The WJ boys’ swim and dive team has gone back-to-back for the second time in school history to win the Maryland 4A/3A State Championship last Saturday. The Girls finished just off the podium in fourth place after also capturing the title last year.
Two weeks prior, the boys claimed second at the Metros Championship while the girls placed fifth. The boys were able to break a school record in the 50 free relay and while many individual performances stood out, the Wildcats fell just short to Georgetown Prep.
The girls’ took a huge hit this year with the departure of over a dozen seniors, including multiple collegiate commits. After going undefeated last season, the team was left trying to scrap pieces together and make the best out of the season.
“It was really hard. We’re definitely not at the same level,” senior captain Zoe McGee said. “We had to figure out who’s gonna swim a lot. [Our mindset was to] have fun. It’s our senior year so just do what you can. We’re not gonna win, so just have a good time.”
For the boys’, the addition of transfer senior Lucas Knapp from Florida provided a major boost to the already star-studded lineup. Knapp’s versatility was pivotal in winning the state title as Knapp broke the 100 free school record and came within a 10th of a second of former Wildcat Noah Potter’s county record at the State Championship meet.
“I tried to take a lot of a passive role,” Knapp said. “I give credit to coach Jamie and our captains, they did a really good job of leading the team. I just did my best to support others.”
The postseason and State Championship cements the hard work and comradery of the team. Although not representing any club team, each swimmer comes together as a team for a few weeks in February and tries to make history.
“They have a common goal. They work their whole year, the whole year to kind of get to these couple meets here, so they get to be able to focus in on a few weeks of the year,” Head Coach Jamie Grimes said.
The boys’ team avenged their loss to the Whitman Vikings last year and went undefeated in the regular season. The team’s confidence and star performances allowed them to maintain poise and excel.
“We showed a lot of quiet confidence,” Knapp said. “We weren’t the loudest team, but we also knew that we had the chance. Swimming is an individual sport, but when you get together for the relays, for example, that’s when you can be part of that team and feel that we were making an impact.”
At the state championship meet, the team was able to break the school record in the 200 and 400 relay. Junior Luc Dionne was able to capture an individual 100 Breast title and 200 Individual Medley title.“It was fun. It was challenging,” Dionne said. “But I think our team is just a little bit too good.”
Next year, the boys’ will receive a similar cut to this year’s girls’ team as numerous seniors will graduate and leave the team in hands of the current juniors.
“We’ll see next year how things are going to go,” Grimes said. “We’ll see how all the other teams graduate from their seniors as well. So it’s gonna be interesting to see how freshman and sophomores can step up and fill some of the spots that they’re graduating seniors.”
Juniors will have to step up and take on a bigger leadership in hopes of continuing the Wildcat’s precedent of swimming excellence.
“I think the team did overall really well. I think this team had a lot of potential and we did feel that potential,” Dionne said. “Now, it’s just gonna be hard getting into next year.”
