Oakton Otters Boast Community Atmosphere

As a division 1 competitor in the Northern Virginia Swim League, the largest summer swim league in the country, the Oakton Otters have fierce competition ahead of them.

But as hard as they work, their priority is not winning.

"We are a very competitive team, but I would say the Oakton philosophy is that it's fun, it's summer league, it's about the community and not about winning," said Nicole Sharer, head coach of the team based at Oakton Swim and Racquet Club. "Our true values are just about having fun."

The Otters competed in their first meet of the season Saturday, a dual meet against Tuckahoe Recreation Club. Tuckahoe defeated Oakton 290 to 112. See full results in the chart at the bottom of this article.

The team is composed of kids ranging in age from 4 to 18, with children as young as 6 competing in the same meets as their teenage teammates. Members of the team must also be members of the Oakton Swim and Racquet Club, and the club serves the neighborhoods near Waples Mill Elementary School and the Miller Heights neighborhood.

Though the Otters' opposition often recruit swimmers to stay competitive in Division 1, the highest level in NVSL, the Otters do not recruit.

"Everyone who swims for our team is a member of the pool, and they're a member of the pool because they live in the neighborhood," Sharer said. "We pride ourselves in being the community neighborhood pool as opposed to teams that'll get a kid for one or two years until they switch teams again. Everyone who swims for our club has swum for our club since they were little. We've known everyone for a long time."

Sharer, who grew up in Oakton, has been an Otter since she was 8 years old. She took on an assistant coaching role at 15 and is now in her second year as head coach. All her siblings and her cousin have been Otters — younger siblings Grace and Carter still compete.

"There are definitely kids who I'm like, 'I remember them from before they were born. I remember their mothers being pregnant with them.' That's always fun to say or talk about," Sharer said.

The team has a family focus, with entire families, like the Sharers, signing up to be Otters. And because it relies on volunteers, parents are helping out at meets to make sure things run smoothly.

"Families are drawn to the community aspect of our team," Sharer said. "It's something everyone can be involved in."

The Otters next compete 9 a.m. July 2 at Chesterbrook.

Boys Free 25M 8&U

Alexander R. Dimitri, fourth place, 21.17
William "Burke" Carroll, fifth place, 23.38
Louis Mancusi, sixth place, 25.39

Girls Free 25M 8&U

Kylie Wilson, fourth place, 20.69
Tessa P. Bayer, fifth place, 20.91
Sarah Whitelock, sixth place, 22.59

Boys Free 50M 9-10

Nick Highman, second place, 33.85
Jack M. Johnson, fifth place, 38.94
Troy Neubauer, sixth place, 39.25

Girls Free 50M 9-10

Grace Whitelock, second place, 36.61
Stephanie Suh, fourth place, 39.66
Evelyn Pickett, sixth place, 39.86

Boys Free 50M 11-12

Drew Weber, third place, 31.55
James Crowley, fifth place, 37.74
Zachary Branciforte, sixth place, 39.09

Girls Free 50M 11-12

Nicole Lopez, third place, 33.73
Anna Neubauer, fifth place, 35.82
Kathryn McDermott, sixth place, 37.19

Boys Free 50M 13-14

Michael Ambrose, first place, 28.04
Gray G. Liddell, second place, 28.69
Kevin Z. Riordan, fourth place, 30.9

Girls Free 50M 13-14

Jodie M. Koplaski, third place, 31.99
Layne E. Stikeleather, fourth place, 32.84
Isabel Hansen, sixth place, 34.4

Boys Free 50M 15-18

Carter J. Sharer, second place, 26.28
Conor Murphy, third place, 26.5
Christopher Abdullah, sixth place, 29.38

Girls Free 50M 15-18

Kathleen Smith, second place, 28.58
Ariana Rucker, fifth place, 30.41
Nicolette A. Powell, sixth place, 30.49

Boys Back 25M 8&U

Mitchell Thomas, fourth place, 26.31
Ryan Carmody, fifth place, 30.77
Ethan Ai, sixth place, 30.93

Girls Back 25M 8&U

Swarna Shah, fourth place, 25.59
Ariel Klopfenstein, fifth place, 25.7
Ansley Robertson, sixth place, 26.09

Boys Back 50M 9-10

Garrett Burdin, third place, 46.22
Troy Neubauer, fourth place, 48.26
Eric Koplaski, fifth place, 48.57

Girls Back 50M 9-10

Grace Whitelock, third place, 43.95
Lindsey Liddell, fourth place, 46.71
Madison Petraglia, sixth place, 55.38

Boys Back 50M 11-12

Liam Kenefick, third place, 38.59
Zachary Thomas, fifth place, 44.09
Liam Klopfenstein, sixth place

Girls Back 50M 11-12

Jamie Liddell, third place, 42.82
Kathleen Ambrose, fourth place, 44.9
Anna Bonaquist, fifth place, 45.48

Boys Back 50M 13-14

Gray G. Liddell, first place (tie), 33.03
Andrew Sargent, third place, 37.54
Jacob J. Thompson, fourth place, 38.0

Girls Back 50M 13-14

Jodie M. Koplaski, second place, 36.13
Jenna E. Bayer, fourth place, 38.28
Layne E. Stikeleather, sixth place, 40.56

