Severn River Represents Proudly At CMDL Championship Meet

Severn River Swim Club 13-14 divers Sarah Adams, Sarah Kalafos, Juliet Luers and Rhett Hopkins excelled at the CMDL championship meet.

Leah St. Lawrence was Severn River’s recipient of the Ruth L. Smith award for her dedication, tenacity, loyalty and a general love for the sport of diving.

Posted Monday, August 8, 2016 7:16 pm

Colin Murphy

Severn River Swim Club closed out the 2016 summer dive season on July 24 at West Howard Swim Club with nine divers attending the Central Maryland Dive League (CMDL) Championships.

The team competes in six meets from June to July. Divers must receive two qualifying scores at those meets to attend the championship meet.

Severn River Swim Club’s 13-14-year-old age group came on strong with two first place finishes: on the boys side, Rhett Hopkins took first place at the CMDL championship meet, while Sarah Kalafos took first place on the girls side.

Kalafos was followed closely by teammates Juliet Lauers (second) and Sarah Adams (third). In the girls 11-12 competition, Maddy Goger placed second and Leah St. Lawrence placed sixth. Grace Moran placed second in girls 8-and-under, and Gavin Keefer was seventh in boys 8-and-under. Payton Jeffers was seventh in girls 10-and-under.

Leah St. Lawrence was the recipient of this year’s Ruth L. Smith award, given annually to one member of every CMDL team who best demonstrates dedication, tenacity, loyalty and a general love for the sport of diving. The award is named for Smith, a volunteer who was instrumental in the league’s formation.

Divers who did not receive qualifying scores needed to reach the championships had the opportunity to compete in the Dunleavy Novice Meet on July 17 at Five Oaks Swim Club. At the novice meet, Becket Dickson took first place in the boys 7-8 age group; Noah Keefer placed fifth in boys 6-and-under; Adrianna Galli-Roeder placed fifth in the girls 6-and-under; and Miles Goger placed fourth in boys 7-8.

Also at the CMDL championship meet, the league recognized Keith Lindler for his many years of service to the CMDL and the Severn River Swim Club dive team. Lindler began diving competitively as a member of the North St. John’s Swim Club’s first diving team in 1967. His daughters dived with the team from 1990-2001, and Lindler has served as a volunteer judge and referee with SRSC and CMDL since 2004.