More News

The Eleanor Roosevelt High School girls' swim team cruised to a lopsided victory in the 4A/3A Central Regional meet at the Fairland Aquatic Center in Laurel on Saturday.

The Raiders will head into the state championship meet with a full contingent. The state meet gets under way at 9 a.m. Saturday at the University of Maryland in College Park.

While Bowie High edged Roosevelt in the boys' standings after the two teams were tied heading into the day's final race, the outcome of the girls' competition was evident fairly early. Roosevelt swimmers amassed 398 points, 114 more than runner-up Bowie (284), which edged Laurel (260) for second place. Charles H. Flowers (212), Parkdale (179), Oxon Hill (157) and High Point (115) completed the top half of the 14-team standings.

The Roosevelt girls won nine of the 11 events, including all three relays, and they also collected four second- and two third-place finishes in the individual events. Sophomore Courtney Like-Mathews won the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 24.15 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (1:04.90), while freshman Natasha Chomko took both the 50 free (26.93 seconds) and the 100 free (59.60). Junior Callie Betman won the 500 free (5:48.66), and freshman Emily Boluda took the 200 free (2:13.57). Betman was second in the 200 free, while Boluda was second in the 500 free.

"I was happy with the way I swam," Betman said. "I went my best time in the 500 and I came close to my best time in the 200. Emily had some good swims in both races. She's really good competition. We're looking forward to states next Saturday. Our relays have been good all year."

Like-Mathews, senior Emma Varner, sophomore Abby Moore and Betman opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay (2:05.83). Boluda, freshman Kaitlin Bielec, Chomko and Moore combined to win the 200 free relay (1:54.99). Chomko, Betman, Varner and Like-Mathews later completed the meet by winning the 400 free relay (4:13.72) by nearly 13 seconds.

Varner also finished second in the two events not won by one of her teammates. She was second behind Laurel senior Caitlin Raynor in the 100 butterfly (1:09.91) and later finished second to Spartans' sophomore Jade Hill in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.78). Raiders' freshman Cecelia Lapp-Stoltzfus was third in the 100 butterfly, while Moore took third in the 100 backstroke.

Roosevelt boys fall to Bowie

Two weeks after downing rival Bowie, 90-74, in their annual regular season meet, the Roosevelt boys suffered a 374-368 setback to the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon in the 4A/3A Central Regional meet. The Raiders led 271-262 with three events remaining and went into the last event, the 400 free relay, tied with Bowie but were upended in the final race and settled for second.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of bright spots for the Roosevelt boys on Saturday. Sophomore Lee Friedman won the 200 free (2:00.10) and the 100 free (51.78), freshman Dennis Witol took the 200 individual medley (2:13.16), and freshman Daniel Chavez captured the 100 fly (59.08). Kevin Hendley (200 free), Chavez (500 free), Witol (100 backstroke) and Patrick McDonough (100 breaststroke) also earned second-place finishes on Saturday.

Hendley, McDonough, Victor Lindvall and Friedman combined to win the 200 free relay (1:41.02), while Thomas Senecal, Mark Bailey, Chavez and Witol placed second in the 200 medley relay. Chavez, Witol, Hendley and Friedman combined to place second in the 400 free relay.

Parkdale junior Robert Bailey was the only non-Bowie or Roosevelt swimmer to win an individual event on Saturday, taking the 50 free (23.72) by one one-hundredth of a second over Bowie senior Tyler Lynch. Bailey later finished second to Friedman in the 100 free (52.69). Panthers' freshman Rochelle Parry finished third in the girls' 100 free and fourth in the 50 free, while Parkdale senior Megan Parry took third in the 100 breaststroke.

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.