Record-breaking performances highlight Cape Henry Collegiate success at state meet
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A recent meet held at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, which hosts the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) swim program, showcased outstanding talent and determination from Cape Henry Collegiate (CHC) varsity swim team. CHC took 12 swimmers to states this year 鈥� four males and eight females ranging from grades 8-12. In a series of impressive performances, the team made waves by setting new records and winning states for the first time, leaving a lasting mark on the competition.
鈥淭his is a very well-established team,鈥� said Trish Zimmerman, CHC associate head coach. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to share that our girl鈥檚 swim team won their first-ever Swimming Division 2 States Championship. The team has never won states so it鈥檚 a big deal to finally do that. It鈥檚 also pretty neat to watch six of our records, that we鈥檝e had for years, fall. Here is a rundown of our accomplishments from finals both days.鈥�
Joslyn Ervin, Olivia Taylor, Avery Taylor, Piper Strach: 6th place in Women鈥檚 200 Medley Relay with a new school record 1:50.06.
- Avery Taylor: 13th place in Women鈥檚 200 IM
- Olivia Taylor: 14th place in Women鈥檚 50 free
- Piper Strach: 16th in Women鈥檚 50 free
Finals Saturday:
- Piper Strach: 11th place in Women鈥檚 100 free
- Owen Klimkiewicz: 14th in Men鈥檚 100 free
- Avery Taylor: 10th Women鈥檚 100 back with a new school record of 1:00.48
- Olivia Taylor: 8th in Women鈥檚 100 breaststroke with a new school record of 1.07.78
- Owen Klimkiewicz: 10th in Men鈥檚 100 breaststroke
- Joslyn Ervin, Piper Strach, Olivia Taylor, Avery Taylor: 6th place in Women鈥檚 400 free relay new school record of 3:42.92
The two additional school records that fell this season occurred at the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools meet.
- Olivia Taylor: Women鈥檚 200 IM with a new school record of 2:13.73
- Owen Klimkiewicz: Men鈥檚 200 IM with a new school record of 2.07.89
鈥淭his season of coaching was truly extraordinary,鈥� Zimmerman. 鈥淲itnessing numerous school records set from when I coached 20 years ago being surpassed this season made a powerful connection to our team鈥檚 history and made the journey all the more meaningful. To top off the season, our girl鈥檚 team won the state meet for the first time. As we celebrated this remarkable achievement, I couldn鈥檛 help but feel the presence of one of our beloved supporters, Mrs. Merni Medley, a former teacher and swim mom, who passed away earlier this winter. She had always been our biggest supporter as her children had swum, and then, of her four children, first her daughter, Liz, and then her son, Carl, coached the team with me in the early 2000s. I look forward to our team鈥檚 continued success next year as we are a young team with much more to achieve. If only we could get more boy swimmers, we would be unstoppable.鈥�
Overall, the Cape Henry Collegiate swim team showcased exceptional talent and determination at the state competition. With such impressive performances, the team will surely continue to make strong waves.
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