Hargrave’s Super Senior Shootout Brings Athletes, Speed to Chatham
Hargrave’s Super Senior Shootout brought a wide range of competitors to Chatham, December 10-12, 2004. The meet, one of Virginia Swimming’s last big senior meets of the year, featured 20 teams from Virginia and North Carolina.
The meet featured a unique format. 24 finalists are invited back for to compete in finals in each event. The Shootout format provided ten slots for consolation finals, ten for finals and only four for the super final. The super final kept the points high and competition fierce in those slots.
Overall, Hargrave Aquatics finished 6th with 1,512 points, which is one of its best showings at a meet of this caliber. The top three places ranked Typhoon Aquatics first with 3,285 points, Poseidon Swimming second with 2,821 points and Burkwood Aquatic Club third with 2,738.5 points.
“The racing was fast, and the size of the meet was perfect at 350 athletes,” said Hargrave Aquatics Coach William Wiebking and meet announcer. “There was a definite desire for speed among the competitors, and everyone seemed to enjoy Pittsylvania County’s hospitality.”
Hargrave Cadet and athlete Andrew Hetzner, age 18 from Riverside, California, was the team’s lead point earner, bringing Hargrave 235 points and the first place individual high point trophy for 15&Over Boys. Hetzner took first in four of eight events including the 200y Freestyle, 1:43.80, 500y Freestyle, 4:46.51, 100y Backstroke, 53.52, and 200y Backstroke, 1:54.97. He was also 2nd in the 200y Individual Medley (IM), 1:57.91, 3rd in the 100y Freestyle, 48.26, and 6th in the 50y Freestyle, 22.48.
Lauren Hines, age 14 from Forest, Virginia, managed a 6th place finish overall earning 183 points. Lauren had a stunning victory in the 50y Freestyle, 24.73, beating rival Sarah Bechard of Burkwood Aquatic Club, 24.83, by one tenth of a second. Hines also took 2nd in the 100y Freestyle, 54.10, and the 100y Backstroke, 1:02.56. She was 3rd in the 200y Freestyle, 1:43.80, and 200y Backstroke, 2:15.78.
Hargrave Cadet Josh Carden, age 16 of Key Biscayne, Florida, gained entry into four super finals. Carden placed 2nd in the 200y Freestyle, 1:45.40, and 500y Freestyle, 4:51.59, placing only second behind teammate Andrew Hetzner in those events. He also took 4th in the 50y Freestyle, 22.50, and 100y Freestyle, 49.65.
Jacob Conner, age 14, and Drew Bennett, age 14, both of Danville, Virginia, placed a major squeeze on all 13-14 distance Freestyle events. Conner took 2nd in the 500y Freestyle, 5:08.94, 1,000y Freestyle, 10:36.35, and 1,650y Freestyle, 17:43.69. Bennett took 3rd in the 1,000y Freestyle, 10:57.21, 4th in the 500y Freestyle, 5:17.05, and 4th in the 1,650y Freestyle, 18:17.41.
Conner also earned 9th in the 100y Backstroke, 1:02.86, 12th in the 50y Freestyle, 25.83, and 14th in the 200y Backstroke, 2:14.32.
Brittany Abbott, age 14 of Republican Grove, Virginia, captured 4th place super final berth in the Girl’s 13-14 1,000y Freestyle, 11:43.74. Abbott was also 8th in the 500y Freestyle, 5:41.90, and 10th in the 1,650y Freestyle, 20:10.90.
Hargrave Aquatic 12-year-old swimmers Jessica Abbott of Republican Grove, Virginia, and Jennifer Murphy of Altavista, Virginia, swam some of their best races in the 15&Over category, which they could swim provided they had a 15&Over BB cut for each event entered. “Both girls were nervous, but felt very little pressure in getting beat by 15&Overs. ‘That’s what is supposed to happen.’” said Coach Wiebking. “But, that is not what happened.”
Abbott placed 3rd in the 1,650y Freestyle, 19:12.80, and 6th in the 500y Freestyle, 5:31.39, competing against18 opponents in the 1,650 and 33 opponents in the 500. Murphy placed 7th overall in the 15&Over 200y Breaststroke, 2:41.64, competing against 21 opponents.
Other finals swimmers include 15&Over Hargrave Cadets James Eu, age 15 of Reston, Virginia, and Michael Wheeler, age 18 of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Eu took an 8th place overall finish in the 500y Freestyle, 5:05.19, improving his overall time by 8.52 seconds. Wheeler provided the team some extra zip with a 12th place overall finish in the 50y Freestyle, 23.62.
Hargrave Aquatics is a USA Swimming competitive swimming program serving both Hargrave Cadets and the surrounding communities. The program is open to all ages and abilities. The swimming meets themselves often provide a big weekend boost to the local Chatham and Danville communities.
