Each year the Herndon Swim League gives out scholarships to swimmers who have graduated high school and who are moving forward with their academic careers. The Scholarship Program is funded by the swim league through donations and through silent auctions. Each scholarship is $500 and this year there were a total of 9 scholarship winners from the league. Each scholarship winner from this year was dedicated to the league and to their academic careers. The average number of seasons that the winners swam for the league was 13.5 seasons.
The winners are Conor Cudahy from the Hunters Creek Stingrays, Justine Chester, Francesca Polito and Chris Fronczak from the Kingstream Kahunas, Ryan McNulty from the Kingston Chase Fighters, Lauren Drew and Sean McCrone from the Bradley Farm Waves, Tyler Hutchins from the Four Seasons Tidal Waves, and Burgess Harper from the Foxfield Flyers.
Conor Cudahy of the Hunters Creek Stingrays swam for the league for 14 seasons. While participating in the league he became a Junior Coach for his team. While attending Herndon High School he swam for all 4 years and became one of the captains of the Herndon High swim team when he was a senior. Conor will be attending William and Mary in the Fall and will continue his swimming career there by swimming for the team. When asked about how he felt about the scholarship win he stated “I am grateful that the Herndon Swim League granted me the scholarship and happy that swimming for Hunters Creek for 14 years has paid off so much.” When asked which swimmer he admires he stated “I'm a fan of Nathan Adrian just because he seems to have so much fun with the sport.” Conor’s favorite events to swim are distance Freestyle and Backstroke. His most memorable moments in the Swim League were “every Herndon Olympics I competed in and singing the national anthem at home meets.” When asked about how swimming has changed his life he stated “Swimming has taught me that hard work will eventually pay off. It has also taught me time management and using that time productively.”
Find out what's happening in Herndonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Justine Chester of the Kingstream Kahunas swam in the league for 13 seasons. During her time in the league she was a Junior Coach and an Assistant Coach of her team. She swam for Herndon High School for all 4 years of her high school career as well as participating in the Choir program at the high school where she was selected to be in District Choir. Justine plans on attending Northern Virginia Community College for one year to get her Associates Degree in Education, after that she hopes to transfer to James Madison University to finish a Bachelors Degree in Education. When asked about her plans for swimming in the future she stated “I don't plan to be too competitive with swimming in the future but I would like to be on a club team because I do enjoy swimming. Fortunately I am young enough that I will still be able to swim on my summer team next year as well.” When asked about her feelings on her scholarship win she stated “I feel lucky to have won the scholarship! The five hundred dollars is going to go towards my books for freshmen year which will really help because I have to pay for my own books.” When asked what swimmer she most admires/looks up to she stated “One swimmer that I look up to isn't so much a swimmer anymore but a swimming instructor. Kerstin Severin, the aquatics director at the Herndon Community Center, is such a dedicated swim instructor and I admire the way she never gives up on a child who wants to swim no matter what the circumstances.”
Justine’s favorite stroke in swimming is Backstroke and her favorite event to swim during the Summer season is the 100 IM while in high school her favorite event was the 500 Freestyle. When asked about her most memorable parts of swim team “The best part of summer swimming was always the end of the season party. And when the swimmers throw the coaches into the water after presenting trophies.” When asked about how swimming has changed her life Justine stated “Swimming has changed my life in so many ways. I've met some wonderful friends and have so many wonderful memories from swimming! Swimming is a way for me to release my energy and after I swim I always feel so good.” Justine left a piece of advice for the younger swimmers in the league which is “Always try to have fun! Summer swimming is all about having fun with your friends while also swimming.”
Find out what's happening in Herndonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Francesca Polito of the Kingstream Kahunas swam in the league for 12 seasons. During her time in the league she was a Junior Coach of her team. During her high school career Francesca swam all four years as well as playing JV Lacrosse and managing the boys lacrosse team for Herndon High School. She did college cooperative courses while in high school and she will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University in the Fall where she might be swimming for their club team. When asked about her feelings on the scholarship win Francesca stated, “I'm really happy I got the scholarship because I really need that money to buy books!” When asked about her favorite swimmer she stated, “I really love Missy Franklin because she's such a humble girl. She's an amazing swimmer too.”
