Late rally propels Roland Park Country School to B Conference swimming crown

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

Roland Park Country School showed its resilience in the latter stages of the B Conference swimming championship meet  on Sunday at the Loyola University Maryland Fitness and Aquatic Center.

After lopping off three seconds from the school record in the  200-yard medley relay (senior Hannah Cerny, sophomores Lala Blumenfeld and Lilly Haney and freshman Josslyn Hauserman - 1:54.62) to begin the meet, the Reds eventually fell behind Severn when Admirals senior Aliza Monaldo (5:08.86) romped to a victory in the 500-yard freestyle.

Unperturbed, the Reds won the next three events and were runners-up in the 400 freestyle relay relay to eke out a narrow 427-421 victory over the determined Admirals to secure the program’s first crown since 2017.

St. Mary’s (351), John Carroll (262) and St. Paul’s School for Girls (221) were next in line.

Cerny and fellow senior Maggie Mazzulli joined Blumenfeld and Haney to ignite the rally with a win in the 200 free relay (1:45.66) before Cerny prevailed in the 100 backstroke (school record 1:01.42) and Blumenfeld did the same in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.68).

At that point, Roland Park could not afford to let down in the final relay in order to stave off Severn.

To that end, despite a winning effort from seniors Monaldo and Whitney Grimes, junior Kenzie Getz and freshman Noelle Salamandra for the Admirals in the 400 free relay (3:57.71), Mazzulli, sophomore Lena Levendosky and freshmen Bridget Deemer and Hauserman (4:06.14) helped the Reds remain on top.

Getz’s win in the 100 free (54.48) over Haney (56.28) fueled the Admirals’ charge prior to Monaldo's 500 free. The Admirals star did the same in the 200 free (1:55.16) while Getz had already touched home first in the 50 free (24.88).

Then it was time for the Reds to respond — and they did in a big way.

There were also smaller — yet important — victories to savor, such as freshman Marin Heath’s breakthrough sprint (1:09.77) in the 100 free and Mazzulli (26.86) in the 50 free, RPCS coach Toni Armstrong said.

And while she expected Blumenfeld to nab second in the 100 breast, Armstrong was delighted that she posted a personal-best time to win the event.

Considering that less than 25 percent of the 21 swimmers on the roster participate year-round, the Reds’ performance made Armstrong justifiably proud of the outcome.

Not knowing exactly what to expect from the team this season, victory after victory prompted Cerny, who also won the 100 butterfly (1:01.39), to ask her coach if the Reds had a chance to win a title this winter.

“Absolutely,” came the reply. “They (the Reds) were excited and they set that as a goal.”

Armstrong said that there was more to the championship run than winning in the water.

“It wasn’t just the performance,” she said. “But it was the way they supported and mentored each other. It was beautiful to see.”

St. Paul’s junior Grace Gearhart took top honors in the 200 individual medley (2:17.80) to be the only individual winner not from RPCS or Severn.