The George Mason High School swim teams swam their final home meet of the season on Friday, Jan. 30, leaving on a good note as both the girls and the boys cruised to one more lopsided win over Strasburg.
Mason swimmers won 21 of 22 overall events, though several were uncontested, on the evening leading to 135-14 and 118-35 poundings for the Mason boys and girls, respectively.
Sophomores Sam Butler and Will Doty were two of the top performers for the boys, winning two individual events each in addition to being key contributors to Mason’s relay squads. Doty won the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard individual medley, beating out Strasburg’s Ethan Kibler in both. Butler placed first in the 200-yard freestyle in addition to the 100-yard breaststroke; these events were limited to only Mason swimmers due to a shortage on the Strasburg side.
Senior Carlos Clark finished tops in two individual events, the 50-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard backstroke. While the 100-yard backstroke was an uncontested event for Mason, the 50-yard freestyle was the most competitive individual event on the boys side. Clark had to beat out eight other swimmers, including four from Strasburg. Freshman Sam Cashin placed second in the event, hitting the wall less than three seconds behind Clark.
The boys relay teams swept every event without much competition, as several combinations earned top spots. The 200-yard medley squad, consisting of Clark, Butler, senior Jack Cashin and junior Sam Parker, swam one of the more impressive races, beating the only Strasburg group by a near 30 seconds.
While the girls side had a bit more of a balance as far as numbers, their events had similar results.
For the most part, Mason freshmen ran the show. Gen Jordan, Ruth Thirkill, and Carolyn Schmitt each had highly productive meets, helping the Mason girls win 10 of their 11 events. The only event the Mustangs were not able to win was the highly popular 50-yard freestyle; though they did not lose either. Mason junior Brandy Arredondo tied down to the exact hundredth of a second with Strasburg’s Leah Adams, both earning times of 28.44. However, Arredondo exacted her revenge on Adams later in the night. The pair finished one-two in the 100-yard freestyle just minutes later; Arredondo came in first with a time of 1:02.44 while Adams followed with a time of 1:07.00.
Jordan, one of the Mustangs’ prized freshmen took the girls 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:17.81 in addition to being a member of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay team alongside Arredondo, junior Karen Hamill, and junior Kelley Frank. Jordan’s fellow freshman Carolyn Schmitt took the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:39.81 while Thirkill won the individual 100-yard backstroke, an uncontested event.
With the wins over Strasburg, the Mason swim teams remained undefeated on the season, moving to 10-0. The teams will wrap up their regular season this Friday, Feb. 6 when they head to Bristol, Va. for the Group A Invitational, where they take on what will likely be stiffer competition than what they have grown accustomed to.
Following the Invitational, the teams move into their postseason schedule where they look to repeat as the top Group A team in the state.
