Potomac District Championship (VHSL): Independence Wins, Sessions Hits 27.58 50 BR

by Sidney Zacharias 3

January 31st, 2023 High School, News

Potomac District Championship (VHSL)

  • January 28, 2023
  • Sterling, Virginia
  • SCY (25 yards)
  • Full Results on MeetMobile: “Potomac District Championship”

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) District Championships were held across the state this weekend, including the Potomac Valley District Championship. 

Top 3 Teams (Boys):

  1. Independence High School – 426
  2. Riverside High School – 412
  3. Briar Woods High School – 381

Top 3 Teams (Girls):

  1. Independence High School – 419
  2. Riverside High School – 404
  3. Potomac Falls High School – 323

On the girls’ side of the meet, Independence won 2 of the 3 relays contested. Individually, they were led by senior Alden Zerkle, who opened with a victory in the 200 free (1:57.26). Zerkle, a South Carolina commit, came back to collect her 2nd win in the 100 fly where she clocked a 58.44. Independence’s other individual winners included freshman Nina Wysocki in the 500 (5:30.39) and New Hampshire commit Kylie Boyle in the 100 back (58.02). 

Riverside was led by senior Kylee Sessions. Sessions, a University of Illinois commit, threw down a 27.58 50 breaststroke split on Riverside’s 3rd place 200 medley relay. So far this season, her future college team’s best breaststroke split has been a 28.50, done by Illinois senior Kaleigh Haworth. Sessions’ split would have been the 8th-fastest at Big Tens in the 200 medley relay last season, an event that the Illini finished 11th in.  

Sessions also collected a victory in the 100 breast, an event where she is the defending 5A state champion. She touched first at 1:03.49, about a second off from her personal best of 1:02.56 that she set in December. Sessions went on to also win the 100 free in 52.33, just half a second off her personal best time.

The Independence boys’ victory was largely fueled by their depth, as they only had two individual event winners in addition to one relay win. Sophomore Mason Menz swam a 21.85 to win the 50 free, while his teammate Ethan Kocak grabbed the runner-up spot in 21.85. Junior Ryan Jastrzembski touched first in the 100 breast, clocking a 59.43. 

Riverside was led by junior H.T. Tragle and senior Jacob Quan. Tragle opened his meet with a 22.29 fly split on Riverside’s winning 200 medley relay, where he was joined by Harper Freeman, Matthew Iglesias, and Quan to combine for a final time of 1:38.17. Tragle also won the 200 IM in a personal best time of 1:53.63 and the 100 free where he touched first at 45.71. 

Quan picked up his wins in the mid-distance freestyle events. He first won the 200 free with a 1:43.50, followed by a victory in the 500 at 4:40.40. 

Other Individual Event Winners:

  • Girls’ 200 IM:  Maria Grishaeva (Briar Woods) – 2:08.16
  • Girls’ 50 free: Audrey Hayward (Briar Woods) – 24.43
  • Boys’ 100 fly: Owen Cather (Briar Woods) – 53.18
  • Boys’ 100 back: Nathan Bruley (Stone Bridge) – 56.04

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Jamie Reinhold
1 year ago

In Georgia 100 Fly of 51.98 only gets you 10th place and 100 Back of 54.07 gets you 14th.

Jamie Reinhold
1 year ago

My son’s 200 Medley Relay just won the Georgia State HS 7A Championships with a 1:32.82 AAA time, and his fly split was 22.30 in prelims and 22.58 in finals.

Andrew
1 year ago

Damn, she just went a tenth faster than my flat start PB, I’ll have to drop time again