Sean Conway, Colby Hurt Shine as Blacksburg Boys, Monacan Girls Win Virginia Class 4 State Titles

Photo Courtesy: Swim Monacan Twitter (@SwimMonacanHS)

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The 2019 Virginia Class 4 State Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Friday, Feb. 15 at the SwimRVA Pool in Richmond, Va.

A total of nine Class 4 records were broken during this meet, including a pair each from Loudon Valley’s Sean Conway and Lafayette’s Colby Hurt. Blacksburg won the boys’ meet with 229 points while Monacan claimed the girls’ team title with a score of 282.5.

Click here for full results.

Boys Meet

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Blacksburg – 229
2. Lafayette – 217
3. Jefferson Forest – 216
4. Jamestown – 199
5. Riverside – 179.5

The meet began with a bang as Lafayette’s 4×50 medley relay team of Aidan Crisci (25.63), Flynn Crisci (25.23), Sam Long (22.76) and Christopher Kostelni (21.06) won in 1:34.68, crushing the previous Class 4 mark of 1:36.50 set by Jefferson Forest last year.

Liberty Christian Academy’s John Michael Gordon, who has committed to Kentucky, won a tight 200 free battle in 1:39.45 ahead of Kostelni’s 1:39.65 as the only two swimmers in the field under the 1:40 mark. Kostelini then found himself on top of the podium in the 500 free, posting a time of 4:27.85 for the victory. His winning time broke the previous Class 4 record of 4:28.55.

Conway, a Virginia commit, dominated the 200 IM, winning by eight seconds in 1:45.77. He broke his own Class 4 mark of 1:47.22 set at this meet last season. He was then back in the water to grab another gold, this time winning the 100 free in 44.29 ahead of Davidson’s 44.96. Conway was only .05 off the overall Virginia state record of 44.24, but was under his own 2018 class mark of 44.81.

Jefferson Forest’s Matthew Davidson sprinted his way to the top of the podium in the 50 free, stopping the clock in 20.88. He eclipsed Colin Wright’s 2016 Class 4 record of 20.98. Davidson’s teammate, Matt Murray, dove to first place on the 1-meter board, posting a final score of 327.75 for the win final.

Monacan’s Ryan Polino was the only swimmer in the race to crack the 50-second barrier in the 100 fly, doing so in 49.86 for the win. Caroll County’s Forest Webb was victorious in the 100 back in a time of 49.41, about a half-second ahead of runner-up Gordon (49.90).

Midlothian’s Samuel McKey (21.67), Matt Duren (22.38), Caleb Smietana (22.43) and Alexi Gentz (21.37) secured the State title in the 4×50 free relay, combining for a time of 1:27.85. F. Crisco led the charge in the 100 breast, getting his hands to the wall the fastest in 56.41.

Lafayette’s A. Crisci (49.38), Long (46.59), Kostelni (46.01) and F. Crisci (46.51) concluded the boys’ meet as champions in the 4×100 free relay with a time of 3:08.49, destroying Lafayette’s Class 4 record of 3:11.05 set back in 2015.

Girls Meet

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Monacan – 282.5
2. Blacksburg – 215.5
3. Riverside – 205
4. Dominion – 172
5. Lafayette -165

Dominion’s Ashley Bogushefsky (27.86), Natalie Schlemmer (30.49), Rachel Schlemmer (25.06) and Kelly McMillan (24.08) began the girls’ meet by winning the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:47.49. Monacan’s Angela Ritchie led the way in the 100 back, turning in a time of 56.54 for the gold medal.

It was a tight race in the 200 free, and Riverside’s Claire Nguyen ultimately came out on top with a time of 1:48.72 ahead of her teammate Allison Kopac (1:48.86). Both girls’ times were well under the previous Class 4 record of 1:50.23, but ultimately Nguyen’s swim etched her name in the record book. Nguyen grabbed her second State title in the 500 free in 4:55.76 as the only swimmer in the field to break five-minutes.

After taking second in the 200 free, Kopac earned the gold medal after sprinting to first in the 100 free with a time of 50.78. Jefferson Forest senior and Old Dominion commit Tara Enneking splashed-and-dashed her way to a win in the 50 free, stopping the clock in 23.75 as the only swimmer under the 24-second barrier.

Hurt, who will swim for Auburn in 2020, posted an eight-second victory in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.38 to crush her own class mark of 2:02.08. Hurt’s second individual victory of the night came in the 100 breast, where she got her hands to the wall first in 1:03.22 ahead of Enneking’s 1:03.85. Hurt grabbed another Class 4 record, bettering the old one of 1:04.64.

Blacksburg’s Heidi Treser dove to the top of the podium after posting a final score of 387.25 points on the 1-meter board, bettering the previous class record of 360.95. Grafton freshman Kyleigh Tankard powered home to a win in the 100 fly with a final time of 55.69, only two-tenths ahead of runner-up R. Schlemmer (55.85).

The 4×50 free relay victory went to Monacan’s Kelsey Peel (24.52), Angela Ritchie (23.76), Allison Pickels (24.52) and Christa Jones (24.04) in 1:36.84. The meet concluded as Riverside’s Nguyen (52.11), Ashley Bae (55.23), Hannah Ye (55.21) and Kopac (50.31) combined for a winning time of 3:32.86 in the 4×100 free relay.

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Nicole Johnson Linn

5 years ago

Jeremy Linn