The Swanson Admirals had smooth sailing in the 2026 Arlington middle-school swimming championships, held April 16 at Wakefield High School’s pool.
With 1,219.5 total points, Swanson edged out Dorothy Hamm Middle School (1,190.5) in the overall standings, counting both girls and boys competition.
Williamsburg Middle School placed third, followed by Gunston, Thomas Jefferson and Kenmore middle schools.
In the girls competition, Dorothy Hamm’s squad finished first, followed by Swanson and Williamsburg. In the boys competition, Swanson was first, followed by Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm.
A total of 141 swimmers — 74 boys and 67 girls — participated in the competition.
The top performer in the meet was Williamsburg Middle School seventh-grade swimmer Maddie Nielsen, a team co-captain who delivered 88 points to her team.
Nielsen also is part of Arlington’s broader swim community, training year-round with the newly formed Hydra Swim Team and competing in the summer for both Tuckahoe Swim Club and Washington Golf & Country Club.
Rounding out the top five female swimmers were Susie Richard, Dorothy Hamm (81 points); Julia McCarthy, Dorothy Hamm (79); and Pippa Chin-Fatt, Dorothy Hamm and Blake Luongo, Williamsburg Middle (76 each).
With a cumulative score of 76, Gavin Heeb of Dorothy Hamm placed first among boys swimmers, followed by William Coleman and Maddox Cory of Williamsburg Middle (72 each) and Grant Nielsen of Williamsburg Middle and Vikas Gonzalez of Dorothy Hamm Middle (69 each).
The April 16 meet marked the final middle-school competition for Arlington Public Schools’ eighth-grade swimmers, many of whom will move on to high-school competition in the coming school year.
