Prince-Mont season to get under way Saturday

Lilly, who competes for Whitehall Pool & Tennis each summer, will head to Gannon University in Erie, Pa. this fall while Goldbeck, who swims for New Carrollton Recreation, is headed to West Virginia Wesleyan. Last summer at the Prince-Mont All-Star meet at Belair Swim & Racquet, Lilly placed ninth in the 15-18 boys’ 50-meter breast and 10th in the 100 individual medley. Goldbeck finished second as the top seed in the 15-18 girls’ 50 breast.

After three years at the head of the class in the Prince-Mont A Division, Belair Bath & Tennis finished fifth out of six teams in the divisional championship meet last summer, 61 points behind division champion Takoma Park. And BBT will have new competition in the A Division this year.

Recent Fairmont Heights graduate Temara Jordan, a four-time Gazette-Star first-team selection, will lead the Theresa Banks squad in its first foray into the A Division. The Seat Pleasant-based club makes the leap after dominating the C Division last year. Theresa Banks won the divisional meet by 100 points over second-place Cheverly Swim & Racquet.

Jordan, who finished second in three individual events over the last two years at the Maryland 3A⁄2A state meet, is the defending champion of the 15-18 girls’ 50 back at the Prince-Mont All-Star meet.

Longtime BBT coach Patty Bailey graduated several good male swimmers last summer, but returns one of the county’s best in Emily Morse (Roosevelt).

Morse, a three-time Gazette-Star All-County First Team selection, was second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 200 individual medley at the 4A state meet last winter.

Rising Eleanor Roosevelt senior Hannah Betman will join Goldbeck on the NCR roster this summer. Betman enjoyed a superb postseason last winter, winning state titles in the 200-yard free and 500-yard free and garnering Gazette-Star Girls’ Swimmer of the Year honors. Another Roosevelt swimmer, senior Kendall Irish, also swims for NCR.

At the All-Star meet last August, Irish capped the summer by taking the 15-18 girls’ 50 fly (31.79 seconds). She also was fifth in the 100 IM and eighth in the 50 backstroke. Irish finished fourth in the 100 fly for Roosevelt at the Maryland 4A state meet.

Belair Swim & Racquet, under coach Abigail Thompson, opens its B Division schedule at home on Saturday against Montpelier. Leading the way for BSR this summer will be two of the most talented female swimmers in the league — Grace Kelly (15-18) and Geordie Enoch (11-12). A rising junior at Bishop McNamara, where Thompson is the coach, Kelly is a two-time Gazette-Star first-team selection.

‘‘Geordie and Adam [Enoch] should have awesome summers,” Thompson said. ‘‘They dominated their age group last year when they were at the bottom of their group and now they’re at the top. It’s going to be fun to watch. We have a solid group of 15-18 girls that worked hard all summer. Between Grace, Lindsay Magaw and Meagan Donovan, we should do really well.”

Laurel squads West Laurel, Montpelier, Russett, Laurel City and West Arundel will look to carve their own niche in various divisions. In the A Division, West Laurel will travel to Mount Vernon Pool on Saturday. West Arundel will play host to Northridge in a C Division meet, and Russett will be at home against Laurel City in the E Division.

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