Broadneck Swimmers Move on to Regionals

The Broadneck High School boys and girls’ swim teams finished second in the County Swim Championships this past weekend.

With the goal of sinking the Severna Park High School teams, the boys came closest finishing just 6 points behind the eventual county champs who scored 245 points to the Bruins’ 239. The Bruins’ girls finished with 226 points to the Falcons’ 295.

The meet crown came down to the final event for the boys. The Severna Park 400-yard free relay team of Bennett Bean, Sean Brant, Jared Wasserman and Kevin Huntley touched the wall first in 3:23.30 while Broadneck’s relay team of senior James Robichaud, junior Cody Edwards and freshmen Vadim Jacobson and Noah Yanchulis punched the clock at 3:30.00.

Talent runs deep on the Broadneck boys’ team with no one swimmer finishing lower than eighth place in any of the events.  Taking top honors for the team was Robichaud who won both the 200-yard (1:48.37) and 500-yard free (4:58.64) races.

Junior Cody Edwards finished second in the 100-yard free with a time of 52.05. Edwards also touched the wall in 58.51 for third place in the 100-yard backstroke. Freshman David Thornton and his brother, senior Brian, placed third fourth respectively in the 100-yard breaststroke with times of 1:08.72 and 1:11.15. The 200-free relay team of B. Thornton, Yanchulis, sophomore Hayden Binnix and freshman Max Madden were third with a time of 1:38.68.

No Broadneck girl was a first place finisher in the county championships, but a multitude of top eight performances kept the Bruins in the mix of top teams. Senior Jackie Shrader finished second in the 500-yard free in 5:21.60 as well as notching a third in the 200-yard free in 2:04.26.

Freshman Savanah McGrath placed second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:04.18, and third in the 100-breast in 1:15.09. Touching the wall just ahead of McGrath in the breaststroke was freshman Rachel Armstrong with a time of 1:11.81. Armstrong was also third in the 200-yard individual finishing in 2:16.37. Also for the girls’ team, freshman Alden Bauman notched a third in the 500-yard free in 5:41.45 and a fifth in the 200-yard free in 2:07.45.

In the relay events, the girls collected a second, third and fourth place finish. The 200-yard medley relay team of Armstrong, McGrath, senior Nikki Brandemarte, junior Lauren Fogarty was second in 1:59.59. Junior Blair Bernhardt joined Fogarty, Brandemarte and Shrader for a fourth place finish in the 200-yard free relay in 1:51.09. The team of Armstrong, Bernhardt, Shrader and McGrath finished the meet with a third-place 3:56.23 in the 400-yard free relay.

Looking ahead, both Bruins teams can expect to be top contenders in the North Region championships Feb. 19 at the Arundel Olympic Swim Club on Riva Road. Top performers from that meet will compete at the Maryland State High School Swimming Championships Feb. 26 at the University of Maryland College Park.

Submitted by Esme Neely Smith