CHESTERTOWN — It has been a successful start to the summer for Sho’men Swimming, the age-group program based at Washington College’s Casey Swim Center.
Of the 70 girls and boys on the roster, with three dual meets remaining, 30 Sho’men already have met qualifying times for the end-of-season Delmarva Swim Association Championships.
First-year head coach James Koval, who also is Washington College’s head coach, described the season as “definitely great.”
“There have been some times of transition over the last two, three years for Sho’men with different coaches coming through, but the parents and the kids have been constant and they have really been making this thing go. So it’s been a great year,” Koval said.
Sho’men Swimming opened its season June 18 at Talbot Swim Club. The schedule to date also includes meets against Spirit Swim Team, Riptide, Miles River Yacht Club and Dover YMCA and the TSC Splash and Dash Invitational.
One of the many highlights from an individual performer has been Kinsley Cunningham, who established a team record of 33.81 for 11- and 12-year-old girls in the 50-yard breaststroke on June 25 in the meet at home against Middletown, Delaware-based Riptide. The previous record was 33.90.
Cunningham has qualified for the DSA Championships in the maximum number of five events: 50 breast, 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly and 100 Individual Medley.
“Kinsley is a very talented swimmer, but I think what really kind of helps set her apart is how coachable she is,” Koval said. “And she isn’t just ‘OK, I won the blue ribbon, I’m first place, I am satisfied.’ She wants to know, ‘how can I get faster?’ She’s always asking. And, you know, for a kid that age to really be invested in the process of getting better is pretty fun for a coach and that is why she keeps doing so well.”
Other Sho’men swimmers who also have qualified in the maximum five events for the league championships are Owen Cunningham, Tucker Ervin, Ryland Forte, Billy Gentile, Mary Jane Joiner, Sophia Larrimore, Will Meyer, Penelope Schmidt, Rileigh Thompson and Penelope Welsh.
Joiner and Ervin are the reigning MVPs on Kent County High School’s swim team. They competed in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s state championships this past winter and have continued that success into the summer season, both qualifying among 15- to 18-year-olds for the DSA Championships in the 50 free, 50 back, 50 breast, 50 fly and 100 IM.
Also swimming for Sho’men this summer is Brenna Thorpe, a varsity letter winner and state qualifier on a relay for Kent County High School’s team.
When talking about the age-group program, Koval noted the growth that his team has shown during the season.
“[They] just keep showing up and the coaches that we have do a great job of connecting with the kids so the kids want to learn, and want to do well and impress us, and they work really hard and they’ve got the spirit and that is where I think the growth has been,” he said. “They are little sponges. They are going to get better and learn.”
There are three dual meets remaining, including Thursday night, July 9 at home against the Cecil YMCA. The opening gun is at 6 p.m.
The Sho’men Invitational is Saturday, July 11.
Following meets against Wild Quail Golf & Country Club [July 13] and Spirit Swim Team [July 16], Sho’men Swimming wraps up its summer season with the DSA Championships on Saturday, July 25 at Salisbury University.
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