Francesca’s favorite stroke is Breaststroke but she also likes swimming IMs. When asked about how swimming has changed her life she stated, “Summer swim has been a part of my life since I was very young, Its going to be so weird not swimming for the Kahunas next summer. I will never forget the friendships I made through summer swim team.” Francesca’s advice for the younger swimmers in the league is to “try your best while still having fun!”
Chris Fronczak of the Kingstream Kahunas swam in the league for 12 seasons. During his time in the league he was a Junior Coach and an Assistant Coach of his team. During his high school career Chris Fronczak swam for the team as well as played Football for Herndon High for all four years, becoming one of the captains of both teams in his Senior year. In high school he was a member of the Key Club and he also earned his Eagle Scout Award. Chris will be attending CNU in the Fall with his major still undecided and he plans on spending all four years at CNU. Unfortunately, CNU doesn’t have a pool on the campus so Chris will not be able to swim for a club team there. When asked about his feelings on the scholarship win he stated “I'm really excited about the scholarship I won because it’s like the only scholarship I've been awarded. I applied for a few sports ones at my school but didn't get them.”
The swimmer Chris looks up to/admires the most is Jimmy McLaughlin who swam for and coached for the Kingstream Kahunas. Chris said he admires him because “Even though he's not famous he had a big impact on my swimming career and life. He was a fun coach/guy to be around but he knew what it took to be at the top.” His favorite stroke is Freestyle and his favorite event to swim is either the 50 or the 100 Freestyle. His most memorable moment while swimming for the league was “When Kathy [McLaughlin] retired as head coach of the Kahunas because she had been there for so many years and I hadn't had any other coach besides her so it was emotional and strange moving forward, luckily she had appointed Sarah Anderson as the next head coach whom she knew well and was fit for the job.” When asked how swimming has changed his life he stated “Swimming has taught me life skills that I can take anywhere with me in the rest of my life.” Chris left a piece of advice for the younger swimmers in the league which is “Swim year round because it makes a huge difference.”
Ryan McNulty of the Kingston Chase Fighters swam in the league for 15 seasons, in which he coached for his team for the last 4 years. In high school Ryan was a member of the Crew team for 4 years at Gonzaga Prep and was part of the Campus Ministry where he won 2 awards. Ryan also earned his Eagle Scout Award. Ryan will be attending Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Lauren Drew of the Bradley Farm Waves swam in the league for 14 seasons. During her time in the league she was a Junior Coach and an Assistant Coach. During high school she participated in both swimming and soccer as well as being the Student Government Chairman. Lauren will be attending Longwood University in the Fall where she plans on getting her degree in Special Education as well as getting a regular teaching degree. Lauren plans on taking a break from swimming in college after spending her 14 years on the Bradley Farm swim team and playing soccer for 10 years so she plans on taking her time to focus on herself and school through college, and hopefully play club soccer. On her feelings about winning the scholarship Lauren stated “I am so happy about winning this scholarship. I have a twin sister who is going to tech so anyway I can make it even the slightest bit easier on my parents is great! I've been swimming for so long and having this end my 14 years was a great ending.” Her favorite swimmer is also not a famous one to many people but to Lauren she is very famous, “She is my old coach Kiley Bishop she taught me there is more to swimming then just swimming! She taught me at a young age that winning is great but not coming in first is okay too! I've looked up to her not only as a swimmer and coach but as a person too.” Lauren’s favorite event during swimming is the mixed age relays because, “I love working together with people and succeeding as a team. Swimming with those swimmers every meet really brings all of us together and close! I always tell my mixed age team before our race that I don't care about the place just swim your heart out and if I have to pick them out if the water after their swim I will! Working with swimmers of all different age groups just makes succeeding so much better.”
