Kayla Wilson and Madelyn Donohoe tied for both a state title and a state record in the 200 free as Norfolk Academy won both boys and girls 2019 Virginia private school state titles.
Girls Meet
Kayla Wilson tied for a state record in the 200 free and anchored Norfolk’s 400 free relay to a state record as Norfolk won the girls state title.
The race of the meet came in that 200 free, where the freshman Wilson battled Bishop O’Connell senior Madelyn Donohoe the full 200 yards. The two came right down to the touch, tying at 1:47.23 for the state title. Both were under the old Virginia private school state record.
Later in the meet, Wilson anchored Norfolk’s 200 free relay to another title. She split 22.85 as Norfolk went 1:35.58. And Norfolk capped the meet off in style, breaking the state 400 free relay record with a 3:26.71 – that thanks in large part to a 49.09 anchor from Wilson.
Trinity Episcopal’s Sydney Whiting was named swimmer of the meet. She won the 50 free in 23.30, finishing just .03 off of a state record. She did get a record later, though, going 49.93 to win the 100 free.
Donohoe tied for that 200 free title coming off of a freestyle leg on the medley relay one event before. Her Bishop O’Connell team went 1:46.91. Donohoe also won the 500 free in 4:44.50, besting Wilson in their second battle.
Madeira junior Sofie Davis won the 200 IM, going 2:04.11 to touch out eighth-grader Molly Blanchard of Veritas. Davis also won the 100 breast in 1:03.14, breaking a state record along the way.
Other event winners:
- St Paul VI Catholic’s Sarah Gurley won diving with a score of 509.55, breaking the state record.
- Blanchard would go on to become an eighth-grade state champ, winning the 100 back in 55.32.
- Bishop O’Connell freshman Kate Bailey won the 100 fly, going 56.00. She also swam breaststroke on Bishop O’Connell’s winning 200 medley relay.
Top 5 Teams:
- Norfolk Academy – 279.5
- Collegiate School – 251
- St Catherine’s School – 243
- Bishop O’Connell – 238.5
- Madeira – 230
Boys Meet
Norfolk’s boys won the meet on three wins from junior Guil Ware. He matched Wilson to give Norfolk a sweep of both 200 frees. Ware was 1:41.62. He also won the 100 free with a 45.89.
Norfolk also won the 200 free relay. Ware split 20.48 on that relay as he, Gray Randolph, Paul Southern and Spencer Ryan went 1:23.21 for a new state record. Randolph led off in 20.63 and Ryan was 20.75 on his split. Randolph also won the 50 free individually, going 20.52.
Swimmer of the Meet honors went to Collegiate School senior Zach Cram, who won all four of his events. Individually, he pulled off a double, winning the 100 fly and 500 free. Cram was 48.44 to win the 100 fly, breaking a state record. Later, he went 4:28.66 to win the 500 free by six seconds.
Cram also helped the Collegiate School win the first and last relays. He led off the 200 medley relay, which went 1:33.53 and missed a state record by only a tenth of a second. He also anchored the 400 free relay, splitting 44.89 as the Collegiate School went 3:06.16 and broke a state record.
St. Christopher’s School senior Sean Hogan won a pair of races. He was 1:49.15 in the 200 IM and 49.16 in the 100 back.
Other event winners:
- Flint Hill’s Oliver Mills won diving with a score of 557.40. That broke a state record.
- Bishop O’Connell senior Paul Kinsella won the 100 breast with a 55.56.
Top 5 Teams:
- Norfolk Academy – 292
- Collegiate School – 251
- St Christopher’s School – 218
- Woodberry Forest – 217
- Bishop O’Connell
The title of the article should be more specific than just Norfolk considering there’s a Norfolk Academy and a Norfolk Collegiate school.
Paul Kinsella is committed to Navy
Cram helped “collegiate” not “Norfolk” to win the first and last relays.