Hargrave Aquatics swimmers brought home top honors Feb. 17-19 from the Southwest District Championship hosted by Carter Center Aquatics in Roanoke.
The local team tallied 17 first-place wins, eight second-place finishes and four third-place positions.
Many of the 23 swimmers participating improved personal best times.
“The 2006 Spring District Championship squad was one of the largest, most well-rounded groups to attend this annual meet,” said Coach William Wiebking of Hargrave Aquatics. “A big hallmark for this group is their desire to race to win. There was very little slowing down for the team. They were a bunch of mighty steamrollers, even at the 7 & under level.”
Team members noting top eight finishes were:
Andrew Abbott, 6, of Republican Grove had five first-place finishes in the 7 & under boys competition.
He finished first in 25 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 25 butterfly and 100 freestyle. Abbott showed best time improvements in the 25 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle and 25 butterfly.
David Collins, 12, of Danville brought home a first-place, two second-place and a third-place finish in the 11-12 boys age group. He was first in the 100 freestyle, dropping 4 seconds from his best time. He was second in the 50 backstroke and 50 freestyle and ranked third in the 200 freestyle. Collins captured sixth-place in the 100 backstroke.
Cullen Dougherty, 7, of Brosville competed solidly in the 7 & under boys events snatching fourth in the 25 breast stroke; fifth in the 25 freestyle, 25 backstroke and 100 freestyle; and sixth in the 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke.
Katie Dougherty, 13, of Brosville dropped 9.77 seconds off her best time to win first place in the 400 IM 13-14 girls competition. Dougherty finished third in the 100 breast stroke.
Chelsea Law, 13, of Gretna captured four first-place wins in the 13-14 girls competition. She was first in the 200 butterfly, bettering her personal best time by 24.24 seconds. She was also first in the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 200 backstroke, dropping seconds in all three swims from her personal best times.
Jennifer Murphy, 14, of Altavista proved to have the winning stamina in the girls 13-14 age group 1650 freestyle competition. She brought home first place. Murphy also captured second place in the 100 butterfly.
Hannah Patterson, 11, of Martinsville competed in the girls 11-12 division and tallied second place in 200 backstroke; third place in 100 backstroke; and fifth place in 200 IM, 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle.
Rachel Patterson, 9, of Martinsville ranked fourth in the 9-10 girls 50 breast stroke; fifth in the 10 & under girls 500 freestyle; and eighth in the 9-10 girls 200 IM.
Jason Reese, 12, of Gretna captured first place in the boys 11-12 200 butterfly and fourth in the 200 breast stroke. He slashed 9.25 seconds off his best time in the butterfly event.
Andy Smith, 8, of Chatham, in competition for 8 year olds, won first place in the 50 freestyle; second place in the 50 backstroke, 25 backstroke and 100 freestyle; and fourth place in the 100 IM.
Ali Stephens-Pickeral, 11, of Danville tallied three first-place finishes in the girls 11-12 division. She was first in the 200 IM, the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke. She knocked 5.53 seconds off her best time in the 200 IM and 2.90 seconds off her best time in the 100 backstroke. Stephens-Pickeral was third in the 100 IM.
Christopher Thompson, 10, of Chatham posted seventh place in the 9-10 boys 50 breast stroke competition.
Katheryn Thompson, 11, of Chatham earned a fifth-place finish in the girls 11-12 100 breast stroke and seventh place in the 100 freestyle.
David West, 11, of Altavista swam in two events and claimed second place in both the boys 11-12 200 butterfly and the 200 breast stroke.
Elizabeth Williams, 6, of Martinsville competed in the 7 & under girls age group and brought home eighth place in the 25 breast stroke and 50 breast stroke.
Mary Kate Williams, 11, of Martinsville finished fourth in the 200 breast stroke in the 11-12 girls competition and sixth in the 100 breast stroke.
Sara Williams, 11, of Chatham posted a fifth-place finish in the girls 11-12, 200 breaststroke and an eighth-place finish in the 100 free style.
Rounding out the Hargrave Aquatics team were Ally Cavedo, 9, of Danville; Maddi Franklin, 9, of Danville; Ann-Elizabeth Thompson, 7, of Chatham; Caroline Williams, 9, of Martinsville; and Jarre Williams, 9, of Chatham. All of these athletes recorded either best times or successfully raced heats within events.
“While some of the team didn’t earn a Top Eight finish, they still let their competition know they were a force to overcome,” said Coach Wiebking. “They made me very proud of their focus and hard work.”
