Mercersburg’s boys’ and girls’ swimmers were among 600 athletes that competed at the 2021 Potomac Marlins Winter Classic December 2-5 at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. The meet attracted a number of top club teams from the greater Washington metro area.

Blue Storm athletes turned in a number of top performances, including eight first-place finishes by six different athletes. Mark Van Eybergen ’23 won the boys’ 1,000-yard freestyle and 200 butterfly; Teddy Blake ’23 took first in the boys’ 200 backstroke and 500 free. 

Other individual event winners from Mercersburg included Leah Gentry-Tuney ’22 (girls’ 50 breaststroke), Maddie Koutavas ’22 (girls’ 100 breast), Ryan Nordheim ’22 (boys’ 50 fly), and Jerry Wei ’25 (boys’ 13/14 50 breast).

Team scores were not kept.

“It was a great weekend—our kids swam fast and had a ton of fun,” Mercersburg head coach Glenn Neufeld said. “The meet will help to lay the foundation for a great varsity season, which culminates with Easterns in February.”

Mercersburg’s top finishers included:

Thursday, December 2
boys’ 1000 free: Van Eybergen, 9:31.66 (1st)

Friday, December 3
boys’ 200 free: CJ Sheldon ’22, 1:40.00 (2nd); Blake, 1:41.90 (3rd)
boys’ 13/14 50 breast: Wei, 28.70 (1st)
girls’ 50 breast: Gentry-Tuney, 29.42 (1st); Koutavas, 30.38 (3rd) 
girls’ 200 back: Ingrid Janney ’24, 2:03.46 (2nd)
boys’ 200 back: Blake, 1:51.35 (1st)
girls’ 400 IM: Isabella Van Ess ’22, 4:34.90 (3rd)
boys’ 400 IM: Blake, 4:06.80 (3rd)

Saturday, December 4
girls’ 50 free: Jade Matthias ’22, 23.86 (3rd)
boys’ 200 fly: Van Eybergen, 1:52.08 (1st)
boys’ 13/14 100 breast: Wei, 1:03.96 (2nd)
girls’ 100 breast: Koutavas, 1:04.38 (1st); Gentry-Tuney, 1:04.78 (2nd); Van Ess, 1:07.24 (3rd)
boys’ 500 free: Blake, 4:32.46 (1st); Van Eybergen, 4:34.17 (2nd)
girls’ 400 medley relay: Janney/Maddie Koutavas/Gentry-Tuney/Matthias, 3:51.20 (2nd)

Sunday, December 5
boys’ 100 free: Nordheim, 46.19 (3rd)
boys’ 13/14 200 breast: Ryan Kothari ’25, 2:21.70 (2nd)
boys’ 100 back: Mason Green, 51.73 (2nd)
boys’ 50 fly: Nordheim, 22.70 (1st)

The Blue Storm hosts longtime rival Peddie for a dual meet in swimming and diving Saturday, January 15, at 1 p.m. in the Lloyd Aquatic Center.