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Darby Galbraith may not be going to college at William & Mary, her first-choice commitment, but the program still has a place in her heart.
After Galbraith first committed to William & Mary this summer, the school announced that it would be cutting its men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs. Following a long battle that included the resignation of athletics director Samantha Huge, William & Mary eventually reinstated their programs, but by then, Galbraith had found a new home, committing to Virginia Tech.
“William and Mary’s team is full of individuals who are supportive, talented and hard working,” Gailbraith said. “They are not only motivated to be better in the pool, but also in the classroom. Coach Nate Kellogg has been an awesome mentor to me during this second go around. I am grateful for his guidance and motivation to help me be successful in the future.
“I was super thrilled to hear that they had reinstated their teams. My brother is a member of the tribe, so I was relieved to hear that the team would be back again. I am excited for their coaches, swimmers, and future athletes who will be able to join the Tribe.”
For Galbraith, who hails from Vienna, Virginia in the DC Metroplex, in a time of turmoil, she found a supportive hand in Virginia Tech women’s recruiting coordinator Jacy Dyer.
“I reached out to Virginia Tech at the start of this and was so fortunate to have had a call with Coach Jacy. Jacy was supportive and outgoing which helped make this process quick and easy. The call with her was a lot of fun and I loved her energy and the way she talked about the team. I visited the tech campus and fell in love with that environment and I knew that was where I wanted to be: swimming or not. Coach Jacy and Coach Sergio offered me the opportunity to be able to join their team and I can’t wait to meet my future teammates and be apart of that team. They have been so welcoming towards me so I am really excited to be in Blacksburg next year. Go Hokies!”
Galbraith, who trains with Machine Aquatics and attends James Madison High School, finished 5th in the 100 back at February’s Virginia High School League Class 6 State Championship meet. That meet includes the state’s largest high schools.
Best Times in Yards:
- 50 ree – 24.95
- 100 free – 53.36
- 200 free – 1:54.52
- 100 back – 56.25
- 200 back – 2:01.82
- 100 fly – 56.29
- 200 fly – 2:06.58
- 200 IM – 2:09.35
She’ll join Virginia Tech’s high school recruiting class of 2021. The class is diverse, but is heavy on backstrokers. Among the backstrokers in the class are Anna Summers (55.7/1:58.5), backstroker/IMer Alexandra Eastmond (1:59.6 200 back/2:03.9 200 IM), backstroker Janika Perezous (53.9/1:58.0), and butterflier/backstroker Ava Yandle (55.3 fly, 55.6 back). They’ll be joined by distance freestyler Maddy Grafmiller (4:54/16:59) and breaststroker Julia Nappi (1:03.7/2:16.8).
One of the Hokies’ shining performers so far this season is a freshman backstroker Emma Atkinson, who has been 1:52.71 in the 200 back in intrasquad competition. That would rank her as the 2nd-best freshman in the country so far this season, if it were in bona fide competition. The Hokies are finding the beginning stages of a top-flight women’s backstroke group, which Galbraith will add to.
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Let’s be honest. Tribe swimming will end. Even swimmers that have family tides to the team are choosing to go to more established teams rather than having the certainty to swim only one year. Also all previous coaches jumped ship. One jumped to Princeton the other one to Georgia. They definitely saw this coming.
Great choice anyway.