Sunday, April 2, 2006

Boys' Swimmer

Of the Year

MIKE GRAY, NORTHERN, JUNIOR

Gray simply blew away the field at the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference meet in the 100-yard backstroke, setting a meet record of 55.64 and eclipsing the previous mark by nearly four seconds. He also powered to victory in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.30. He will enter his senior year already holding six Patriots records: in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

Boys' Coach

Of the Year

KATIE HUNT,

THOMAS STONE

In her third season at the Waldorf school, Hunt led the Cougars to their second undefeated dual-meet season, including strong victories over traditional powers Leonardtown, Northern and Patuxent. The 11-0 record equaled Thomas Stone's undefeated 2003-04 season and earned the Cougars their second regular-season title.

First Team

TREY FISCHER, PATUXENT, SR.

Fischer closed out his career with the Panthers by helping them land their third straight SMAC team title. He earned a pair of second-place finishes at the meet and was dominant swimming the lead leg on the winning 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams that secured the championship for Patuxent.

JEREMY FLEMING, LA PLATA, FR.

A distance freestyle specialist, Fleming provided a bright glimpse of the future for La Plata by grabbing second place in both the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races at the SMAC championships, with times of 2:00.46 and 5:24.27, respectively.

CAMDEN FULLER, McDONOUGH, SR.

After going undefeated in SMAC competition in the 100-yard backstroke, Fuller concluded his career with the Rams by touching the wall in second place at the SMAC title meet. He also finished fourth in the tightly contested 100-yard freestyle race.

JOHN KITNER, GREAT MILLS, JR.

After transferring from Patuxent before the school year, Kitner continued to shine in the pool for the Hornets. He won SMAC titles in the 100-yard freestyle in 51.14 seconds and the 200-yard freestyle in 1:56.90, more than three seconds better than his closest challenger.

NATHAN STEPHENS, HUNTINGTOWN, SOPH.

The multitalented Stephens propelled the Hurricanes to a strong fifth-place showing at the SMAC championships. After finishing fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, he beat the closest competitor by nearly six seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a winning time of 1:03.30.

JACKSON WEBB, LEONARDTOWN, JR.

The versatile Webb pulled out a dramatic victory in the 200-yard individual medley at the SMAC championships, winning by just 0.21 seconds for a conference record time of 2:04.50. He backed up that title by winning the 500-yard freestyle in 5:15.55 and guiding the Raiders to a second-place finish.

WILL WEBBER, THOMAS STONE, JR.

Webber was the leader of a powerful Cougars team that went undefeated through the regular season. One week after winning the 100-yard freestyle at the regional 4A/3A championships, he captured the 100-yard butterfly at the SMAC meet in 57.63.

Honorable Mention

Dustyn Altimus, Thomas Stone, Jr.; Jake Brown, Leonardtown, Soph.; Ryan Burch, Thomas Stone, Jr.; Luis Frontanes, Thomas Stone, Sr.; Brandon Jackson, La Plata, Soph.; Andrew Kelly, Great Mills, Fr.; Jed Krikstan, Lackey, Jr.; Jeremy Lankford, Patuxent, Sr.; Shaun Loughran, Leonardtown, Jr.; Thorn Morgan, Huntingtown, Fr.; Danny Scannapieco, Thomas Stone, Sr.; Mike Ursic, Patuxent, Sr.