A decades-long summer drought has ended.
For the first time in 44 years, the Army Navy Country Club swimming team of Arlington won the season-ending, multi-team championship meet (most often referred to as “champs”) of the metro area’s Country Club Swimming and Diving Association.
The Army Navy Patriots hosted the event and finished first with a 1214.5 point total. The multi-time defending champion Washington Golf Lightning were a close second with 1205.0.
Army Navy last won that title in 1980, after also winning the summer before. The team had finished second the past seven times the meet was held.
“We did have quite a magical and storybook season,” said Ian Handerhan, who has coached the Army Navy team for 20 years and also swam for the Patriots as a youngster. “It’s been a minute. Winning the championship has been a long time coming. All of the things lined up for us this year.”
Prior to the championship meet, Army Navy was second in the league’s regular-season A Division standings with a 4-2 record, and finished third in the A Division divisional meet.
“We were victorious when it really mattered,” Handerhan said. “It was a great couple of days for this team at champs. We’ve been getting closer to winning champs over the years. This year things broke right. Hosting the meet added to the overall situation.”
The championship corresponds with the club’s centennial celebration (founded in 1924).
Handerhan said a big key to the victory was depth, having 54 different swimmers score points and finishing first despite the team winning just one relay. Of the 92 Army Navy swimmers entered in the preliminary round, 91 qualified for the finals.
“We scored points in every event and kind of chipped away, and it all added up,” Handerhan said.
Army Navy was led by five double-race winners – Charlie Greenwood, Kate Douglas, McKinley Busen, Amelia MacIvor and Holden Busen. Douglas won the butterfly in a league record time. Haley Lehman was a single winner.
Army Navy won the girls senior medley mixed-age relay with a team record time of 1:00.80.
Setting team individual records at the meet were Greenwood, MacIvor, Douglas, Katie McDonald, Haley Lehman, Tyler Hong and McKinley Busen.
Setting team records on relays were Douglas, MacIvor, Rowan Wilson, Ainsley Lehman, Mackenzie Hassan, McKinley Busen, Reagan Marm and Laina Hancock.
Hong finished second in two races for Army Navy.
Other top eight finishers in individual races were Haley Lehman, Marm, McDonald, Katie Wood, Jack Latcovich, Maddie Latcovich, Lila Miller, Grace Miller, Caldwell Desiderio, Carter Wilkis, Jake Mathis, Chloe Lehman, Felicity Pickard, Mick Resnick, Timmy Abbott, Jack Sutherland, Macsen Lal, Ruth Wilson, Alex Wittmer, Madison Hassan, Rowan Wilson, Davidson Suarez, Maya Fitzgerald, Georgie Cerrito, Frederick Papadopoulos, Carlin Smittle, Zack Foster, Jackson Polsinelli, Mackenzie Hassan, Laina Hancock and Ainsley Lehman.
Assistant coaches for Army Navy were Megan Grant, Hunter Davenport, Jacob Chow, Catherine Hughes and Reiley Adelson.
