The Lord Botetourt boys and girls opened their swim season with a win over county rival James River last Thursday at the Botetourt Family YMCA. The same two will meet again at the “Y” on Thursday of this week, and they’ll be joined by Liberty Christian Academy and William Fleming. It will be “Senior Night” for LB.
For the Cavaliers, James Lively won the 200 free and the 50 free, Cooper Dehr won the 100 free and the 100 back, Griffin Davidson won the 100 breast, and Andres Hernandez won the 500 free. Jacob Hodnett finished second in the 50 free, dropping -2.79 second. The Lord Botetourt boys also swept all three relay races.
In girls’ competition, Layne Jones won the 200 freestyle, while Emily Hansen and Brielle Jackson finished second and third. Madelynn Sprouse won the 200 IM, with Katie Cross finishing second. Angelina Zeidan won the 50 free, while teammates Sophie Rakes and Hannah Dillon finished second and third. Dillion finished second in the 100 fly.
Hansen, Rakes, and Sam Bishop took honors in the 100 free and Zeidan won the 500 free. Jones won the 100 back with Jackson finishing second. Cross won the 100 breast, with Sprouse and Hattie Butler taking second and third. The girls also swept all three relays.
River had some strong performances in the 100 backstroke, Nathan Etzler and Dillon Minnix in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and Kaylee Cox in the 50 free. James River was able to record two firsts in the 200 IM with Isaac Bell and the 100 butterfly with Walker Wilson.
On Saturday River competed against Patrick Henry, Radford, and Pulaski High Schools at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center and the girls’ team was able to secure a win against Pulaski.
Even though James River faced strong competition, River performed well at the meet. Freshman Walker Wilson dropped two seconds in the 200 free and senior Dillon Minnix finished first in the 50 free. Senior Isaac Bell finished fifth in the same event while dropping time. Isaac would go on later on to drop several seconds in the 100 breaststroke.
Senior Riley Potter dropped three seconds in her 50 freestyle while senior Sydney Wilson finished third in the 100 butterfly. Junior Nathan Etzler dropped 11 seconds from last year to finish second in the 100 freestyle. Nathan would go on to drop another second in the 100 backstroke to finish third overall.
Ellie Holter finished fourth in the 500 freestyle while Mackenzie Alford competed in the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke.
