Oxon Hill Swim Team

Hammerheads Finish Strong Year

August 1, 2010

Few people noticed when Cameron Stafford stepped up for the 8 and under girls 25 meter breaststroke. Stafford, 8, was seeded 13^th out of 18 in the event and was swimming in the first of three fast heats in the Prince-Mont Swim League All-Star Meet, which was held at Whitehall Pool and Tennis Club in Bowie on Saturday. The starting system's loud horn did little to rouse the crowd as Stafford executed a perfect pullout and exploded to the surface with a half-body length lead. The furious and wild strokes taken by her competitors were futile against Stafford's long, powerful glides. Her time of 25.40, with which she enjoyed a ¾ of a body-length lead over the next person in her heat, proved to be faster than swimmers in all three heats and granted Stafford a fifth place overall in the event. Such unexpected brilliance could be considered a central theme to the Hammerheads' All-Star Performance. 

In a meet plagued by delays, including the separate failures of a starting system and some cabling, the Hammerheads remained unfazed and were ready to perform. Seth Adams, 9, earned an 8^th place in the 9-10 boys 25 meter breaststroke (22.98) after entering the meet with a 13^th seed. Dominique Cheatham, 11, managed to drop over a second (49.77, 18^th) in the 11-12 girls 50 meter breaststroke from her close winning time from last week's Divisionals. Ricky LaForte, 14, managed to stay close to his seed in his butterfly (36.45, 18^th) and his 100 meter IM (1:24.06, 18^th) despite missing practice due to illness and a painful bicycle accident earlier in the week. In addition, Cameron Stafford earned another fifth place in the 8 and under girls 25 meter freestyle with a blazing fast time of 18.27.

The six fine swims by the Oxon Hill Hammerheads on Saturday capped a stunning year for the team. While the team was 2-3 this year, they went 2-2 against division opponents and lost one of their meets by only four points. Although more than half of the team made All-Stars last year, this year included much higher finishes by Oxon Hill swimmers. Although the team's final standings for the year are the same as last year, the team is now much more competitive in Division G. If Oxon Hill is able to continue such improvements, Division G will have to be careful—the Hammerheads will be hungry for a championship.