“Safe starts,” Broadneck swimming coach Colleen Parr-Winans told her relay teams.
Through most of the events, both Bruins boys and girls teams glided toward the county championship titles — the fifth-straight for the boys and an avengement for the girls. Mathematically, by the 400-yard freestyle relays, they couldn’t lose.
That is, so long as neither relay false started.
It could happen so easily; it did happen two years ago. Parr-Winans didn’t want to make a tradition of it.
She wouldn’t need to.
Brenden Mahoney established a lead for teammates Nolan Rider, Jojo Navarro-Monzo and Kohl Hanes, as the foursome cruised not only to a qualifying finish, but gold as well.
“We wanted to be fast but safe,” Hanes said, “and give our coach a little heart attack. Fast arms, fast legs – go all out for our last race.”
The sweet joy of winning doesn’t lessen for Parr-Winans, even as they keep coming. Every team is different, she said.
“Every win is never taken for granted,” the coach said. “I don’t think the kids do either.”
Relays were imperative to the Bruins boys’ success, starting from the very first.
Annapolis’ anchor in the boys 200-yard medley relay hit the water first while Mahoney sprang to the water at the same time as Crofton. When he resurfaced for air after his last flip turn, he trailed both by a head.
Show Caption1 of 10Feb. 6, 2026- South River’s Ellie Schweikert competes in the second heat of the 500 yard freestyle in the Anne Arundel swimming county championships at Arundel Olympic Swim Center in Annapolis. (John Gillis/Freelance)
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But in the final few yards, Mahoney strained his muscles to propel himself ahead of the other two. The trio hit the wall so closely that Mahoney realized his Bruins won only after Crofton’s swimmer to his right displayed his disappointment. Broadneck finished in 1 minute, 38.26 seconds – a mere three-hundredths of a second ahead of the other two.
“Anchoring that relay on freestyle, having to make the comeback, it was really hard but really fun doing it,” Mahoney said. “I saw I was a little bit behind and I just went.”
The Annapolis boys kept on Broadneck’s heels through the post-50 freestyle break. But on the other side, Crofton joined the pursuit, buoyed by podium finishes.
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The seasoned Bruins coaching staff eyed the Panthers and Cardinals and any other competitors without a trace of ego. In their minds, Broadneck sat in third place and needed as many points as it could muster to catch up. Any race, especially the relays, could destroy their somewhat comfortable lead.
After all, the Crofton boys proved as much when they tied Broadneck for the title two years ago, and Severna Park had when it claimed the girls title last winter.
The Falcons, likewise, trailed the Bruins comfortably as the events moved on, adding wins in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle relay as well for boosts.
But even when Broadneck didn’t clinch gold, it found a way to scavenge points in other places.
Parr-Winans noted freshman Keely Cornelius, who despite seeding eighth and swimming in the penultimate heat, ended up finishing fourth overall in the girls 500 free. She was one of several Broadneck underclassmen to do so, padding the Bruins enough to endure some losses.
Even still, Rider ensured he edged out the Cardinals boys in the 100 backstroke. Just before Crofton’s Braiden Severin made his final touch, the Bruins’ double champion (200 IM) surged forward and earned his second individual gold, in 52 seconds.
“I felt like if I won that, I would seal the meet,” Rider said. “I felt everything was on my shoulders then. And I like winning. Winning’s fun.”
Cedar Gallaudet would agree. After settling for silver in the girls 200 freestyle and a relay last winter, she felt like she’d let her team down. She made sure she didn’t this time, taking the 200 free and anchoring the winning 200 medley relay.
“I was just so grateful to be surrounded by such a supporting team,” Gallaudet said, “to hear their cheers. I was so enthralled.”
Crofton junior Regan Carpenter cruised to a pair of gold medals, handily defending her title in the girls 500 free with a much faster time — 5:17.58 — while taking the 200 IM as well.
Fellow Cardinal Mabel Zegowitz hasn’t relented her 50 and 100 freestyle titles since she first hit the county championship pool four years ago. But the senior captain just kept shaving more and more time as the years ticked on — she set a new meet record in her finale.
Cutting four tenths of a second and leaving her opponents more than four seconds in her wake, Zegowitz touched the wall in 51.1 seconds, shattering a 16-year old record that belonged to Emily Lloyd of Severna Park since 2010 (51.67).
She wasn’t the only swimmer to snap an old record either.
Arundel’s Nathan Colin tasted winning before when he claimed last year’s 100 freestyle title. But he had yet to break any records.
When the Wildcat surged into the wall after the final lap of the 50 free, he glanced at the board to see his time — 21.70 At first, he simply twirled his finger in celebration. Then the truth of what he’d done, snapping a 12-year old record, seemed to sink in and Colin smacked the water over and over again. The county championship mark previously belonged to Broadneck’s Noah Yanchulis, set in 2014.
