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GRAL Champs Meet Recap
What a way to end the season! The Stingrays finished 17th out of 28 teams on Sunday afternoon, totaling 280.5 points. Furthermore, our team placed second out of the six teams in Division III.
GRAL announced its annual awards on Sunday morning, and I am proud to share that our team has won the 2024 Len Everett Sportsmanship Award. This is the third consecutive year that our team has won the award, and it certainly would not have been possible without the holistic effort of our swimmers, parents, and volunteers. Award or not, I am proud of our team’s positive and healthy culture this season, and I hope it continues for many years to come. Our team was also recognized on Saturday for finishing second place in total Varsity points across Division III throughout the regular season.
The Saturday sessions saw a multitude of team records fall. Nate Doran highlighted this surge by demolishing records in the Boys’ 11-12 50 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Freestyle, 50 Yard Backstroke, and 100 Yard IM. Owen Merritt etched his name into the team records with his monster swim in the Boys’ 9-10 50 Yard Backstroke, erasing a 2-year-old record held by fellow teammate Nate. Harper Grace Johnson paved her way into the history books in the Girls’ 9-10 50 Yard Freestyle, resetting the mark previously held by CORA legend Rebecca Harper in 1992. Carter Rettig also earned her first individual team records in the Girls’ 11-12 50 Yard Freestyle and 100 Yard Freestyle, rewriting the standards previously held by Lindsey Winston. Last but certainly not least, Paolo Tique unleashed an onslaught on the Boys’ 13-14 records on Sunday – crushing the 50 Yard Backstroke, 100 Yard Backstroke, 50 Yard Breaststroke, 100 Yard Breaststroke, and 100 Yard IM. Phew!
Our relays were firing on all cylinders as well – the quartet of Owen Merritt, Reid Jiancristoforo, Harper Grace Johnson, and Carter Nielsen took almost seven seconds off of the existing Mixed 9-10 200 Yard Medley Relay record from 2022. The fearsome foursome of Nate Doran, Holly Alligood, Rebecca Crady, and Carter Rettig took down both Mixed 11-12 Relay records from 2016, with the Medley Relay being smashed by nearly 13 seconds.
The following information breaks down our overall team results, highlighted by our scoring swims (Top 8 finishes):
13 – New Individual Team Records
3 – New Mixed Relay Records
5 – GRAL Champions (1st Place in SV), Nate Doran 3x, Owen Merritt 2x
50 – New Personal Bests (50/77 swims, 65% of swims were faster than their seed time, including relays)
1st Place – Nate Doran (SV 50 Back, 100 IM, 100 Free), Owen Merritt (SV 50 Back, 100 Free), Aiden Montgomery (V 25 Free), Mixed 13-14 JV Medley Relay (Maren Minor, Diego Salinas, Paolo Tique, Jude Yaktin)
2nd Place – Rebecca Crady (JV 50 Back, V 50 Fly), Charlie Doran (SV 25 Back), Nate Doran (SV 50 Free), Harper Grace Johnson (SV 50 Free), Owen Merritt (SV 50 Free, 50 Breast), Aiden Montgomery (V 50 Free), Mixed 11-12 SV 200 Medley Relay (Nate Doran, Holly Alligood, Rebecca Crady, Carter Rettig), Mixed 11-12 SV 200 Freestyle Relay (Carter Rettig, Holly Alligood, Rebecca Crady, Nate Doran)
3rd Place – Holly Alligood (V 50 Breast), Rebecca Crady (JV 100 IM), Reid Jiancristoforo (V 50 Breast), Harper Grace Johnson (SV 50 Breast), Carter Rettig (SV 50 Free)
4th Place – Charlie Doran (SV 100 IM), Harper Grace Johnson (SV 100 IM, 100 Free), Carter Rettig (SV 50 Fly), Sean Rettig (JV 50 Free), Avery Roberts (JV 100 Free), Paolo Tique (SV 100 Back)
5th Place – Aiden Montgomery (V 25 Breast), Sean Rettig (V 50 Fly, 100 Fly), Layne Smith (V 25 Back), Mixed 9-10 SV 200 Medley Relay (Owen Merritt, Reid Jiancristoforo, Harper Grace Johnson, Carter Nielsen)
6th Place – Eric Blandford (JV 50 Breast), Rebecca Crady (JV 100 Free), Carter Rettig (SV 100 Free), Layne Smith (JV 50 Free), Cecilia Thorne (V 25 Breast), Paolo Tique (SV 100 IM), Mixed 8/u JV 100 Medley Relay (Oliver Merritt, Fleet Nystrom, Cecilia Thorne, Isaiah Boggs)
7th Place – Holly Alligood (V 50 Free), Eric Blandford (V 100 Breast), Carter Rettig (SV 50 Back), Sean Rettig (JV 100 Free), Avery Roberts (JV 100 IM)
8th Place – Charlie Doran (SV 25 Breast), Fleet Nystrom (JV 100 IM)
One final note, thank you to all of our Stingray families for making my first season as a head coach so special. The outpouring of love and support you all have shown is not lost on me, and my entire experience at CORA this summer has been a joy. While I don’t know what my future holds after I graduate from the University of Mary Washington in the spring, it would be an honor to coach this team again next summer. The future is undeniably promising for all of our Stingrays.
Swimmers, enjoy the rest of your summer, and have a great school year!
