nick Cechak, Cort Clark (So.), and Jake Koenig (So.).

The Lady Raiders also fell to the Panthers in the 200 Medley Relay, however Sophomore Katie Russell took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:09.85 and Senior Captain Julie Strange took third in the 200 Yard IM in 2:32.59, a personal best time for Strange in the event. Katie Russell would later take first place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 58.73, her personal best for the season, narrowly missing the State Qualifying time.

Elise Rivera (Sr.) took third in the 50 Yard in 28.29, and Adrienne Rivera (Fr.) also earned third place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:21.67. The Lady Raiders 400 Yard Freestyle Relay easily took first place in 4:02.02; the relay was made up of Senior Captain Julie Strange, Elise Rivera (Sr.), Sophie Newton (So.), and Katie Russell (So.).

“I was pleased to see some of the Lady Raiders stepping up and taking their swims seriously,” said Fry-Jones. “Elise Rivera has been working extremely hard the past few weeks and it shows in the past two meets.”

Next weekend the Raiders have two meets scheduled: Friday, January 29, at Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, Va., at 5:30 PM against Dominion High School, and Saturday, January 30, at Ida Lee Recreation Center in Leesburg, Va., at 6:00 PM against Briar Woods High School.

Score:

Boys: 129 LCHS (2-2) vs. 159 FHS

Girls: 143 LCHS (3-1) vs. 142 FHS

Combined: 272 LCHS (1-3) vs. 299 FHS

The Raiders claimed five more state qualifying times and had one school record set in their meet against Freedom High School this past Saturday, January 16, 2010, at Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

The Raider Boys earned their second state qualifying relay time for the season in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:36.71. The relay was made up of Raiders Captain Will Shoemaker (Sr.), Cort Clark (So.), Jake Koenig (So.), and Freshman Nick McCord.

“I told these guys to rest up and get that state qualifying time this afternoon,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda. “The time was all I cared about, and apparently it was all they cared about too! We have two out of the three relays in States this year and that is a heavy burden lifted off our shoulders.”

Sophomore Courtner “Cort” Clark came up huge for the Raiders, not only taking first in the 500 Yard Freestyle but with a state qualifying time and new school record in 5:14.02. This is the second school record set for the Raiders this season.

“I’m extremely proud of Courtner,” said Grzeda. “He came up to me and said hold me to 31’s, meaning he wanted me to have him swim his 50’s through the race in 31 seconds and for the most part he did. I knew that he wanted the state qualifying time, but he took it one step further and claimed the school record as well. As a coach, it is great to have a sophomore with that much focus and talent on your team.”

Sophomore Jake Koenig also came up big for the Raiders narrowly taking second in the 200 Yard Freestyle (1:58.82) and first in the 100 Yard Butterfly (59.76).

Freshman Nick McCord took third in the 200 Yard Freestyle (2:03.57) and Jay Wareham took second in the 200 Yard IM with a 2:26.23 later claiming third in the 100 Yard Backstroke with a 1:11.41.

Captains Will Shoemaker (Sr.) and Nick Cechak (Sr.) took second and third in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 56.29 (Shoemaker) and 56.32 (Cechak) while Chris Stowell (Jr.) took third in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 6:04.81 and Joe Gibson (Jr.) took second in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:05.74.

The Lady Raiders also earned another state qualifying relay time in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay in 3:58.76. The relay was made up of Captain Julie Strange (Sr.), Elise Rivera (Sr.) and Sophomores Sophie Newton and Katie Russell.

The other big story of the evening was Sophie Newton (So.) claiming two more state qualifying times in back to back events: 200 Yard IM (2:20.36) and the 50 Yard Freestyle (26.52).

“Although she wasn’t pleased with her swims, I was proud of her for taking on the challenge with such determination and succeeding,” said Grzeda.