Boys Back 50M 15-18

Conor Murphy, first place, 29.9
Mark Crowley, third place, 37.09
Paul Burke, fourth place, 40.69

Girls Back 50M 15-18

Kathleen Smith, second place, 34.18
Nicolette A. Powell, fifth place, 37.34
Grace E. Sharer, sixth place, 38.09

Boys Breast 25M 8&U

Ryan Carmody, second place, 30.33
Ethan Ai, fourth place, 34.75

Girls Breast 25M 8&U

Kylie Wilson, third place, 27.77
Tessa P. Bayer, fifth place, 28.5
Sarah Whitelock, sixth place, 29.04

Boys Breast 50M 9-10

Nick Highman, first place, 42.16
Jack M. Johnson, second place, 50.56
Aiden Smith, fifth place, 53.68

Girls Breast 50M 9-10

Alexandra Burtnett, fourth place, 52.06
Evelyn Pickett, fifth place, 52.6
Stephanie Suh, sixth place, 52.62

Boys Breast 50M 11-12

Liam Kenefick, fourth place, 49.03
Zachary Branciforte, fifth place, 51.47
Colin Carmody, sixth place, 53.28

Girls Breast 50M 11-12

Ashley M. Sayadian, second place, 44.63
Maeve Carroll, fifth place, 46.72
Jamie Liddell, sixth place, 48.16

Boys Breast 50M 13-14

Jacob J. Thompson, first place, 39.42
Tommy Lopez, third place, 40.13
Andrew Sargent, fourth place

Girls Breast 50M 13-14

Laura Branton, first place, 37.66
Lainey M. Petrakes, fourth place, 43.77
Jenna E. Bayer, fifth place, 44.63

Boys Breast 50M 15-18

Michael Shemenski, second place, 34.84
Daniel Burdin, third place, 37.64
Chirstopher Abdullah, fourth place, 40.31

Girls Breast 50M 15-18

Nicole Abdullah, fourth place, 42.27
Ellie I. Rubalow, fifth place, 45.19
Meghan Hekl, sixth place, 46.57

Boys Fly 25M 9-10

Eric Koplaski, third place, 20.17
Derek A. Sayadian, fourth place, 20.75
Jack Magner, sixth place, 24.38

Girls Fly 25M 9-10

Alexandra Burtnett, third place, 19.31
Lindsey Liddell, fourth place, 20.52
Madison Petraglia, sixth place, 24.0

Boys Fly 50M 11-12

Drew Weber, first place, 34.45
Zachary Thomas, fifth place, 44.69
James Crowley, sixth place, 53.34

Girls Fly 50M 11-12

Nicole Lopez, second place, 35.92
Anna Bonaquist, fourth place, 39.5
Ashley M. Sayadian, sixth place, 41.27

Boys Fly 50M 13-14

Michael Ambrose, first place, 32.19
Tommy Lopez, third place, 34.69
Kevin Z. Riordan, fourth place, 34.71

Girls Fly 50M 13-14

Laura Branton, first place, 30.5
Isabel Hansen, fourth place, 38.5
Annie Liddell, sixth place, 45.25

Boys Fly 50M 15-18

Carter J. Sharer, first place, 27.88
Daniel Burdin, third place, 29.87
Michael Shemenski, fifth place, 32.88

Girls Fly 50M 15-18

Grace E. Sharer, fourth place, 35.46
Ariana Rucker, fifth place, 35.75
Nicole Abdullah, sixth place, 37.59

Boys Medley 10M Relay 9-10

N/A

Girls Medley 100M Relay 9-10

Second place: Grace Whitelock, Stephanie Suh, Lindsey Liddell, Alexandra Burtnett; 1:22.74

Boys Medley 100M Relay 11-12

Second place: Zachary Thomas, James Crowley, Drew Weber, Liam Kenefick; 1:17.32

Girls Medley 100M Relay 11-12

Second place: Jamie Liddell, Maeve Carroll, Nicole Lopez, Anna Neubauer; 1:12.75

Boys Medley 100M Relay 13-14

First place: Gray G. Liddell, Jacob J. Thompson, Kevin Z. Riordan, Michael Ambrose; 1:02.86

Girls Medley 100M Relay 13-14

Second place: Jodie M. Koplaski, Jenna E. Bayer, Laura Branton, Layne E. Stikeleather; 1:04.67

Boys Medley 200M Relay 15-18

First place: Conor Murphy, Michael Shemenski, Daniel Burdin, Carter J. Sharer; 2:00.22

Girls Medley 200M Relay 15-18

Second place: Kathleen Smith, Nicole Abdullah, Grace E. Sharer, Nicolette A. Powell; 2:23.24

Boys Free 100M Relay 8&U

Second place: William "Burke" Carroll, Mitchell, Thomas, Ryan Carmody, Alexander R. Dimitri; 1:31.68

Girls Free 100M Relay 8&U

Second place: Kylie Wilson, Ariel Klopfenstein, Sarah Whitelock, Tessa P. Bayer; 1:32.03

Boys Free 200M Relay Mixed Age

Second place: Drew Weber, Nick Highman, Michael Ambrose, Carter J. Sharer; 2:01.77

Girls Free 200M Relay Mixed Age

Second place: Nicole Lopez, Grace Whitelock, Laura Branton, Kathleen Smith; 2:07.28