Swimmers post strong finishes at Catholic Nationals

Senior Brian McGinty swims breaststroke for the Cardinals

The weekend was an extraordinary one for Cardinal swimming. All of the swimmers who participated in the National Catholic Championship in Philadelphia swam strong times and qualified for the finals. This accomplishment is especially noteworthy because a key teammate, Kevin Grant, was struck with the flu and could not swim. His teammates rallied with great spirit to compensate for this loss. Special recognition should be given to Robert Mejia and Andrew Crandall for helping to fill Kevin’s shoes…er..fins.
The preliminary events were held at Villanova University on Saturday and the finals were swum at LaSalle University on Sunday. Eight BI girls and five boys swam for the BI national team and were led by Coach John Gullickson. Many personal best swims were recorded including: Eileen Louison’s 50 free and 100 free, Emi Quinn’s 100 free, Maddie Zeigler’s 100 fly, Kelly Palmer’s 200 free and 500 free, Saskia Kroesen ‘s 50 free and 100 fly, Laura Becht’s 100 free, Brian McGinty’s 200 IM and 100 ******, Ryan Dougherty’s 50 and 100 free and Michael Ryan Clark’s 100 free and 100 back.
All of the BI relays that swam in prelims made it back to finals. Allison Wulff, Michael Ryan Clark, Maddie Zeigler, Saskia Kroesen, Kelly Palmer and Liz Collins also made finals in individual swims. Everyone swam and placed well in finals. Top ten finishes included: Liz Collins (2nd in 100 ****** and 7th in 200 IM), Saskia Kroesen (3rd in100 fly and 5th in 50 free) Kelly Palmer (9th in 500 free), the women’s 200 medley relay (6th with the team of Zeigler, Collins, Kroesen and Wulff), the women’s 200 free relay (9th with the team of Becht, Louison, Wulff and Quinn), the women’s 400 free relay (5th with the team of Kroesen, Palmer, Zeigler, and Collins), the boys 200 medley relay (10th with the team of Clark, McGinty, Dougherty and Mejia), and the men’s 200 free relay (9th with the team of Clark, Dougherty, McGinty and Crandall).
The Cardinals had a great meet, according to head coach John Gullickson, with the boys finishing 12th overall and the girls 7th. The Bishop Ireton contingent noted the warm hospitality at Villanova and LaSalle Universities, which they reported were sincerely appreciated.

Combined Team Scores – Through Event 111

1. Good Counsel 482

2. Loyola Blakefield 448

3. Notre Dame Preparatory School 443

4. Gonzaga College High School 371

5. Bishop O’Connell High School 259

6. St. John’s College High School 227

7. Seton School 219

8. Malvern Prep 203

9. Georgetown Preparatory School 190

9. Bishop Ireton Swim and Dive Te 190

9. Academy of the Holy Cross 190