Colin also took bronze in the 100 breaststroke.
Teams
Boys: 1. Broadneck (260); 2. Annapolis (204); 3. Crofton (182); 4. Severna Park (174); 5. South River (145); 6. Arundel (94); 7. Old Mill (67); 8. Severn Run (54); 9. Chesapeake (36); 10. Glen Burnie (33); 11. North County (27); 12. Southern (18); 13. Northeast 2
Girls: 1. Broadneck (250); 2. Severna Park (231); 3. Crofton (196); 4. South River (172); 5. Annapolis (129); 6. Severn Run (119); 7. Arundel (72); T8. Chesapeake (32); T8: Old Mill (32); 10. North County (25); 11. Southern (14); 12. Northeast (12); 13. Glen Burnie (8)
Scores
Boys 200 medley relay: 1. Broadneck (1:38.26); 2. Annapolis (1:38.29); 3. Crofton (1:38.32)
Girls 200 medley relay: 1. Broadneck (1:51.59); 2. Crofton (1:51.83); 3. Severna Park (1:52.25)
Boys 200 free: 1. Julian Hernandez, Annapolis (1:47.17); 2. Nathaniel Kelley, Severna Park (1:47.99); 3. Brenden Mahoney, Broadneck (1:48.14)
Girls 200 free: 1. Cedar Gallaudet, Broadneck (1:59.68); 2. Charlotte Reider, Severn Run (2:02.44); 3. Bennett Wallace, Broadneck (2:07.29)
Boys 200 IM: 1. Nolan Rider, Broadneck (1:57.76); 2. Braden Miller, Broadneck (2:03.40); 3. Morgan Hurlburt, Annapolis (2:08.79)
Girls 200 IM: 1. Regan Carpenter, Crofton (2:11.66); 2. Lulu Hersey, South River (2:14.50); 3. Maddy Corey, Severna Park (2:17.01)
Boys 50 free: 1. Nathan Colin, Arundel (21.70!); 2. Jaytee Brown, Crofton (22.50); 3. Brenden Mahoney, Broadneck (22.58)
Girls 50 free: 1. Mabel Zegowitz, Crofton (23.88); 2. Autumn Sundberg, Annapolis (25.51); 3. Cedar Gallaudet, Broadneck (25.55)
Boys 100 fly: 1. Riordan Kelley, Severna Park (52.40); 2. Ryan Meledick, Crofton (54.57); 3. TJ Russ, Broadneck (55.60)
Girls 100 fly: 1. KK Sullivan, Severna Park (57.11); 2. Aubrey Whalen, Broadneck (1:00.71); 3. Adele Whitty, Broadneck (1:03.39)
Boys 100 free: 1. Braiden Severin, Crofton (48.55); 2. Jojo Navarro-Monzo, Broadneck (50.32); 3. Connor Stroop, Crofton (50.39)
Girls 100 free: 1. Mabel Zegowitz, Crofton (51.10!); 2. Autumn Sundberg, Annapolis (55.45); 3. Aubrey Whalen, Broadneck (55.64)
Boys 500 free: 1. Kohl Hanes, Broadneck (4:44.18); 2. Julian Hernandez, Annapolis (4:53.95); 3. Parker Ward, Severna Park (4:57.93)
Girls 500 free: 1. Regan Carpenter, Crofton (5:17.58); 2. Maddy Corey, Severna Park (5:27.87); 3. Bennett Wallace, Broadneck (5:28.24)
Boys 200 free relay: 1. Crofton (1:29.85); 2. Severna Park (1:31.98); 3. Broadneck (1:33.25)
Girls 200 free relay: 1. Severna Park (1:43.11); 2. Severn Run (1:46.28); 3. Broadneck (1:47.27)
Boys 100 back: 1. Nolan Rider, Broadneck (52.00); 2. Braiden Severin, Crofton (52.21); 3. Julian Rager, Old Mill (54.85)
Girls 100 back: 1. Lulu Hersey, South River (1:00.69); 2. Logan Ward, Severna Park (1:01.49); 3. Elizabeth Stevens, Broadneck (1:02.25)
Boys 100 breast: 1. Robert Donnelly, Annapolis (59.15); 2. Kohl Hanes, Broadneck (1:00.03); 3. Nathan Colin, Arundel (1:01.66)
Girls 100 breast: 1. Caroline Martin, South River (1:07.64); 2. Eleanor Moran, Broadneck (1:09.63); 3. Lena Rausch, Severna Park (1:12.42)
Boys 400 free relay: 1. Broadneck (3:19.60); 2. Severna Park (3:23.25); 3. Annapolis (3:29.43)
Girls 400 free relay: 1. Severna Park (3:45.09); 2. Crofton (3:46.27); 3. Broadneck (3:46.78)
Have a sports tip? Contact Katherine Fominykh at kfominykh@baltsun.com or DM @capgazsports on Instagram.
