Meet News

Soaked Hammerheads Fall to Kings Landing

July 11, 2010

During warm-ups, the sky seemed to cooperate. While the clouds possessed a menacing tint, everyone seemed hopeful that the meet would run on schedule. Once 8:30 rolled around, the planned start time, Mother Nature decided to get nasty. Instead of calm weather, a powerful rainstorm forced swimmers, officials, and parents to run for cover. After a half hour, the rain seemed to relent a bit and the first few events went off without issue. Then, while the 11-12's were still swimming their butterfly events, lightning forced another delay. It was in these conditions, accompanied by a steady and unending rain, that Oxon Hill fell to Kings Landing by a score of 341-176.

While the rain chilled and tormented the masses, the Hammerheads continued to perform despite being outnumbered 27-125. In the 8 and under girls and the 11-12 boys categories, Oxon Hill won every single event, including many by 1-2, and even 1-2-3, finishes. Multiple winners included Cameron Stafford (8 and under girls – Free, Breast, and Back), Justin Stafford (11-12 boys – Free, Back, IM), and Ricky LaForte (13-14 boys – Fly, Free). Several Hammerheads also prevailed in close races, including a two-tenth of a second win for Ricky LaForte in his 50 Free (30.04) and Kahimi Vanzego in a rare tie for the 11-12 girls 50 Free title (35.53).

Next Saturday's meet, against the College Park Woods Dolphins, promises to be a much more evenly matched meet for the Hammerheads. The Dolphins already have a slight edge in terms of roster size, and in addition will have the luxury of home pool advantage. On the other hand, Oxon Hill has a great deal of incentive to win this meet as a victory will lift them to a .500 winning percentage for the year. In addition, a win would help erase the pain of a heartbreaking 40 point loss to the Dolphins last year. While the weather is tough to predict, the Hammerheads can expect to have a 100% chance of a challenge next Saturday.

Hammerheads Keep Meet Close

July 3, 2010

The score was tied 214-214 going into the Boys Graduated 200 Freestyle Relay. Once Seth Adams dove into the water, nearly the entire crowd at Fairland Aquatic Center started screaming and yelling for the swimmers. All of the members of the Oxon Hill Hammerheads swim team knew that to win the meet they needed to win both the boys and the girls graduated freestyle relays. As Adams executed his turn, swimmers from the Parks and Recreation Pride were on both sides of him and nearly even. Then, as he sprinted to the wall, the swimmers from the Pride seemed to be gaining ground. However, once Justin Stafford dove in, it was clear who was going to win. After fine swims by Stafford, Garett Duffer, and Chase Steinberger, the boys reached the wall in first place with several body lengths to spare. Then, it came time for the girls to swim. To the tune of deafening cheers by Oxon Hill, the relay team of Ericka Pineda, Kahimi Vanzego, Janelle Gozum, and Gabby Cheatham easily touched the wall for a first place. Unfortunately for the Hammerheads, the Pride's multiple relays outscored Oxon Hill's victories and allowed the Pride to seize a close win, 232-228.

Few would have guessed that the meet would be this close after Event 11. At this point in the meet, Oxon Hill was losing to Parks and Recreation 64-33. Slowly, the Hammerheads closed the gap. Garrett and Geoffrey Duffer came out from behind in the 13-14 Boys Freestyle to finish 1-2. Cameron Stafford and Kai Lindsey also touched the wall 1-2 in both the Freestyle and Breaststroke events for the 8 and Under Girls. By Event 28, the Girls 13-14 50 Yard Breaststroke, the score was tied. From here until the relays, the teams traded the lead multiple times. Both the Hammerheads and the Pride had their lucky breaks. On the Oxon Hill side,  Ericka Pineda touched out Pride swimmer Tyra Nash in the 9-10 Girls 25 Yard Backstroke by a tenth of a second. Parks and Recreation lucked out in swimming three events and earning 18 points without any competition by Oxon Hill.

