Rebels, With a Cause, Finish 1st

Fairfax sophomore Ellyn Baumgardner won the AAA Northern Region 100-yard breaststroke championship last season, but the victory wasn't fulfilling.

Baumgardner didn't beat Lake Braddock junior Ashley Danner, a two-time All-Met, who missed the meet because of a club team commitment. At the state meet the following week, Danner reclaimed her spot at the top of the podium. Baumgardner finished second and was left to consider the worth of her region title.

At last night's region championships, though, Baumgardner beat the best. She came from behind to defeat Danner with an automatic all-American time of 1 minute 3.04 seconds -- 0.15 of a second ahead of Danner -- and help the Rebels' girls' team successfully defend its region championship. Fairfax edged defending state champion Yorktown, 278.5 to 275, for the second year in a row.

"It was one of my goals, to beat her," Baumgardner said. "I didn't care what my time was. It means a lot more. There was no one like her to race last year."

Baumgardner slipped during her start but didn't panic. She caught Danner during the third lap and held her off at the wall.

"On the last 25 [yards], I saw [Danner]," Baumgardner said. "I was hoping I wouldn't die."

Baumgardner's win was the Rebels' only victory of the night. It positioned them to overtake Yorktown in the 400 freestyle relay, the meet's final event.

"She knew what she had to do to put us over the top," Fairfax Coach Matt Salerno said. "The fact that she went ahead and did it against a swimmer of Ashley's caliber speaks volumes."

Fairfax, like last season, relied on its depth. The Rebels finished third at the Concorde District meet last weekend but won the region after their 400 freestyle relay team of Jean DeOrnellas, Frances Dowd, Theresa Harvey and Emily Ferguson managed a third-place finish with an automatic all-American time of 3:34.47.

"We surprised a lot of people last year, but this year they were gunning for us," Salerno said. "This is such a good region, to beat all that competition again means a lot to the girls and the school."

The Robinson boys' team won three individual events and two relays en route to its fifth straight region title. The Rams finished with 375.5 points, ahead of second-place Oakton's 220.

"I'm a lucky coach," Robinson Coach Rich Gordon said. "These guys live for these meets."

Rams senior Zach Holmes, an All-Met and Virginia Tech recruit, led the way by successfully defending his titles in the 50 and 100 freestyle with automatic all-American times.

He finished the 100 freestyle in 46.20, and he broke the school's 50-freestyle record with a time of 20.75.

Holmes had been shooting for the 50 freestyle record all season because it was set by former All-Met swimmer of the year Steve Scheren, his friend and former teammate.

"Before Steve left, he told me, 'If anybody breaks the record, I want it to be you,' " Holmes said.

Northern Region Swim and Dive Championships Twice As Good: Stone Bridge junior Suzanne Schwee (100 butterfly and 100 backstroke) and Robinson junior Lauren Kranz (200 individual medley and 500 freestyle) joined Robinson's Zach Holmes as the only swimmers to take home two individual titles. The Winner by a Fingernail: Sean Fletcher's victory in the 100 butterfly (50.64 seconds) was one of the most thrilling finishes of the night. The Madison freshman out-touched Edison sophomore David Kiss by 0.02 of a second and Lee senior Zack Wise, the defending state champion, by 0.03 of a second.