Herald Staff Report
(From the issue of 3/4/04)

Bishop O’Connell sophomore Kate Ziegler continued her dominance of local high school swimming by setting two meet records on Feb. 28 at the Washington Metro Championships at the Montgomery Aquatic Center in Bethesda. The O’Connell girls (168 points) finished second overall to Good Counsel (226 points) in the team competition.

Ziegler captured first in both the 200 freestyle (1:48.15) and 500 freestyle (4:41.91). In the latter event, she shattered her own record by six seconds and just missed breaking the national high school record. She also anchored the Knights’ victorious 200 freestyle relay team.

Ziegler, who earned first-team All-Met last season as a freshman, is among the top female swimmers invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials this July in California. She will compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team traveling to Greece in August.

Other local swimmers also had strong performances at Metros. O’Connell junior Katie Giarra won the women’s one-meter diving. O’Connell junior John Dragelin placed fourth in the 500 free (4:44.95) and fifth in the 200 I.M. (1:59.04). Paul VI freshman Thomas Hale-Kupiec finished fifth in the 100 free (49.52). PVI senior Pat Cureton was fourth in the 50 free (22.17). PVI sophomore Bobby Lytle finished sixth in the 100 breast (1:03.34). Ireton senior Colleen Sullivan placed fourth in both the 50 free (24.45) and 100 free (53.76) and O’Connell senior Annie Ferguson finished seventh in the 500 free (5:13.37).