While losing a meet is never an enjoyable experience, the Hammerheads have a lot of things to feel good about. First off, Oxon Hill's team,  with 24 swimmers entered in the meet,  paled in size compared to the Pride's 65. This small size also limited the amount of points the team could earn - they just didn't have enough people to swim in every event. In addition, several Hammerhead swimmers claimed multple first places, including Gabby Cheatham (4), Geoffrey Duffer (3), Bryan Edwards (4), Ricky LaForte (4), and Justin Stafford (4). The Hammerheads are going to need every lesson they can glean out of this meet when they face new team King's Landing at home next week. King's Landing, which beat the Pride by 199 points two weeks ago, is certain to put Oxon Hill to the test. However, today's meet shows that the Oxon Hill Hammerheads are unafraid of large teams and long odds for winning and will fight up to the very last relay.

Gators take a Bite Out of Oxon Hill

June 26, 2010

It is easy to give up when faced against tremendous competition. Not many people have either the courage or confidence to engage relentless odds full on. For the 21 Oxon Hill Hammerheads who swam against the mighty Hawthorne Country Club Gators in an interdivision meet, it was clear that the chances for winning were remote. However, that did little to weaken Oxon Hill's grit and determination to go out with a fight in a meet won by Hawthorne 336-134.

At the beginnings of the meet, during the medley relay and fly events,  things were looking grim for the Hammerheads. Despite wins in both the boys 13-14 and 15-18 butterfly, Oxon Hill was nearly 50 points behind Hawthorne. Then during the freestyle events, things seemed to become worse after Hawthorne claimed a five one-hundredth of a second victory in the 8 and under girls 25 meter freestyle and the score differential blossomed to 80 points. However, points don't tell the whole story of these events. In fact, a majority of swimmers in the butterfly and freestyle events swam personal best times.

Breaststroke marked the turning point of Oxon Hill's forturnes. While Hawthorne Country Club was plagued by disqualification after disqualifiication,  the Hammerheads were able to swim cleanly and with style. Oxon Hill claimed three titles, in the 8 and under girls 25 Breaststroke, the 9-10 boys 25 Breaststroke, as well as the 13-14 boys 50 meter Breaststroke. These events created some momentum that allowed the cruise past the 100 point barrier on the way to 134 points.

By the time the meet concluded, the Hammerheads had taken steps to prove their mettle. From a one-two finish in the 8 and under girls 25 meter backstroke to a one-tenth of a second victory in the 13-14 boys 50 backstroke, the team showed resolve and poise. They'll need all the resolve they can get next week as they face the much larger Prince George's Pride. This weekend, the Pride beat Oxon Hill's closest rival in size, College Park Woods, by 55 points. Although the Hammerheads trounced the Pride last year, the meet is sure to be fierce.

 Hammerheads Maintain Performance at All-Star Meet 

8/1/09: When a person is disappointed about swimming a particular time in All-Stars, despite the fact that it is several seconds faster than what she did early in the season, one can see that that person had high expectations. Some of the Oxon Hill Hammerheads, despite all of their constant improvement throughout the year, seemed somewhat sullen as they found themselves not reaching the goals they wished for.

The goals of every Hammerhead, as well as for any swimmer in All-Stars, were to lower already fast times and to finish high in the final results. Divisionals was part of the reason for these personal goals- Nearly every Hammerhead had dropped a second or two in an event and the team in the end earned eleven individual first place medals. Although it was a challenge, the Oxon Hill Swim Team was able to both improve a bit and finish well as a team at All-Stars.

For every Hammerhead swimmer that was able to swim his or her seed time, another was able to beat it. For example, Kahimi Vanzego's high tempo in the 11-12 girls 50 meter backstroke (46.09) allowed her to chop two seconds off of her seed time. The boys 200 meter medley relay (2:24.22), consisting of Chase Steinberger, Kenny Weaver, Thomas Casey, and Ryan Casey, dropped nearly 2.5 seconds. In addition, Dominique Cheatham shaved half a second off her already speedy 9-10 girls 25 meter butterfly (21.80).

As with the times, the final rankings of swimmers in the meet were a mixed bag. Chase Steinberger, in a self-described awful 13-14 boys 50 meter backstroke (38.80), earned 13^th place, which was the Hammerheads' highest finish. The rest of the team was able to eke out 17^th and 18^th place finishes. Although unimpressive on the surface, the Hammerheads kept these races much closer than the blowouts predicted by the cold, computer-generated meet program.

