The Power of Positive Energy

Using strength and depth, the 31-member girls squad amassed 522 points, 92.5 more than second-place St. Catherine’s, to capture the League of Independent Schools title, the 13^th in program history and first since 2016.

 

The boys, strong up top but with just 17 athletes competing in 12 events, placed second in the Prep League with 430 points, 58 behind St. Christopher’s and 88 ahead of third-place Norfolk Academy.

 

As important as talent, though, was energy: pure, unbridled, high-decibel, passionate energy.

 

“This has always been the most magical meet because we still have the whole team together on deck, and the energy is just insane,” said Skylar Mullins, a senior captain (along with Mackenzie Ferguson) and a competitor in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 free relay, and 200 medley relay in the competition held at the Kenny Center at St. Catherine’s School. “The teams are so close. The energy was so next level. It almost brought tears to my eyes.”

 

With protocols in effect, that energy might have been more difficult to generate.

 

“This year, we weren’t allowed to be on deck during the meet, so we had to stay in the gym unless we were racing, which was a bit of an obstacle,” Mullins added. “If any team can turn that around and bring the energy, it’s us, for sure.”

 

Seems someone had brought a large, flat-screen television to the gym area down the hall from the pool and connected it via USB cable to a laptop streaming the meet.

 

“Everyone was crowded around the TV,” Mullins said. “Everyone was screaming at the TV like they’d be screaming at the pool, yelling and cheering and clapping for everyone. And every time someone who just swam came back into the gym, we would all cheer for them and yell, especially if they won a championship. It was an awesome situation.”

 

Collegiate’s girls, many of whom are freshmen, broke four LIS records in winning events.

In addition, the 200 free relay team of Amelia Chen, Jewett, Little, and Scott, all freshmen, placed first.

Scott shared co-swimmer of the meet honors with Kayla Wilson of Norfolk Academy.

 

The Cougars’ success hardly surprised fifth-year head coach Mike Peters.

 

“I’ve seen these girls coming for three or four years from summer league and year-round swimming,” he said, referencing the ninth graders as well as DeGuenther, an 8^th grader.  “The talent has been evident.”

 

The meet was fairly close until the final two events: the 100 backstroke (the Cougars went 2-3-4-9) and the 100 breaststroke (1-2-4-12).

 

“It was close in terms of point total,” Peters said, “but we always knew we’d pull away. In reality, I probably knew (we’d win) after the (200) medley, the first event. The way they swam, I couldn’t foresee a situation where we didn’t win that meet. Then, the guys won the medley, and it was smooth sailing from there for both teams. In a single-session meet, if you’re swimming badly, the ball tends to roll downhill really quickly. If you’re swimming fast, it keeps picking up steam.”

 

Only nine boys competed in the Prep League meet’s 12 events, but they earned 17 of the 21 possible all-league honors which, as in the LIS, go to the individual and relay event winners.

Jobe and Christian Mayr were co-swimmers of the meet along with NA’s Clayton Whetstine.

 

Although two disqualifications cut the Cougars’ point total and thwarted their attempt to claim the team title, the guys swam through to the very end.

 

“They fought the whole way,” Peters said. “Our best swims were probably at the back end of the meet when it was very clear that we wouldn’t win.”

 

The VISAA championship will be contested Friday and Saturday at the Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, VA.

 

Collegiate’s girls are favored to win. The boys will definitely be in the mix. Overconfidence is not part of that mix, however.

 

“The 400 free relay is the last event of the LIS and preps,” Peters said.  “I always refer to that as the first event of states. It sets a tone. How we swim that last relay has to be how we begin the state meet.

 

 “This meet is not going to be easy. We can’t let down. We can’t assume anything. You can’t win the meet based on the psych sheet (which shows the rankings in each event). People like Mike Stott (who preceded Peters as head coach) and I will score out the psych sheet and see where we are. At the same time, we tell the kids, ‘You don’t get points by being the top seed.’

       

“One of our goals is to win the LIS title on the girls side. Just like one of our goals is to win the Prep League title on the boys side. Neither of those are guarantees of the same results in two weeks.”

 

Two weeks between championship meets is a long stretch. How are the Cougars maintaining their edge and focus?

 

“Working hard and knowing that it’s the final stretch,” said Jobe, a senior and tri-captain with Christian Mayr and Moore. “You need to be doing the right things outside practice, outside the pool, to make sure your performance is on point. Things like getting enough rest, staying on top of your school work, and being mentally prepared when you show up for practice or the meet.”

 

And marshaling the energy that makes the one-for-all, all-for-one Collegiate swimming experience so powerful.

 

“Everyone cares so deeply,” Mullins said. “Everyone encourages each other. In our Covid year, this year’s freshmen didn’t get a taste of what championship meets are like. We were worried that they wouldn’t have as much of a love or connection to the team and the sport. We could not have been more wrong. Our energy bounced right back. Every year, it’s such a magical, energetic environment.”

~Weldon Bradshaw