IAAM swimming championships on tap Sunday and Monday; NDP, Roland Park and Mercy buoyed by perfect conference records

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

It’s been a minute since Notre Dame Prep (2015) claimed its last A Conference swimming championship and Roland Park (2017) did the same in the B Conference. Mercy, on the other hand, has never owned a swimming crown, considering that the program is in its inaugural year.

On Sunday at the Loyola University Maryland Fitness and Aquatic Center, both NDP and RPCS hope to hoist their respective league’s hardware at the IAAM championship meet after completing undefeated seasons against conference foes.

Mercy will attempt to earn its first-ever title when the C Conference convenes the following day at the same facility.

The Blazers (290 points) are fresh off a triumph over A Conference rivals Archbishop Spalding (258) and Maryvale (258) at the National Catholic High School meet, which was also held at Loyola University a couple of weeks ago.

Senior Tess Lankford led sophomores Khrysta Blaha and Kelsey Ciliberto and freshman Shannon Conway on the winning 200-yard medley relay in 1:47.03 to help NDP power to a quick start at the annual event.

The Cavaliers were paced by juniors Ashley Connors and Natalie Lomonosov, sophomore Maggie Jaeger and freshman Paige Addleman to finish third in 1:47.63.

Defending B Conference champ Maryvale, which has more than held its own in its first year in the A Conference with a 3-2 league mark, finished fifth behind juniors Julia Mihok and Holly Hirsch and sophomores Ali Thompson and Ava Vercollone in 1:48.55.

Conway also prevailed in the 200 (1:50.44) and 500 (4:54.12) freestyles while the Blazers’ 400 free relay unit (junior Faith McCallister, sophomores Olivia Vandewinckel and Blaha, and Conway) touched home first as well in 3:32.53.

All of those standouts and more will be on display at a meet in which each team’s depth — typically an NDP strength — will be a major factor.

Such also will be the case for Roland Park, which has proven to be a juggernaut during the league season. The Reds’ only loss this season was by a narrow 87-83 margin to defending A Conference champ Bryn Mawr.

Otherwise, the B Conference leaders have posted substantial wins over Severn, St. Mary’s, John Carroll and St. Paul’s School for Girls.

Seniors Maggie Mazzulli and Hannah Cerny and sophomore Lilly Haney swim the 200 free and 200 free relay, while Haney also competes in the 50 free and Cerny in the the 100 butterfly.

In addition, Haney, sophomore Lala Blumenfeld, and Cerny figure to be on the 400 free relay unit. Mazzulli is also a breaststroker for the Reds.

“This team has come so far in two years, and we are excited to see what their hard work and commitment can do,” RPCS coach Toni Armstrong said.

Mercy’s debut season has been like a dream for coach Abigail Werner after a brief period of adjustment.

“It was a little chaotic at first,” the former Institute of Notre Dame swimmer said. “But the girls have really been helpful to me. “They are just so excited for every meet.”

It was at the Magic’s initial meet that Werner’s eyes were opened by her swimmers’ success.

“I looked at the results and saw that we kept coming out on top,” said Werner, whose team practices at the Notre Dame of Maryland University pool. “I said, ‘Dang, these girls are crushing it.’ Then when we went to Severn on their senior night and won….I thought we could really have something here.”

At a C Conference meet last week at Towson University, Key and Indian Creek were the only rivals to fall by less than 20 points to the Magic.

Mercy freestylers include Emily Kellerman (sprint), Tess Brandenburg, Margot Hogg and Sarah Waldt (distance) while Victoria Kurzatowski and Brooke Mellendick handle the individual medley. Kellerman and Waldt are flyers with Kurzatowski, Brandenburg and Eva Puleo taking on the backstroke.

Mellendick, Hogg and Julianna Orange are breaststrokers for a team that features a whopping nine freshmen, five sophomores, three juniors and only two seniors.

“We’re lucky that we’re only losing two seniors,” Werner said. “We’re looking to accommodate a bigger team next year.”