“I didn’t think I was going to win,” Simmons said.
That ending symbolized the back-and-forth nature of Saturday’s state championship meet at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center. Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson were in lockstep the whole way, but the Rockets girls’ win in the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.81) secured the title (299.5 points) over the runner-up Wildcats (280), giving Richard Montgomery its first girls’ state championship.
Eliason, who signed with BYU, won the 100 butterfly (54.33) and was part of the 200 freestyle relay. Entering the final relay, Rockets Coach Akshay Gandhi — who died his hair blond for the state meet — stressed to his swimmers that they had margin for error. A fifth-place finish would be enough to win, so the goal simply was to not be disqualified, he said. Instead, they won the last race and made history.
“I was a little nervous because I DQ’d before,” Eliason said. “I had to redeem myself.”
Churchill boys get it done
There was a new champion on the boys’ side as well, albeit under significantly different circumstances. Churchill has established itself as a power over the past few years, winning three straight Metros titles, securing the state championship in 2022 and sending numerous swimmers to the college ranks.
But a mistake at last year’s state meet weighed heavily on the minds of Churchill’s seniors. The Bulldogs were disqualified from the 200 freestyle relay, costing them 40 points. Whitman capitalized to claim the title.
Churchill bounced back Saturday, blowing away the field with 377 points. Wootton was second with 228.
Churchill’s four senior stars — Kyle Wang (Northwestern), Nasim Elkassem (Southern California), Samir Elkassem (Duke) and Brady Begin (North Carolina) — have changed the trajectory of the program’s future, Coach Dennis Witol said.
“We beat every single record except for the breaststroke record,” Nasim Elkassem said.
None of those seniors swam in Saturday’s opening event, the 200 medley relay, but Churchill still came out on top in 1:35.06. That was just the start of the Bulldogs’ domination.
Wang (1:39.93) and Begin (1:40.90) claimed the top two spots in the 200 freestyle, and the wins kept coming. Nasim Elkassem finished in 20.54 in the 50 freestyle, then Wang delivered a 45.61 in the 100 freestyle.
Churchill’s showing in the 200 freestyle relay may have been the most impressive of the day, with its time of 1:22.82 breaking the state championship meet record. When it was over, the Bulldogs smacked the water with ferocity, a reminder of the stranglehold they hold in the event.
Witol said this was the best class Churchill has ever had, but then he paused. This class may have been the best class any school in the area has ever had, he added. It’s hard to argue with that after Saturday.