Before earning these state qualifying times, the Lady Raiders took first in the 200 Yard Medley Relay in 2:03.81, narrowly missing the state qualifying time by 22 hundredths of a second for this event. The relay was made up of Katie Russell (So.), Adrienne Rivera(Fr.), Sophie Newton (So.), and Senior Captain Julie Strange.

Katie Russell (So.) came up big once again for the Lady Raiders in her individual events; taking first in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:09.42 and second place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 59.31.

Captain Julie Strange (Sr.) fought hard and earned third place in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:33.58 (a best time this season by three seconds) and took first place in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 6:02.62.

Captain Kelly McGrath (Sr.) took second place in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:17.33 while Caroline Joseph (Jr.) claimed third in 1:20.00. Senior Elise Rivera took third place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 1:02.96 while Abby Gribbin (So.) dropped 11 seconds in her 500 Yard Freestyle to take third place in 6:49.65.

Amanda Armstrong (So.) placed second in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:15.21 while freshman Adrienne Rivera took third in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:23.44.

For complete results for the Raiders, please see the results files which are attached.

The Loudoun County High School Swim Team enjoyed a friendly game of water polo over the winter break.  Please click on the following link to view the pictures from the game:

http://s842.photobucket.com/albums/zz344/lchsswim/Water%20Polo/?albumview=slideshow

Thanks to Eric Cechak for taking these photos and all of our pictures from the swim meets. 

Score:

Boys:  148 LCHS (1-1) vs. 137 GMHS

Girls:  136 LCHS (2-0) vs. 150 GMHS

Combined:  284 LCHS (1-2) vs. 287 GMHS

After taking off a few weeks due to the blizzard and Winter Break, the Raiders were well rested and ready to take on a team that they had never faced before in the history of the team; the George Mason High School Mustangs. The meet took place this past Friday, January 8, at Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

The Raider Boys earned their first state qualifying time for the season in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:37.99. The relay was made up of Raiders Captains Nick Cechak (Sr.), Will Shoemaker (Sr.), Jake Koenig (So.) and Nick McCord (Fr.).

Sophomore Cort Clark came up big for the Raiders getting first in the 200 Yard Freestyle in a 1:59.08, and later in the evening coming in an extremely close second place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke with a 1:10.89, missing first place by 43 hundredths of a second.

Sophomore Jake Koenig also had a pair of great individual swims for the Raiders taking first in the 200 Yard Individual Medley in 2:14.81 and second in the 100 Yard Butterfly with a 1:02.95.

“I am pleased to see how Courtner [Clark] and Jake [Koenig] contribute to the team and to themselves each week”, said Coach Nick Grzeda. “They are so driven to succeed in every event they swim. Not only for themselves, but for the Raiders – you simply can’t ask for better student athletes.”

Captain Nick Cechak (Sr.) took second place in the 50 Yard Freestyle with a 24.93, while juniors Jay Wareham and Chris Stowell took third in their first individual events for the evening; Jay in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a 2:14.27 and Chris with a 1:10.71 in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Nick would later take third place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:13.06 and Chris took third place in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a 6:03.09, both best times for them this season.

Freshman Nick McCord took on George Mason High School’s top swimmer in the 100 Yard Freestyle and took second place by 65 hundredths of a second in 54.45. Captain Will Shoemaker (Sr.) took third in 57.05 for the Raiders. Joe Gibson (Jr.) took third place for the Raiders in the 100 Yard Backstroke with a 1:06.14.

The Lady Raiders earned their third and fourth state qualifying times tonight. The first was a team effort in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:49.67; the relay was made up of Captain Julie Strange (Sr.), Elise Rivera (Sr.) and Sophomores Sophie Newton and Katie Russell. The other state qualifying time came from Sophie Newton in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:06.68 – Sophie came in first place in the 100 Yard Butterfly with a 1:05.54 and had earned a state qualifying time in this event earlier in the season. The other three Lady Raiders in this relay came up with big individual wins for the Raiders for the evening.