Few teams, no matter how many first place trophies under their belts, can say that they have worked as hard as the Hammerheads did this year. For a team of thirty to win two meets, earn third place in a Division meet, and send fourteen swimmers to an All-Star meet is incredible. The Hammerheads aren't going to rest on these laurels though. Watch out- they're already thinking about next year.

Hammerheads See Success at Divisionals

7/25/09: Throughout the regular season, one could compare the Oxon Hill Hammerheads to products sold on television: full of promise yet unproven in the real world. However, after earning 255 points in Divisionals and getting nearly half the team into the All-Star Meet, there is one important difference between Oxon Hill and and items hawked on TV: the Hammerheads are legitimate.

Becoming a competitive team in a large meet such as Divisionals is rather difficult. Competitors came into the Oxon Hill Rec Club, site of Divisionals, with low expectations for the host team. The Hammerheads disregarded this disdain on the way to eleven individual and two relay victories. These victories grant automatic placement into Prince-Mont Swim League's premier event- All Stars.

The 8 and under 100 yard freestyle relay of Cameron Wright, Cerise Walker, Seth Adams, and Cameron Stafford was one moment at the meet that defied expectations. Although it was seeded first, the team had lost to relays from both the Prince George's Pride and the Bolling AFB Barracudas. After the first 70 yards of the relay, the Pride found themselves with a half-body length lead. By the time Cameron Stafford started stroking, the Pride's lead was increasing. Unfortunately for them, Stafford's Division-winning freestyle allowed her to breeze by the Pride for a 13 second drop in time and a victory.

The great performances were not limited to just the 8 and under relay. Kahimi Vanzego, 11, won the 11-12 girls 50 yard backstroke despite being seeded four seconds behind the first place seed. Courtney Wright, 12, dropped five seconds in the 11-12 girls 50 yard breaststroke and was only 0.29 seconds away from victory. In addition, the boys medley relay, consisting of Chase Steinberger in backstroke, Kenny Weaver in breaststroke, Thomas Casey in butterfly, and Alex Myree-Powell in freestyle, was able to come out ahead of a talented College Park Woods team for a victory. The Hammerheads had plenty to be happy about.

While the Hammerheads experienced great success, the meet had its own moments of sadness. The biggest letdown was the Girls 200 Free graduated relay. As a top seed throughout the season, the speedy team consisting of Dominique Cheatham, Kahimi Vanzego, Hannah Galbreath, and Gabby Cheatham was considered a favorite to win. College Park Woods saw to it that the race would be tough, and was able to get the win in a final surge of energy. However, the news was not all bad. Due to a scratch by the Dolphins, the girls will be able to compete in All-Stars and show their speed to the entire league.

Divisionals acted as a pleasant end to team competition for the Hammerheads. Their 255 points in the meet and 2-2 record puts them at third-overall for Division G for 2009. Contrast this to 2007, in which the tiny team was unable to win a meet and get even 100 points in Divisionals. This development is sweetened by the fact that last year's third-place finisher, Suburban, won the Division this year. No matter what happens, be careful: the Hammerheads are sure to take the bite out the competition.

Hammerheads Win and Reach .500

7/18/09- “What about THE SCORE?!?!?!?!?” screamed an impatient swimmer as the bubbly announcer told the crowd the final results of the last three relays of the meet. Finally, the magical words were spoken: “Bolling Air Force Base, 208. Oxon Hill...228.” Instantaneously, every Hammerhead on deck at the Oxon Hill Rec Club began to hoot and holler at the top of his or her lungs. It was official- Oxon Hill had finally attained a .500 record for the year.

Although Oxon Hill won by a healthy twenty points, the results of the meet were hardly predictable. According to Patrick Husson, the Head Coach of Oxon Hill, the meet was going to be won by “between two and twelve points.” During the meet, the lead was exchanged several times. After the butterfly events, the score was tied at 39. After the Girls 13-14 50 yard freestyle, Bolling had a fourteen point lead. After the 15-18 Girls 50 yard breaststroke, the Hammerheads were winning by nineteen. As late as the 13-14 boys 100 yard IM, the Hammerheads held just a three point lead. However, solid individual medleys by the oldest Oxon Hill swimmers gave the Hammerheads the victory.

