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Friday, Dec. 8 – In their first home meet of the season, facing Valley District competition, the Rockbridge County High School boys and girls swimming teams both defeated East Rockingham but fell to Spotswood on Friday night at the Rockbridge Aquatics Center in Lexington. Parry McCluer High School junior Olive King, the lone swimmer for the Fighting Blues, won the girls’ 50-yard and 500-yard freestyle races, qualifying in the longer race for the Class 1 and 2 state meet.
The Spotswood boys earned a 73-70 win over the RC boys, who were winning before the final race, the 400-yard freestyle relay, but were disqualified from the race due to an early take-off by one of their swimmers. The Wildcats defeated East Rockingham 78-50, and Spotswood defeated ER 76-52.
In the girls’ duals, the Wildcats beat ER 51-26 and defeated PM 46-12, but they lost to Spotswood 94-38. Spotswood bested ER 92-28 and beat PM 102-12, and ER defeated PM 30-12.
King, competing in the 500-yard freestyle for the first time, won the race in 6:00.76, nearly 12 seconds ahead of the runner-up from Spotswood. She had already qualified for the state meet in the 50-yard freestyle, which she won in a personal-record (PR) time of 26.42 seconds.
The RC boys won five individual races and the 200-yard medley relay.
In the relay, the Wildcats took first by about 26 seconds over ER, finishing in 1:50.32. Team members were Spencer Pfaff, Keagan Black, Will Gibbs and Grayson Garcia.
Pfaff won two races, the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55.64 and the 100-yard butterfly in 57.19.
Garcia won the 50-yard freestyle in a PR time of 24.91, Gibbs claimed the 500-yard freestyle in 5:32.51, and Black took first in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.77.
The RC girls won the 200-yard medley relay in 2:33.40, more than three seconds ahead of runner-up Spotswood. Team members were Rowan Moles, Greta Guse, Rio Bucy and Lexi Walters.
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the same four team members, the RC girls placed second to Spotswood in 5:02.79.
The top individual finisher for the RC girls was Moles, placing second in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:21.55. Bucy placed third in two races, the 50-yard freestyle in 29.52 and the 500-yard freestyle in 6:32.01.
Before the holiday break, the Wildcats and King are scheduled to compete in two meets, at the Alleghany YMCA on Wednesday and a home meet against Valley District rival Broadway next Friday, Dec. 15. Both meets are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
For the full story and photos from the home meet, with comments from RC and PM head coach Erica Bisaillon, please see our Dec. 13 newspaper.
