Broadneck Swimming Team Completes Three-Peat At County Championships

As the regular season for swimming ended in January, Broadneck head coach Colleen Winans reflected on her group’s performance. She was impressed by her team and said she had high expectations for the postseason.

“We’re really looking to finish out the season strong,” Winans said. “I think it’s going to be a commanding season. We know that other teams are looking to knock us off, and we’re hoping to retain our crown in both counties and the regions this year.”

After four hours of heated competition on February 2, Broadneck’s swim team managed to meet the first of Winans’ goals, with both the boys and girls coming out on top at the Anne Arundel County championships. The competition was held at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center in Annapolis, where the teams will return to competition on February 17 for the regional championships.

For the Broadneck girls, it was nearly a clean sweep, as they managed to take home the championship with a whopping 288 points. They placed first in five out of their 11 events, while finishing in the top three in every event outside of the 100-meter freestyle. The night was punctuated by strong performances from Ella Deitch, who won both the 500-meter and 200-meter freestyle, and Hannah Oslislo, who won the 100-meter breaststroke.

“It was my worst swim of the season, but it was really cool that I won, and I’m really proud that I was able to help my team win the county championship,” Oslislo stated.

A senior on the team, Oslislo is one of the few Bruins who has elected to forgo the club state championships in order to participate in the regional championships.

The Severna Park girls put up a valiant effort of their own, accruing 237 points over the duration of the competition. They managed to win the 200-meter freestyle relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay, and the team of Lena Rausch, Maggie Goodman, Amelia Goger and Sydney Sloan set a new county record for the 400-meter relay. But it ultimately wasn’t enough to stop the Broadneck girls from winning their third consecutive county championship.

As for the boys, the competition was dicier. Broadneck defended their title, taking home their third consecutive county championship. However, they had to share it with Crofton, which tied for first with 225 points.

Winans emphasized the role that the team’s depth played in their eventual win, praising her secondary swimmers after the meet.

“With our top kids, we knew that they would finish in the top three, but our next round of kids really performed very well,” Winans stated. “I always tell the kids that it doesn’t matter what position you are in. You want to finish as high as you can and get as many points as you can, because it does make a difference and it certainly did that night, especially for the boys.”

It took a herculean effort from Crofton to prevent the Bruins from claiming a full share of the title, with Luke Corey and Grant Murphy setting county records in the 200-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke, respectively. In the process, they broke records that they had previously set at the 2023 county championships.

But a strong team effort by Broadneck earned them a draw, as the Bruin boys finished in the top three in every race. In the process, they placed first in the 200-meter medley relay and the 100-meter freestyle. Broadneck’s Nate Decker countered Crofton by setting a county record of his own, breaking Alex Kuriawa’s 2018 record in the 100-meter freestyle. Decker, a senior who has committed to swim for Utah, finished the race at a blazing pace of 47.12 seconds, over three seconds faster than the previous record.

The Severna Park boys fared a little worse than the girls at the county championships, finishing fourth with 181 points. While they didn’t place first in any of their races, the boys were competitive throughout the meet, finishing on the podium for the 400-meter freestyle relay with a team consisting of Samuel Argeles, Riordan Kelley, Robby Haufe Jr. and Caden Tetrault.

“Both teams, men and women, outperformed my expectations,” Severna Park coach Trevor Brinton said. “I couldn’t be happier with how my team swam. Moving into regionals, the team needs to keep a clear head, with a focus on fast times and good sportsmanship.”

Both teams will finish the season shorthanded, as the Maryland club state championship is scheduled for the same day as the high school state championship. Since many of the county’s top swimmers are unable to attend states, this forces many of them to sit out of regionals, a fact that Winans lamented after the county championship.

“Severna Park’s probably lost a couple kids, South River as well, and Crofton will lose their top two boys and a couple of their girls,” Winans stated. “So it’s really disheartening for the kids, and I think for the coaches as well, because we know that we could compete with Montgomery County, and now we won’t even have the opportunity.”