Swim Teams Have Strong Showings at Preps

The boys’ and girls’ swim teams were in action on Tuesday, February 4, and Wednesday, February 5, at the Prep Championships hosted at The Lawrenceville School.

 

Despite facing some of the top teams in the entire state, both squads had strong showings over the two-day competition. The girls’ team finished 12th out of 18 teams overall, and fifth out of nine teams in the “B” division with 113 points, their most ever, while the boys’ squad finished 13th overall with 59 points.

 

The highlight of the meet came on the girls’ side, as Becca Michaels ’20 finished third overall in the 100 backstroke with a quick time of 59.85, out-touching the fourth-place finisher by .09. She also took seventh in the 100 freestyle in a time of 54.44.

 

Also having a magnificent swim was Maddie Soultanian ’22, earning Gill’s other top-six finish by taking sixth overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.86. She also scored points for GSB in the 100 freestyle, grabbing 13th place with a time of 57.04.

 

Other girls grabbing top-30 finishes were Olivia Soultanian ’22 in the 100 freestyle (26th), Anne Wang ‘22 in the 200 freestyle (30th) and 100 butterfly (30th), Annie Chowansky ‘22 in the 100 butterfly (28th) and 50 freestyle (30th), Scooter Hulsen ’22 in the 100 freestyle (29th) and 100 backstroke (29th), Caroline Grant ’20 in the 500 freestyle (29th), and Kelsey Breuer ’20 in the 100 breaststroke (29th).

 

GSB was also well-represented in the relays, with the Knights recording their first-ever top-10 finish in a relay, as the team of Michaels, the Soultanian sisters, and Laura Howard ’21 teamed up to grab ninth in a time of 1:48.96. That same relay went on to take 11th in the 400 freestyle relay, while the team of Hulsen, Breuer, Chowansky, and Ella Quincy ’22 placed 14th.

 

The boys’ side was highlighted by two record-setting performances. Robert Brandl ’20 broke the school record in the 50 freestyle by going 24.00 and placing 18th overall, while Jonathan Osma ’20 rebroke his school record in the 100 backstroke by going 1:03.37 and taking 19th place.

 

Other top-30 performances included Brandl in the 100 freestyle (20th), Osma in the 100 freestyle (26th), Adrian Massuet ’20 in the 100 freestyle (30th) and 100 breaststroke (25th), and Ryan Brandl ’22 in the 100 breaststroke (27th).

 

The 200 medley relay team of Osma, Massuet, Rob Brandl, and Jake Baber ’21 finished 11th overall, and that same squad teamed up to take 11th in the 200 freestyle team with the second-

fastest time in school history. The 400 freestyle relay team of Ryan Brandl, Akshay Patel ’23, Evan Matthews ’20, and Luke Mariak '20 also scored points by finishing 12th.