Julie Strange (Sr.) took first place in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:36.44 and second place in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:12.93. Senior Elise Rivera took third place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 1:03.87 and Katie Russell (So.) took third in both the 50 Yard Freestyle (27.23) and 100 Yard Breaststroke (1:23.36).

Kelly McGrath took third in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:16.37, while Abby Gribbin (Jr.) took second place in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 7:01.62 and Freshman Adrienne Rivera took second place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:22.23.

“I’m content that we currently hold a 2-1 record for the boys and the same for the girls right now,” said Grzeda about the results of the meet. “I think that the state qualifying times will begin to start rolling in now and that my swimmers are focused more than ever now”.

For complete results for the Raiders, please see the Results file which has been attached.

The Loudoun County High School vs. Briar Woods High School swim meet at Claude Moore Recreation Center on December 19, 2009, has been cancelled due to inclement weather.  Please contact Coach Grzeda or Coach Fry-Jones with any questions or concerns. 

Score:

Boys:  125.5 LCHS (1-1) vs. 159.5 BRHS

Girls:  157 LCHS (2-0) vs. 128 BRHS

Combined:  282.5 LCHS (1-1) vs. 287.5 BRHS

The Loudoun County HS Raiders faced the Broad Run HS Spartans this past Friday, December 11, at Ida Lee Recreation Center for the second meet of the season where the team earned their second State Qualifying time.

Katie Russell (So.) earned her first State Qualifying time in the 50 Yard Freestyle in 26.12, helping the Lady Raiders to defeat the Spartans 157-128 while the boys were defeated 125.5-159.5.

“Although the boys couldn’t pull out a win for the evening, I am proud of them for going head to head against a phenomenal team like Broad Run,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda.  This is Grzeda’s fifth season as Head Coach of the Raiders.  “The girls swam great this evening as well.  They truly stepped up their swimming ability to a new level this week.”

The Raider Boys took first in the 200 Yard Free Relay in 1:39.80, narrowly missing the State Qualifying cut time.  The team was made up of Captain Nick Cechak (Sr.), Jay Wareham (Jr.), Jake Koenig (So.) and freshman Nick McCord.

Sophomore Jake Koenig came up with two big wins for the Raiders in his individual events, the 200 Yard Freestyle (1:59.94) and the 100 Yard Butterfly (59.86).

Cort Clark (So.) was also impressive in his individual events for the evening, winning the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:10.03 and taking a very respectable third place in the 200 Yard Individual Medley in 2:14.59.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Courtner’s performance tonight,” said Assistant Coach Jess Fry-Jones.  “He is an amazing leader in the pool; his diligence and hard work during team practices are seen in every race he swims at meets.  It is an absolute delight to watch him swim.”

Freshman Nick McCord had an outstanding race against Broad Run’s Cameron Lucas in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:31.45; Lucas narrowly defeated McCord by just over one second.

“I feel as though we put Nick [McCord] through the wringer tonight,” said Grzeda.  “He competed in three events in a row without any rest and then we put him in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with only one event’s worth of rest.  Nick met the challenge head on and although he was tired and disappointed with his performance, I found a new respect for him tonight; he is a great swimmer who will go far in his career.”

Other noteworthy swims for the Raider boys were Captain Nick Cechak’s (Sr.) 50 Yard Freestyle (24.82) and 100 Yard Breaststroke (1:14.03), Captain Will Shoemaker’s (Sr.) 100 Yard Freestyle (58.00), Chris Stowell’s (Jr.) 500 Yard Freestyle (6:08.92), Joe Gibson’s (Jr.) 100 Yard Backstroke (1:06.91) and Jay Wareham’s (Jr.) 100 Yard Backstroke (1:09.69).

The Lady Raiders also took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:52.10 for the evening.  The relay was made up of Captain Julie Strange (Sr.), Elise Rivera (Sr.), Katie Russell (So.) and Amy Askew (So.).   