- Coach Paul
CORA at Milestone Meet Results
The score breakdown by division was as follows:
Novice: MS 473, CORA 425
Advanced: MS 153, CORA 79
Junior Varsity: MS 73, CORA 70
Varsity: MS 101, CORA 63
Senior Varsity: CORA 124, MS 92
Advanced Relays: CORA 60, MS 52
Senior Varsity Relays: CORA 74, MS 62
Combined Team Scores: MS 1006, CORA 895
Nate Doran rebroke his meters team record in the 11/12 boys’ 100 IM, swimming a 1:12.22.
Quadruple winners were: Rebecca Crady, Nate Doran, Owen Merritt, and Carter Rettig.
Triple winners were: Holly Alligood, Eric Blandford, Charlie Doran, Tallulah Farnham, Harper Grace Johnson, Connor Kelly, Fleet Nystrom, Parker Nystrom, Sean Rettig, Avery Roberts, and Layne Smith.
Thank you to all of our Stingray families for an incredible season! We hope to see you all at the banquet on Tuesday!
- Coach Paul
TFC at CORA Meet Results
The score breakdown by division was as follows:
Novice: CORA 533, TFC 355
Advanced: CORA 87, TFC 68
Junior Varsity: CORA 87, TFC 35
Varsity: TFC 64, CORA 42
Senior Varsity: TFC 151, CORA 120
Advanced Relays: CORA 94, TFC 34
Senior Varsity Relays: TFC 62, CORA 58
Combined Team Scores: CORA 1,021, TFC 769
Nate Doran rebroke his team record in the 11/12 Boys 100 Meter Freestyle, stopping the clock at 1:02.28. Paolo Tique rebroke his team record in the 13/14 Boys 50 Meter Backstroke, crushing a 32.44. The quartet of* Carter Rettig, Holly Alligood, Rebecca Crady, and Nate Doran* rebroke their Mixed 11/12 200 Meter Freestyle Relay record, scorching a 2:06.47.
Diego Salinas qualified for Champs in the 13/14 Boys 100 Breaststroke, upping our team’s total to 21 swimmers.
Quadruple winners were: Holly Alligood, Rebecca Crady, Nate Doran, Avery Roberts, and Paolo Tique.
Triple winners were: Braxton Altman, Charlie Doran, Reid Jiancristoforo, Owen Merritt, Parker Nystrom, Sean Rettig, Layne Smith, and Brogan VanLesser.
Thank you to all of our Stingray families for another great meet!
- Coach Paul
ARA at CORA Meet Results
The score breakdown by division was as follows:
Novice: ARA 463, CORA 426
Advanced: ARA 177, CORA 102
Junior Varsity: ARA 96, CORA 70
Varsity: CORA 70, ARA 40
Senior Varsity: CORA 96, ARA 35
Advanced Relays: CORA 60, ARA 48
Senior Varsity Relays: ARA 58, CORA 52
Combined Team Scores: ARA 917, CORA 876
Nate Doran rebroke his meters team record in the 11/12 boys’ 50 backstroke, swimming a blistering 33.15.
Eliana Carr and Avery Roberts qualified for Champs, bringing our team’s total to 20 swimmers.
Quadruple winners were: Rebecca Crady, Charlie Doran, Nate Doran, Reid Jiancristoforo, Harper Grace Johnson, Connor Kelly, Owen Merritt, Parker Nystrom, Carter Rettig, and Layne Smith.
Triple winners were: Holly Alligood, Eliana Carr, Laila Feldman, Carter Nielsen, Sean Rettig, Cecilia Thorne, Paolo Tique, and Brogan VanLesser.
Thank you to all of our Stingray families for another great meet!
- Coach Paul
6/18/2024 – CORA at TDC Meet Results
The score breakdown by division was as follows:
Novice: TDC 499, CORA 427
Advanced: TDC 122, CORA 63
Junior Varsity: CORA 56, TDC 47
Varsity: TDC 42, CORA 28
Senior Varsity: TDC 105, CORA 63
Advanced Relays: TDC 80, CORA 58
Senior Varsity Relays: CORA 52, TDC 52
Combined Team Scores: TDC 947, CORA 747
Nate Doran broke the yards team records in the 11/12 boys’ 50 backstroke and 50 butterfly. Notably, the previous 50 yard butterfly record stood for 53 years, previously set in 1971 by W. Jeffrey. You may recall that Nate also broke Jeffrey’s 50 meter butterfly record two weeks ago. Breaking both of the oldest team records is quite a remarkable feat, so please congratulate Nate if you see him!
It was a great night for Stingrays’ backstrokers, led by Paolo Tique, who swam a 29.25 to take down the 13/14 boys’ 50 yard backstroke record by over a second. The previous record was set by Gray Remington in 2010. Congratulations, Paolo!
An exceptional highlight from last night’s meet featured Eric Blandford achieving his first-ever Champs qualification with his stellar swim in the 15-18 boys’ 100 yard breaststroke. Eric works incredibly hard as both a coach and a swimmer, and we are all very proud of his dedication to our team. For our younger swimmers: Coach Eric is a testament that hard work pays off! It is never too late to achieve your goals. Eric brings our team’s total Champs qualifiers up to 18. Who’s next?
Quadruple winners were: Charlie Doran, Layne Smith, Cecilia Thorne, and Paolo Tique.
Triple winners were: Rebecca Crady, Nate Doran, Owen Merritt, Aiden Montgomery, Carter Nielsen, Fleet Nystrom, Parker Nystrom, and Brogan VanLesser.
Thank you to all of our Stingray families for another great meet!
- Coach Paul
