Virginia High School League Class 3 Swimming and Diving Championships
- February 16-17, 2023
- SwimRVA, Richmond, Virginia
- Short Course Yards (25 Yards)
- Full Meet Results (PDF)
Last weekend swimmers across Virginia met in Richmond to compete in the VHSL Class 3 Swimming and Diving Championships. After sweeping both sides of the meet last season, Maggie L. Walker Governors School was able to win the girl’s side of the meet, but was passed up by Meridian High School on the boy’s side. The meet was highlighted by a record-breaking swim from Ava Muzzy, who set the 3A record in the 500 free.
Girls Meet Recap
The younger sister NCAA finalist Emma Muzzy, Ava Muzzy claimed two state titles in her senior year, winning both the 200 IM and 500 free. In the IM, after trailing by a second halfway through the race, Muzzy ran down York’s Phoebe Mayo to take gold in 2:01.40. In the 500, Muzzy took down her sister’s Class 3 state record, dipping below the mark during both prelims and finals. During prelims, she became the first girl in Class 3 to finish under 4:50, touching in 4:49.83. She was slightly slower during her second swim, finishing in 4:50.67. This is the second straight year she has broken her elder sister’s record after taking down her 100 breast record last season. Muzzy is committed to the University of North Carolina for this fall.
Joining Muzzy as a two-event winner on the girls side was Maggie L. Walker junior Christine Datovech. Datovech’s first title came in the 50 free, where she finished just .01 off of the Class 3 record with a time of 22.84. She followed that win with a second in the 100 fly, missing that record by three-tenths in 53.68. A Virginia Tech commit, Datovech took silver in both of her events last season.
The final two-event winner of the day was Rockbridge County’s Ali Pfaff, a senior committed to swim at Duke this fall.
The future Duke Blue Devil broke a pair of VHSL Class 3 Records, first doing so in the 100 free, where she clocked a time of 49.34 to break the previous mark of 49.58 set by Tatum Wall in 2021.
Pfaff then blasted her way to a time of 52.85 in the 100 back, breaking Izzy Bradley‘s previous record of 53.25 set last year.
Pfaff, who opted to race the 50 free instead of the 100 back last year, now holds three VHSL Class 3 Records, having set the 50 free standard at 22.83 in 2022.
Aided by an anchor leg split of 23.83 by Casey Tingen, York’s 200 medley relay pulled off the win over Cave Spring by just .03, touching with a time of 1:47.07. York were the state champions in the 200 free relay later in the day as well, with team of Tingen, Olivia Mayo, Phoebe Mayo, and Kendall Butler finishing half of a second off of the Class 3 state record in 1:36.97.
In her first year of high school swimming, Lafayette freshman Elizabeth Gregory claimed the state title in the 200 free. After qualifying for finals as the third seed, she took three seconds off of her prelims time to touch in 1:51.22.
Aisling Guitierrez of New Kent ran away with the diving event, finishing over 100 points ahead of the runner-up. The junior finished with a final score of 487.40.
After her highest finish was 6th in te 500 free a year ago, Monticello junior Allisan Bendall claimed the first state title of her career this year in the 100 breast. In a close race with York junior Kendall Butler, Bendall came out on top with a time of 1:05.67.
Lafayette closed the meet out by claiming the state title in the 400 free relay. 200 free state champion Elizabeth Gregory was joined by Delaney Cox, Lindsay Hanks, and Mary Gregory to finish with a time of 3:33.92.
Team Scores
- Maggie L Walker Governor’s School – 255
- York – 220
- Cave Spring High School – 200
- Lafayette High School – 155
- Brentesville District High School – 110
Boys Meet Recap
While they ultimately finished second as a team, it was Maggie L. Walker’s 200 medley relay that claimed the gold to open the boy’s meet. The team of Crash Ackerly, Benjamin Li, Devin Naoroz, and Zach Carlson combined to win by over two seconds, touching in 1:37.95.
Two out of the four members of the winning 200 medley team went on to win multiple individual state titles, with both Ackerly and Naoroz winning twice. Ackerly started his individual wins off by narrowly missing the state record in the 200 IM, finishing less than a second off with a time of 1:50.61. He followed that by finishing near the record in the 100 free, winning in 45.93. Ackerly will have one more shot at those records when he returns as a senior next season.
After swimming the fly leg on the team’s relay, Naoroz added an individual state title in the 100 fly, finishing under 50.0 in 49.31. He followed that performance by winning the 100 back, missing the state record by just three-tenths with a time of 49.62. This was the second straight year that Naoroz has swept the state titles in the events.
After winning silver in both of his events last year as a sophomore, Liberty Christian’s Jerry Gordon returned as a junior to win a pair of state titles. He opened his meet by securing first in the 200 free, dropping a second from his 2022 time to touch in 1:39.69. He followed that performance with a time of 4:32.31 in the 500 free for this second state title.
Senior Colin Murtaugh won a tight race in the 50 free, taking first in 21.72. The George Mason University commit was followed closely in the race by Carson Ruoff (21.80) and Benjamin McCracken (21.85).
Andrew Mayfield was the state champion in dining, winning the event with a score of 352.90.
Meridian picked up a state title in the 200 free relay. 50 free medalists Ruoff and McCracken were joined by Wesley Sturgill and Ryan Southern to finish in a time of 1:28.29. The same quartet later won the 400 free relay with a winning time of 3:15.86.
The only athlete to finish under 1:00, Adam Bautista won gold in the 100 breast in a time of 59.35. Bautista, who is a senior at Waynesboro, took 5th in the event last season.
Team Scores
- Meridian High School 276
- Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – 148
- Lafayette High School – 126
- Liberty Christian Academy – 118
- York – 106
Ali Pfaff broke the Virginia Class 3 state records in both the events she swam (100 free and 100 back). She currently holds three Class 3 records (with the 50 free)
Thanks for the correction
Maggie Walker only won on the women’s side because they retroactively sanctioned some club dive meets so two divers could be added to the diving roster AFTER entries were due.
Two schools made inquiries/complaints and the MW ref okayed it (shocker there) and then the dive judges (also from MW) punished the divers from the schools that made the complaints. Maggie Walker was the judge and the jury. It was so unfair. Ridiculous actually.
Cry about it
Those are some great swims ! Some crazy fast swims at Easterns this year as well including David Curtiss 100 free record being broken…and lots of other meet records and fast relays as well.
Nova boys Devin and Crash looking good for NCSA! Heard Crash’s walk out song was sick…
Typo in the sub head, “Ava Muzzy took down her Class 3 mark in the 500 breast this season.”