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2022 Class 3 State Swimming: Monticello girls lead local performers with state runner-up finish

Photo by Kristi Ellis

 

Monticello’s girls swim team came just a handful of points away from repeating as Class 3 state champions Saturday night but finished as the state runner-up to lead a strong slate of local performances in the Class 3 state swim and dive championships at Swim RVA in Richmond that also included a sixth-place finish by the Fluvanna County boys.

 

With just one race to go the Mustangs led by two points, but Maggie Walker stormed out of the No. 3 seed in the 400 free relay to push their point total to 253 and narrowly outpace the Mustangs’ 245-point effort. 

 

Izzy Bradley spearheaded the Mustangs’ impressive state runner-up finish by swimming on two relay championship squads, the 200 medley and 200 free relays while also posting a state title in the 100 backstroke and a second place finish in the 50 free. Bradley set a new state record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 53.45, breaking Emma Muzzy’s record set back in 2018. 

 

Monticello, who graduated a couple of key swimmers like UVa’s Athena Vanyo off last year’s state championship squad, also got some key swims from Elisabeth Bendall, who swam on both the 200 medley and 200 free relays while also taking third in the 100 breaststroke and fifth in the 200 IM. Allisan Bendall, who also swam on the 200 medley and 200 free relay state champion teams, took sixth in the 500 free and seventh in the 200 IM. Mariam Mithqal swam on the 200 medley relay and the fourth-place 400 free relay squads while also taking sixth place in both the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Josefine Van Beek took 10th in the 500 free and swam on the 200 medley relay team and the fourth-place 400 free relay team. Eloise Weary took 10th in the 100 free, 14th in the 50 free and swam on the 200 free and 400 free relay squads. 

 

The Fluvanna County boys squad’s sixth-place finish got a big boost from the diving squad and Ahmad Woodson who had a strong outing in Richmond. 

 

John Layne took second in diving and Jacob Ondek finished fourth in the dive. Woodson did some heavy lifting with a fourth in the 500 free, a seventh in the 200 free and legs of both the ninth place 400 free relay and 11th place 200 free relay 

 

Gus Jones took seventh in the state in the 100 butterfly, ninth in the 100 breaststroke and swam on the 200 medley and 200 free relays. 

 

Anthony Caruso took 14th in the 200 IM and swam the 200 medley and 400 free relays. Jackson Kinsella swam on all three relays for the Flucos while Ondek also swam on the ninth place 200 medley and ninth place 400 free relay squads. 

 

The Fluvanna girls finished 14th as a team, with freshman Alex Fuller leading the way. Fuller was the state runner-up in the 100 free and took third in the 50-free while also swimming on the eighth place 200 medley relay squad with Vaile Altherr, Ally Lounsbury and Anne Charlotte Robinson. Sarah Beth Robinson took seventh in diving and Altherr took 15th in the 100 backstroke.

 

The William Monroe girls finished 15th as a team, with a fourth place in the 200 free relay and a sixth in the 400 free relay leading the way. Rachel Hill, Ryleigh Fix, Cayden Fix and Elijah Dojack combined for both relay races. Cayden Fix tacked on an 11th in the 100 backstroke and a 12th in the girls 50 free to bolster the Dragons’ effort.

 

Charlottesville’s boys took 13th overall as a team, with two strong relay finishes leading the way as Quin Ragsdale, Teddy Buckner, Dylan Halbert and William Keenan combined to take seventh in the 400 free relay and eighth in the 200 free relay. Keenan also took sixth in the 100 free and 14th in the 50 free. The Charlottesville girls’ 400 free relay team took 12th with Claire Guzman, Izzy Reed, Isabelle Buckner and Audrey Ragsdale teaming up in that race.

 

The Goochland boys put together a 15th place finish as a team, with Harry and Bill Belcher leading the way. The Belchers teamed up with Joe Hardman and Leyton Sutherland to take 11th in the 200 medley relay and 14th in the 200 free relay. Harry Belcher, meanwhile, took third in the 200 free and fourth in the 100 free. Bill Belcher added a 10th place in the 500 free. 

 

Monticello’s boys tok seventh in the 200 medley relay with a team of Graham Dugas, Trevor Tharp, Valentin Dowd and Roy Cooper. Dugas took 11th in the 200 IM and Dowd took 12th in the same event. Roy Cooper finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke.

 

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