Sophomore Katie Russell was the story of the evening, earning her first State Qualifying time of the season in the 50 Yard Freestyle and taking first place in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a 5:53.19.

Elise Rivera picked up a first place finish in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 1:04.22; a best time for her this season.

Other noteworthy swims for the Lady Raiders were Captain Julie Strange’s (Sr.) two second place finishes in the 200 Yard Freestyle (2:16.61) and 100 Yard Backstroke (1:11.90), Captain Kelly McGrath’s (Sr.) 100 Yard Butterfly (1:18.15) and 100 Backstroke (1:20), Amanda Armstrong’s (So.) 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:47.94) and 100 Yard Breaststroke( 1:25.50), Jackie Schneck’s (So.) 100 Yard Butterfly (1:21.53), Amy Askew’s (So.) 100 Yard Freestyle (1:07.31), Arlyn Garcia’s (So.) 500 Yard Freestyle (7:03.47) and freshman Adrienne Rivera’s second place finish in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:20.58.

For complete results, please see attached.

Score:

Boys:  215 LCHS (1-0) vs. 67 PVHS

Girls:  202 LCHS (1-0) vs. 75 PVHS

Combined:  417 LCHS (1-0) vs. 142 PVHS

The Raiders hosted the Park View Patriots this past Friday, December 4, at Ida Lee Recreation Center for their first meet of the season and earned one State Qualifying time and had one LCHS Swim Team record broken for the evening.

Sophie Newton (So.) earned her first State Qualifying time in the 100 Yard Butterfly with a 1:05.43, and Jake Koenig (So.) broke the Loudoun County High School record in the 100 Yard Breaststroke with a 1:07.88; both swimmers took first place in these events helping the Raiders to defeat the Patriots 202-75 for the Girls and 215-67 for the Boys.

The Raider Boys took first, second, and third place finishes in the opening event; the 200 Yard Medley Relay, first and second in the 200 Yard Free Relay and first, second and third in the 400 Yard Free Relay for the evening.

Senior Captain Will Shoemaker took first place in the 200 Yard Free with a time of 2:14.53 and second place in the 100 Yard Free in 57.43.

Cort Clark (So.) took first place in both of his individual events for the evening; the 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:13.70) and the 500 Yard Free (5:23.57).  Freshman Kyle Bowers took second place in the 200 Yard I.M. in 2:34.15 and Kyle Frazier (Sr.) took third place in 2:41.25.

Jake Koenig (So.) also came up with a big win in the 100 Yard Butterfly (59.88) before taking the new record in the 100 Yard Breaststroke for the Raiders.

Freshman Nick McCord came up big with two first place finishes in the 50 Yard Free (24.66) and the 100 Yard Free (56.28).

Senior Captain Nick Cechak took second in the 50 Yard Free (25.00) and third in the 100 Yard Breaststroke (1:17.54).

Joe Gibson (Jr.) had a first place finish in the 100 Yard Back (1:07.01) and a second place finish in the 200 Yard Free (2:18.58) for the Raiders.

The Lady Raiders took first place in each relay for the evening as well; placing first and third in the 200 Yard Medley and 200 Yard Free Relays while sweeping first through fourth places in the 400 Yard Free Relay.

Senior Captain Julie Strange picked up two first place finishes in the 200 Yard I.M. (2:35.18) and the 500 Yard Free (6:09.43) while Sophie Newton took a first place finish in the 100 Yard Back (1:07.29) after capturing a state qualifying time in the 100 Yard Butterfly.

Sophomore Katie Russell was just short of picking up two state qualifying times in her two first place finishes in the 200 Yard Free (2:09.91) and the 50 Yard Free (26.78).

Freshman Adrienne Rivera and Amanda Armstrong (So.) took first and second place for the Lady Raiders in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:21.11 and 1:24.91.

The final results (individual/relays) from the meet for LCHS are attached.