Virginia Championship Weekend-VHSL States and VISAA
By: Reach for the Wall Staff
VHSL:
As with the VHSL region meets, the top swimmers and relays at the VHSL Class 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 State Championship meets have ‘wowed’ the DMV and National swim communities with their performances. We followed online with Meet Mobile and did our best to Tweet results as they happened so our readers that don’t have Meet Mobile could also see results in a somewhat real-time fashion. There are too many notable swims to list, (but, of course) we should also highlight the National Record set by Torri Huske in the 100 butterfly…We’ll let you check out the articles below that do a good job in calling out Torri’s swim and the awesome accomplishments of the other swimmers. We’ve posted links to as many videos we could find of the various meets and swims. One facet you will see in the videos of these amazing swims is how much they utilize what is being coined the ‘6th stroke’, the underwater dolphin kick on their starts and turns. If there’s one thing you are looking to improve with your racing technique, reflect on how you are practicing your ‘underwaters’- they are important!
VISAA:
Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) was founded in 1997 as an organization that would unify Independent school athletics It has grown and emerged and now has over 95 member schools, 30 of which competed in the meet held February 15-16. The overall winner for the boys and girls team competition was Norfolk Academy. The top 3 schools from within the DMV were O’Connell, Madeira and Potomac who finished 4, 5, and 6th in the girls team competition. Woodberry Forest, O’Connell and Paul VI finished 4, 5, and 6th in the boys competition. Notable individual accomplishments:
- Madelyn Donohoe, O’Connell: 200 Freestyle, 1:47.23, tied for 1st and meet record. Also, 1st in the 500 Freestyle in an All American time of 4:44.50
- Sofie Davis, Madeira: 100 Breastroke, 1:03.16 meet record, All American Consideration. 200 IM 2:04.11 (2:04.08 prelims) 1st place.
- Sarah Gurley, Paul VI: 1M Diving, 509.55, meet record
- Oliver Mills, Flint Hill: 1M Diving, 557.40, meet record
- Paul Kinsella, O’Connell: 100 Breaststroke, 1st place, All American time
55.56. 100 Freestyle, 2nd place 45.94
Here’s links to several National publications that covered the VHSL meets:
SwimSwam:
- TORRI HUSKE BREAKS NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RECORD IN 100Y FLY IN VIRGINIA
- GRIMM POWERS OAKTON, MADISON GIRLS GET 3RD-STRAIGHT VHSL CLASS 6 TITLE
- DOUGLAS FREEMAN BOYS, PATRICK HENRY GIRLS TOP VHSL CLASS 5
- WATCH: HS SOPHOMORE ANTHONY GRIMM BLASTS 20.87 MEDLEY RELAY LEADOFF
Washington Post:
- Virginia swimming championships: Yorktown’s Victoria Huske sets national record; Oakton boys and James Madison girls win team titles
Swimming World:
- ZUMO Performance of the Week: Huske Blasts New Public High School Record In 100 Fly
- Sam Oliver Sets State Record; Two State Relay Records for Briar Woods; Patrick Henry Roanoke Girls, Douglas S. Freeman Boys Win at Virginia Class 5 Meet
- Sean Conway, Colby Hurt Shine as Blacksburg Boys, Monacan Girls Win Virginia Class 4 State Titles
- 12 Records Fall as George Mason Boys, Maggie Walker Governor Girls Win Virginia Class 2 State Championships
Videos:
Each of the VHSL State meets were broadcast live by the NFHS Network. They provide the ability to watch ‘on demand’, all you need to do is login or create an account with the site, here’s the links:
Individual Video Clips:
Torri Huske 100 Butterfly
Anthony Grimm leadoff 200 Medley Relay
Anthony Grimm 50 Freestyle
New VA 6A high school record in the 50 Free 19.67 by @OaktonAthletics Anthony Grimm! Congrats! @swimswamnews @VHSL_ @rftwdmv pic.twitter.com/kXigJqw0te
— WL Swim & Dive Team (@WLswim) February 15, 2019
Sean Conway 200 IM, 100 Freestyle