Two individuals and two relay teams from the Rockbridge County High School boys swimming team are headed to the Class 3 state meet on Thursday in Richmond.
The RC boys placed fourth of 13 scoring teams at the Region 3C meet on Tuesday of last week at the Brooks Family YMCA in Charlottesville, and the RC girls had a strong showing of personal-record times in their final meet.
RC senior Keagan Black advanced to the state meet in both the boys’ 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke, while junior teammate Lincoln Steele qualified in the boys’ 500-yard freestyle.
The top five individuals and the top four relay teams, as well as those qualified by time, advance to the Class 3 state meet, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday at the SwimRVA Collegiate School Aquatics Center in Richmond.
The RC boys scored 43 points, following up on their Shenandoah District title with a strong showing at the Region 3C meet. Western Albemarle defended its title with 160.5 points, while Monticello (79) placed second, and Liberty Christian Academy (61) finished third. Rounding out the top 10 were RC, Rocktown (39.5), Heritage (28), Spotswood (27), Waynesboro (21) and Fluvanna County (20).
The RC girls did not record a team score. Western Albemarle defended its girls’ title with 185 points, Monticello (101) placed second of 12 scoring teams, and Fluvanna County (68) finished third. Completing the top five were Brookville (49) and Turner Ashby (47).
For the RC boys, Black, who has signed to swim for Virginia Military Institute, placed second in both of his individual races. In the 100yard butterfly, he finished in 53.28 seconds, trailing LCA’s Brody Wall, who won in 51.69 seconds. Western Albemarle’s Lucas Daniero finished third in 55.5.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Black followed up his district title with a runner-up finish in 52.85 seconds, narrowly trailing LCA’s Eli Lawrenson, who won in 52.42. WA’s Beckett Ritter came in third in 54.03. At last year’s state meet, Black placed fifth in both races.
Joining Black as an individual state qualifier, Steele placed fifth in the boys’ 500yard freestyle in 5:21.83.
Black and Steele teamed up with sophomore Ben Gresham and freshman Elliot Steele to place fourth to advance in the boys’ 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing in 3:32.58.
The RC boys also advanced in the 200-yard medley relay, placing third in 1:45.44. Team members were Black, Gresham, Elliot Steele and sophomore Jacob Barney.
Pleased by how the boys’ relay teams did, RC head coach Erica Bisaillon said, “Going into this year, we didn’t know how our relays would do at the regional level, but I’m thrilled we were able to qualify two relays, and can’t wait to see how they do this Thursday at the state championship. We’ve been making some small tweaks during our taper this past week, and I’m hopeful it will pay off.”
All of the RC girls who competed set personal records. Senior Lexi Walters placed 16th in the 500-yard freestyle in 7:03.95. Sophomore Liesl Niebur finished 18th in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:37.71, while Walters came in 19th in 2:39.9. In the 100-yard backstroke, Niebur placed 14th in 1:21.3. Freshman Aliana Braman placed 18th in the 50-yard freestyle in 29.99 seconds and finished 21st in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:08.07. Freshman Dasha Billias finished 17th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:25.97 and came in 23rd in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:11.82.
The RC girls placed 11th in the 200-yard medley in 2:23.52. Team members were Niebur, Billias, Gresham and Walters. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the RC girls finished ninth in 2:00.03 with team members Braman, Niebur, Gresham and junior Camille Fuentes. The Wildcats wrapped up the meet by coming in 10th in the 400-yard freestyle in 4:40.64 with team members Walters, Fuentes, Braman and Gresham.
“The boys are getting antsy and can’t wait to compete,” said Bisaillon. “They know they have more in the tank, and it’s going to be interesting to see how everything plays out.”
