The list of accolades continues to accumulate for Hargrave’s Aquatics program as the Swimming/Diving team earned 2nd overall in the 2020-2021 VISAA Virtual State Meet after the results were tabulated last week.
The Tigers started the year with Norfolk Academy’s Virtual Meet and had a streak of strong showings during the regular season with their in-person meets, leading to their 12th VIC Conference championship in late February, so it was fitting that this campaign ended with another virtual meet, this time to earn bragging rights in VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association).
Out of 37 schools that competed in this event, Hargrave finished second on the men’s side with a team score of 148.1 points, falling to champion Grove Christian, who finished with 169.0 points. Flint Hill (143.0 points), Collegiate (142.3 points), and St. Anne’s Belfield (139.2 points) rounded out the top five.
In addition to their team performance, the Tigers had strong individual performances by some familar names, such as Nathan Higdon ’21 (Cairo, Georgia) as well as Nicholas de Veer ’21 (Canton, Connecticut), as both young men capped off their high school careers in outstanding fashion.
Higdon placed 4th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and 5th in the 200 Yard Individual Medley, which would have qualified him for the Championship heats if the event had been held normally. Higdon is the Hargrave record holder in both of those events as well. de Veer, who didn’t finish within the Top 16 as a junior, finished 11th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and 16th in the 200 Yard Freestyle.
Additionally, the pair of relays (200 Yard Freestyle and 400 Yard Freestyle), finished 7th in both events. This relay squad was comprised of Higdon, de Veer, Wesley Marquardt ’21 (Charlotte, NC), and Andrew Ponton ’22 (Simpsonville, SC).
