Madison Hopes For Third Straight Title

To say the Madison High School boys swimming team is a favorite going into this weekend's Liberty District championship is an understatement.

They are the favorite.

The team of 27 swimmers has not only gone undefeated for the past three consecutive seasons, but they've also won the Liberty District Title for the last two.

Despite the pressure, the Warhawks have learned to stay focused in the pool -- not just in one event, but nearly all of them. 

Coach Andrew Foos stops short of declaring the squad is the deepest in the region, but "we have the deepest team in our district for sure,” said Foos, a standout swimmer at Falls Church High School who later swam a season at William and Mary.

He expects Thomas Jefferson and Langley, and , to pose threats to the Warhawks as they enter day two of the Liberty District Championship on Saturday, but still thinks Madison can come out on top for the third straight year.

Part of Madison's depth is owed to the Vienna in which most of its swimmers grew up, home to four or five Northern Virginia Swim League teams, Foos said. Many Madison swimmers are already known around the region by the time they reach high school. Several Warhawk swimmers are on club teams as well; it's not unusual for the athletes to swim year-round.

But Foos has been successful in developing even those swimmers without those resources, who come to the pool for a few months each winter ready to learn.

"They may not be first in the district, but they bust their butts. They score points," Foos said.

And in a year that saw the Madison boys and girls teams lose a combined 26 swimmers to graduation, that's made the difference: even when the Warhawks top-seeds can't secure first-place points, there's another handful of swimmers who pull in a few points a piece.

"We have a whole host of guys who score points," he said. "It's hard to say there are just two that contribute to our success."

But there are a few who stand out:

• Junior Evan Owens, seeded first in the 50 free and the 100 breast stroke. "He's had a tremendous year," Foos said. "He's a great consistent swimmer a leader on the team."
• Howe Wang, seeded first in the 500 free, in the top 5 in the 200 IM and a part of the 400 freestyle relay

On the girls’ side, Foos points to "three tremendous freshman" that have contributed to the Warhawks (4-3) this year: Laura Sullivan (1500 backstroke) "has been dropping time every meet," Foos said. Cassidy Humphrey (200 freestyle and 100 fly) and Sydney Owens (100 freestyle, 200 IM) are also seeded in the top five of their events.

Junior Laura Kellen is also a threat in the 500 freestyle, Foos said.

"There's a long list of really great names," Foos said.

The Liberty District meet concludes Saturday night. Check Patch later this weekend for full results.