The State Swimming and Diving Championships wrapped up yesterday as familiar teams took home the top hardware along with one first-timer. Ten new State meet records were set in the Class 4A/3A morning meet and another new State meet record was set in the afternoon at the Class 3A/2A/1A meet. Don't forget that you can relive all of the record-setting swimming action on-demand and purchase DVD's at the NFHS Network within 72 hours of the event. Select the links below for complete State Meet and Region Meet results.
Diving kicked things off on Friday night at Churchill's Mory Gould successfully defended his 2016 title by topping Quince Orchard's Joseph Canova, 474.55 points to 447.70 points. Oakdale's Melissa Novak became the first female diver from somewhere other than Montgomery County to take home the gold as she edged Bethesda-Chevy Chase's Maddy Pfaff, 420.05 points to 419.90 points.
Saturday morning's Class 4A/3A meet concluded with the Walter Johnson Girls team taking home the State title for the first time ever while the Richard Montgomery Boys fought off a tough Churchill team winning by only two points to successfully defend last year's crown for their third overall State title. In the afternoon Class 3A/2A/1A meet, Poolesville once again reigned supreme as both their Boys and Girls teams cruised to victory. The Poolesville Girls won their fourth title and third consecutive while the Poolesville Boys won their sixth State crown, all of which have been consecutive. Also noteworthy, the State Swimming Committee initiated the Doug Sutherland Sportsmanship Award this year which was presented to one school following each of the swim meets. Additional congratulations go to Walt Whitman HS in Class 4A/3A and Queen Anne's HS in Class 3A/2A/1A for receiving this inaugural award!
The MPSSAA is deeply appreciative of the time and effort given by the State Swimming Committee, led by Earl Hawkins, as they worked tirelessly running the Region and State meets. We would also like to thank our friends at the the University of Maryland - College Park's Campus Recreation Services for their extraordinary cooperation and assistance in holding our State meets at an exceptional facility such as Eppley Recreation Center. We are excited to see what next year's meets bring!!