The performances of the swimmers were as unpredictable as the winner of the meet. Only two Oxon Hill swimmers, Hannah Galbreath and Gabby Cheatham, were able to win all of their individual events. Several others, including Dominique Cheatham and Chase Steinberger, missed a third win by only a few hundredths of a second.

While the number of triple winners for the Hammerheads were relatively small, many swimmers displayed amazing drops in time. Cameron Stafford, a new swimmer in her second meet of her career, came out of nowhere to beat fellow teammate Cameron Wright in the 8 and under Girls 25 yard freestyle and breaststroke. Currently, both Camerons have the fastest times in Division G in their freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke events. Ericka Pineda, 9, and Sydney Wimbish, 10, both swam up as 13-14's and dropped ten seconds each in the 50 yard freestyle. Ryan Casey was able to drop seven seconds in the Boys 15-18 100 yard freestyle and is now seeded third in the Division in that event. In addition, the already quick Girls 200 yard graduated relay dropped eleven seconds during its race and won. When it comes to the performance of this group of swimmers, prepare to be impressed.

The Hammerheads will need every bit of speed they can get if they want to succeed at the Division G Championships, or what is commonly called Divisionals. This meet, in which the top two swimmers from each team in each event in the Division race, acts as both a qualifier for the league-wide All-Star meet and as part of the process by which the final Division Standings are determined. If Oxon Hill could pull off a first place in Divisionals, they could end up as high as second in the final standings for Division G. Perhaps with an accomplishment like this, Oxon Hill would lose the reputation of being an easy team to beat. Instead, they would be considered an adversary to be reckoned with.

Hammerheads Keep Up With Larger Rival

7/11/09- It would have been tough to have a conversation during the girls 200 meter graduated freestyle relay- the intense cheering by the Oxon Hill Hammerheads was just too loud. The noise grew in volume first as Dominique Cheatham gave the relay a lead, then as Kahimi Vanzego kept up the lead against Suburban Aquatic Club's speedy Elizabeth Bailey, then as Hannah Galbreath increased the lead, and finally as Gabby Cheatham touched the wall for the win at 2:49.72. This relay win added seven crucial points to the Hammerheads' total to get them to a much desired 200. Although Oxon Hill lost to the Suburban Aquatic Club Dolphins by a score of 252-200, the score was a victory for the Hammerheads as they proved that they could hold their own against a team with a roster twice the size of their own.

The meet wasn't guaranteed to be this close. In several races, a few tenths of a second separated the places. Ryan Casey was able to squeeze into third place in the 15-18 boys 100 meter freestyle with a separation between him and the fourth place finisher of 0.19 seconds. Dominique Cheatham in the 9-10 girls 50 meter freestyle touched only 0.35 seconds ahead of her competitors for first place. In the 8 and under girls 25 meter freestyle, Cameron Wright's first place was only 0.15 seconds ahead of second. The Hammerheads were able to squeeze victories out of the tightest of races.

While some of the races came down to the wire, others were completely dominated by Oxon Hill swimmers. In fact, several Oxon Hill swimmers won three individual events. These fast swimmers included Cameron Wright (8 and under girls Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke), Hannah Galbreath (13-14 girls Butterfly, Freestyle, IM), and Gabby Cheatham (15-18 girls Freestyle, Breaststroke, IM). Also, Janelle Gozum, 12, swam up as a 13-14 and was able to win first in her Breaststroke event. While the Dolphins had some fast swimmers, Oxon Hill had a few stars of their own.

Unlike Oxon Hill's meet against Suburban, the margin of victory in Oxon Hill's final meet against Bolling AFB has the potential to be razor-thin. Both teams, which have been rivals for the past several years, are evenly matched. However, Bolling, which lost to Oxon Hill last year by only 32 points, has come back this year with a new coach and some fast new swimmers. The little things- entering the water correctly from the start, doing no extra movements, etc.- are going to decide whether the Hammerheads will be successful or not next week.

Hammerheads Find Victory

6/27/09- The Oxon Hill Hammerheads could have wallowed in self-pity after their loss to the slightly smaller College Park Woods team. Instead, they swallowed their sadness and worked to fix their mistakes. This hard work was evident in a solid 243-146 win over the much larger Prince George's Parks and Recreation Pride.

