They didn’t sweep the four league championships like in so many past summer swimming seasons, but the Washington Golf & Country Club Lightning still captured one big title.
The Lightning finished first in the regular-season dual-meet standings with an undefeated record in the top A Division of the Country Club Swimming and Diving Association. The team also won the A Division relay-meet crown.
Dual-meet wins included decisive victories over Kenwood, 310-176, and Norbeck, 389-97, and a much closer 257-229 triumph over Arlington rival Army Navy.
The Lightning then finished a close second in the two big postseason meets, losing by three points to Congressional in the A Division meet, then by 9.5 points to host Army Navy in the league-wide championships.
“We had a very unique summer season,” first-year Washington Golf coach Evan Stiles said. “We won the dual title then had those two close seconds. We swam well, but like all summer swim teams, we were missing key people in every meet. But other swimmers got to fill in and swim. I had a lot of fun coaching this team.”
At the season-ending league-wide championship meet, Army Navy won with a 1214.5 point total and Washington Golf had 1205.0.
“We have a very young team with a lot of swimmers at the bottom of their age groups,” Stiles said.
Double-race-winners for Washington Golf at the championship meet were Abigail Hartman and Ryan Tramonte.
Single winners were Hannah Dolan, Emory Haynes and Grant Nielsen.
Placing in the top three were Maren Schwarz, Will Walters, Alex Bristow, William Lepre, Kennedy Nielsen, McKinley Nielsen, Connor Park, Charlie Hartman, Francesca BonSalle, Claire Cocker, Michael Maria and Tommy Tramonte.
Other top finishers were Fiona Michaels, George Sumner, Mack Repke, Mikey Maloney, Sienna Baynham, Timothy Friend, Owen Mixer, Whit Kouhestani, Elle Rasmussen, Aiden Nolan, Oliver Gooch, Josie Gieseman, Sabine Barbee, Phinn BonSalle, Maddie Nielsen, Michael Steves, Madeline Steves, Fitz Dolan, Case Harding and T.J. Zochowski.
The two winning relays were the boys 14-under medley of Charlie Hartman, Ryan Tramonte, Tommy Tramonte and Mixer, and the boys 18-under medley of Walters, Maloney, Grant Nielsen and Maria.
Abigail Hartman broke various freestyle and backstroke records at the meet, and Ryan Tramonte broke an Army Navy pool record in the breaststroke.
The two relays that set team records were the girls 14-under medley of Maddie Nielsen, Francesca BonSalle, McKinley Nielsen and Abigail Hartman, and the girls 18-under medley of Alex Bristow, Maren Schwarz, Nora Coakley and Hannah Dolan.
NOTES: Washington Golf has not lost a dual meet for 14 straight seasons now. The team’s streak of winning nine straight overall league championships, via the postseason, came to an end with its runner-up finish.