Lauren’s most memorable moment during swim team is, “when I became a coach and got close to a certain swimmer. The first season I worked with him he could swim at all he was 4 and swam with a snorkel and scuba goggles and would not get off of me he wouldn't swim alone. By the end of the first season he could swim with the mask but grab onto me whenever he needed it. Then this season which was our last season together by the last meet I got in the water with him and he swam the whole way across the pool without stopping. I will never forget.” When asked about how swimming has changed her life Lauren stated “Swimming over the years have taught me a lot. It opened my eyes to a lot. I leaned that winning isn't everything and making connections with swimmers is the most important thing. Bradley Farms is a great team to be a part of. I also learned that it’s never too late to start something new. Swimming taught me so much in life that has to do with swimming and what doesn't have to do with swimming and for that my life has been changed from swimming.” She left a piece of advice to young swimmers who haven’t swum before and are iffy about joining swim team “It doesn't matter how old you are the Herndon swim league is a great place to learn how to swim. All the coaches are amazing and will work with you and teach you. It's never too late to start and the Herndon Swim league is really the best league it's a small league where the coaches really care about every swimmer.”
Sean McCrone of the Bradley Farm Waves swam in the league for 15 seasons. During his time in the league he was a Junior Coach and an Assistant Coach. While attending high school he swam on the team and was also a member of the National Honor Society. He was also a volunteer/coach at the Special Olympics. Sean will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University’s art school in the Fall where he hopes to get a degree in either graphic design, animation or com arts. He will not be swimming competitively in college but will most likely join VCU’s club team. When asked about his feelings on winning the scholarship Sean stated “I am very happy I got the scholarship because I will most likely have to take out loans for paying for school so I am looking for any financial aid I can get.” The swimmer Sean most admires is his old summer swim coach, Jason Philpott. On why he admired Philpott, Sean stated, “I always remember watching him as an 8 and under and being in awe at how fast he was able to move through the water. He always inspired me to try my hardest and become the best swimmer I could be. His positive influence on me as a young swimmer is part of the reason I decided to become a swim coach, in hopes that I can provide the same positive influence on the younger swimmers that look up to me.”
Sean’s two favorite events to swim are the 100 Backstroke and 200 Freestyle. The most memorable moment of summer swim was “The end of the year party this year. The slideshow included a section for the seniors leaving the team. After the slideshow a number of kids on the team came up to me crying asking me not to leave, It was that moment that assured me that I had made a significant impact on my team and provided them with the fun and educational experience I received when I was a young swimmer on the team.” When asked about how swimming changed his life, Sean stated, “Swimming really taught me the importance of hard work and dedication and how much it can pay off. I wasn't always as fast as I am today. For a long time I came in 4th, 5th, and many times even 6th place during summer swim meets. But because I kept with the sport and did everything I could to make myself a better swimmer I am now one of the fastest 15-18 swimmers in the league. So in short swimming has had a significant impact on my work ethic.” Sean left a piece of advice for the younger swimmers in the league, he said “Patience and perseverance are the key to becoming a successful swimmer.”
Tyler Hutchins of the Four Seasons Tidal Waves swam in the league for 9 seasons, 5 of which were with another team in the league. In high school Tyler swam for the team as well as being a member of the National Honor Society. He also volunteered as a referee for Youth Soccer. In the Fall Tyler will be attending Virginia Tech. When asked about his feelings on the scholarship win Tyler stated, “I am feeling very blessed to have won this scholarship, it is a pleasure and an honor to accept the scholarship and I'm so proud.” He plans on continuing to swim, but only as a means of working out, not competitively. Tyler doesn’t really have a swimmer but he admires “Ryan Lochte because of his devotion, I respect his work ethic.” He loves swimming Breaststroke but he said “IM is my favorite event, because I like swimming all the different strokes.” Tyler’s most memorable moment of the swim season was “The end of the season swim meet and hanging out and relaxing and snacking and playing games with the other swimmers.” When asked about how swimming has changed his life Tyler stated, “Swimming has taught me the importance of commitment, I realized that in swim you get out exactly what you put in and it has taught me that I have to work hard in order to get results and this realization helped me improve myself as a person overall.” Tyler left a piece of advice for the younger swimmers in the league, “My advice would be to have fun, there is no point in swimming if you aren't going to have fun, make the most out of the people and the practices and have fun.”
Burgess Harper of the Foxfield Flyers swam in the league for 13 seasons. During his time in the league he was a Junior Coach. Throughout high school Burgess participated in both swimming and football. Burgess will be attending Northern Virginia Community College in the Fall.
By: Erin Rider
