Sean Conway Goes 1:45.7 In IM At Virginia Class 4A State

Sean Conway blasted a 1:45.77 to win the 200 IM, and also broke an overall Virginia high school state record with a 44.29 100 free to highlight Virginia’s class 4A.

Full results

Girls Meet

Angela Ritchie won back-to-back events late in the meet to power Monacan to Virginia’s Class 4 state title.

Ritchie swam a team-best 23.76 leg on the 200 free relay, pushing Monacan to the win in 1:36.84. That topped the field by more than a second and was within a second of the state class 4A record. She came right off that relay to win the 100 back in 56.54. Ritchie, a sophomore, was also third in the 200 free, going 1:51.86.

The winner of that 200 free was one of the individual standouts of the meet. Riverside senior Claire Nguyen broke a state class 4A record in the 200, going 1:48.72. That smashed the standing record by more than a second and a half. Runner-up Allison Kopac of Riverside was also under the old record at 1:48.86. Nguyen went on to win the 500 free with a 4:55.76. Kopac, already the state record-holder in the 500, swapped events, winning the 100 free in a new state record 50.78. She’s currently a junior.

Nguyen led off the 400 free relay in 52.11 and Kopac anchored in 50.31, helping Riverside win in 3:32.86.

Lafayette junior Colby Hurt won two events individually. She was 2:00.38 to break the 4A record in the 200 IM, winning by almost eight seconds. She also nabbed a state record in the 100 breast, going 1:03.22.

Other event winners:

• Jefferson Forest senior Tara Enneking went 23.75 to win the 50 free. She set a state 100 breast record in prelims, and went a half-second faster in finals, though she was second to Hurt in 1:03.85.
• Blacksburg went 1-2-3-4 in diving with the only entrants. Heidi Treser broke a state record, scoring 387.25 in the win.
• Grafton freshman Kyleigh Tankard won the 100 fly in 55.69.
• Dominion won the medley relay, going 1:47.49.

Top 5 Teams:

1. Monacan – 282.5
2. Blacksburg – 215.5
3. Riverside – 205
4. Dominion – 172
5. Lafayette – 165

Boys Meet

Loudoun Valley senior Sean Conway was the boys standout, breaking two state records, one of them an overall Virginia state record. Conway went 1:45.77 to win the 200 IM by almost eight seconds. That breaks his own class 4A state record (formerly 1:47.22) and would be an overall record in most states. Virginia’s record currently lies with NCAA standout Andrew Seliskar, whow as 1:43.01 in 2015.

Conway also went 44.29 to win the 100 free, breaking the class 4A state record. Conway has verbally committed to swim for Virginia next season.

Blacksburg won the team title on depth. They didn’t win a single event, but did go 2-3-4 in diving. Stephen Case was the runner-up in that event. Senior Sam Sterling provided back-to-back third-place finishes to end the meet and help Blacksburg hang on for the title. He was third in the 100 breast (58.27) and swam on the third-place 400 free relay (3:12.93) as Blacksburg outlasted Lafayette.

Lafayette made a charge in that relay. They won and broke a state 4A record (3:08.49), but came up 12 points short of winning the meet. Lafayette also broke a state class 4A record in the medley relay, going 1:34.68. Both relays were made up of Aidan Crisci, Flynn Crisci, Sam Long and Christopher Kostelni. Kostelni would also win the 500 free, breaking a 4A state record in 4:27.85. And Flynn Crisci won the 100 breast in 56.41.

Jefferson Forest senior Matthew Davidson set a new 4A state record in the 50 free, winning in 20.88.

Other event winners:

• Liberty Christian Academy senior John Michael Gordon won the 200 free, going 1:39.45.
• Jefferson Forest won diving with junior Matt Murray scoring 327.75 points.
• Monacan’s Ryan Polino won the 100 fly in 49.86.
• Midlothian won the 200 free relay in 1:27.85.
• Carroll County senior Forest Webb was 49.41 to win the 100 back.

Top 5 Teams:

1. Blacksburg – 229
2. Lafayette – 217
3. Jefferson Forest – 216
4. Jamestown – 199
5. Riverside – 179.5