The Hammerheads showed dominance in most of the events. A great deal of swimmers won one or two individual events. In fact, several swimmers won three individual events, which is the maximum number of individual events that a swimmer may swim. These swimmers included Cameron Wright (8 and under girls freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke), Hannah Galbreath (13-14 girls butterfly, freestyle, backstroke), Chase Steinburger (13-14 boys butterfly, freestyle, backstroke), Kenny Weaver (15-18 boys butterfly, breaststroke, IM), and Gabby Cheatham (15-18 girls freestyle, breaststroke, IM). The boys medley and the girls graduated freestyle relay also won their events.

The dominance displayed by the Hammerheads in a majority of the events wasn't a given. Each race was swum with 100 percent effort by each swimmer with favorable results. Janelle Gozum won the 11-12 girls 50 yd breaststroke (57.99) by one one-hundredth of a second. Courtney Wright, 12, swam up as a 13-14 and won both her breaststroke and IM races. Also, illegal stroke technique displayed in the CPW meet was fixed by many swimmers. These improvements, displayed by Jared Franklin, Gabriel Walker, Phoenix Diggs, Dominique Cheatham, and Garrett Duffer in the breaststroke, by Geoffrey Duffer in the butterfly, and by Indigo Diggs in the backstroke allowed the team to score as many points as it did.

Oxon Hill's victory over the Pride bears special significance for the members of the team. At the beginning of the year, the members of the team made it a goal to score 200 points and win at least one meet. With these twin goals accomplished, the team can set even tougher goals and accomplish even greater things.

Since the Hammerheads have no meets scheduled until July 11, some might conclude that they will take a long break. However, the Hammerheads are going to use this time to iron out any imperfections that still exist in their stroke technique, starts, turns, and finishes. Their next opponent, Suburban Aquatic Club, currently has a star-filled roster twice as large as Oxon Hill's roster. Perhaps with hard work, good technique, and a bit of luck, this seemingly invincible team will fall to the Hammerheads as the Pride did.

Hammerheads Work Through a Difficult Day

6/20/09- Hardship is a good indicator of commitment. Anyone can handle the sunny days that life hands out, but it takes character to wrestle with the rainy days that sometimes come. The committed Oxon Hill Hammerheads worked through awful weather and tough competion to get to a narrow 40 point loss to College Park Woods.

During the meet, several swimmers swam above and beyond what was expected of them. For example, many swimmers won two first places. The list includes Rachel Galbreath (9-10 girls Fly, Breast), Seth Adams (8 and under boys Free, Back), Kahimi Vanzego (11-12 girls Free, Back), Gabby Cheatham (15-18 girls Free, Back), Cameron Wright (8 and under girls Breast, Back), Courtney Wright (11-12 girls Breast, IM), and Kenny Weaver (15-18 boys Breast, Back).

In several instances, Hammerhead swimmers were responsible for superb races.Rachel Galbreath, in her win (27.23) in her 25 yd Butterfly event, narrowly touched out the competing College Park Woods swimmer. In the boys 15-18 100 yd IM, Ryan Casey was able to beat Teddy Hopkins of College Park Woods despite being behind during the backstroke portion of the race. This win was particularly sweet for Casey as he was narrowly out-touched by Hopkins during the butterfly event. 

While many Hammerheads made statements through first place finishes, others displayed self-sacrifice for the greater good of the team. Janelle Gozum, 12, swam up as a 13-14 when the team had no one else in that age group. Kahimi Vanzego, 11, won both her freestyle (37.43) and her backstroke (46.15) after surviving through three races (fly in 200 medley relay, 11-12 girls fly and free) in a span of 40 minutes. In addition, many swimmers arrived at the meet and swam with smiles on their faces despite the foul weather and a plague of stomachaches and headaches.

Although Oxon Hill lost by a score of 163 to 206, the Hammerheads can be proud of their performance. The 163 points they earned at the thunderstorm-shortened meet was the highest point total made by the team since its return to PMSL in 2006. This total was reached without the help of several swimmers, who for various reasons were unable to compete at the meet. The team will need as many points as it can for its upcoming meet against the larger-sized PPR. If the Hammerheads show the commitment they showed during this unpleasant day, victory may be possible.