Venit ends Prince-Mont Swim League season with flourish

Jay Venit ended the 2016 Prince-Mont Swim League (PMSL) season in grand style on July 30.And the swimmer from Laurel's West Arundel was able to do so in a familiar setting.Competing at the PMSL All-Star meet at his home pool, Venit (15-18 boys) placed first in the 100-yard individual medley, second in the 100 freestyle and second in the 50 breaststroke in an event that attracted more than 500 swimmers from the six divisions.He will compete as a freshman this coming season at Loyola University Maryland.&quot;It went great,&quot; said West Arundel coach and league president John Venit, the father of Jay. &quot;We had fun; it was great to have everyone here. We thought it was very successful.&quot;It was the first time West Arundel, which has been around since the 1960s, has ever hosted the PMSL All-Star meet.The event was held at Cheverly for many years until about 12 years ago and has rotated at several places since then.&quot;It was a nice change in venue,&quot; Montpelier Brian Abdo said.Other West Arundel swimmers who had strong showings were a pair of 11-12 boys.Michael Venit (11-12 boys) was second in the 50 breast and the 100 IM and third in the 50 fly.His teammate, William Kendrick (11-12 boys), was third in the 50 backstroke, fourth in the 50 free and fifth in the 100 IM.Top six finishers from West Laurel included Kara Schmidt (9-10 girls), who was second in the 50 breast and fourth in the 50 free; Taylor Murray (9-10 girls) placed fourth in the 25 back; Lucy Buda (13-14 girls) took sixth in the 50 breast; and Henry Buda (15-18 boys), who grabbed sixth in the 100 free.Top finishers for Montpelier were Faith Saarinen (U-8 girls), who was third in the 25 free; Jair Jackson (11-12 boys), placed third in the 50 breast and the 100 IM and sixth in the 50 fly, and Rocco Mills (15-18 boys), finished sixth in the 50 back.&quot;Very impressive for a kid who doesn't swim year-round,&quot; Abdo said of Jackson.Russett was paced by Evan Markovitz (U-8 boys), who took fourth in the 25-yard; Temi Sobande (U-8 girls), captured third in the 25 breast; Kaley Markovitz (U-10 girls) grabbed third in the 25-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle and 25-yard backstroke; Tomisin Sobande (11-12 girls) captured second in the 50-yard breaststroke; Dominic Kazzi (11-12 boys), won the 50 breast and took third in the 50 free, and Anthony Kazzi (13-14 boys), who was fifth in the 50-yard breaststroke.&quot;I was proud of our entire team,&quot; Cox said of Russett.Laurel City was led by Eanna Hehir-Keys (15-18 girls), who finished fourth in the 50-yard breast.Greenview was paced in the All-Star meet by Angela Lei (U-8 girls), who placed fourth in the 25 back; Mahlet Mesfin (9-10 girls) was sixth in the 25 breast; James Chen (11-12 boys) placed first in the 100 IM and second in the 50 fly and 50 back; Kylie Ritter (11-12 girls) took sixth in the 50 breast; Claire Yu (11-12 girls) was fourth in the 100 IM, fifth in the 50 free and sixth in the 50-back; Zichao Liang (13-14 boys) was second in the 50 breast and third in the 50 free and 100 IM.Other top Greenview swimmers were Niko Zhang (13-14 boys), who was fifth in the 50 back; Madison Oehler (15-18 girls) took fourth in the 50 back; Morgan Oehler (15-18 girls) finished third in the 100 IM and fifth in the 100 free and 50 back and Allison Ritter (15-18 girls) who was third in the 50 breast and fourth in the 100 IM.The dual meet records of the six Laurel-area teams this year were: Greenview (5-0 in Division C), Montpelier (4-1 in D), Russett (4-1 in D), West Laurel (3-2 in D), Laurel City (1-4 in E) and West Arundel (0-5 in C).&quot;We had some good swimmers (at West Arundel),&quot; coach Venit said. &quot;We might have been a division too high. We look forward to next year.&quot;

Venit ends Prince-Mont Swim League season with flourish

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