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Led by junior Spencer Pfaff’s state title in the boys’ 50-yard freestyle, the Rockbridge County High School boys swimming brought four boys to the Class 3 state meet and placed fourth of 26 teams on Saturday at the Swim-RVA Collegiate School Aquatics Center in Richmond.
The fourth-place finish was the highest finish for the RC boys in 20 years, when the Wildcats placed fourth at the state meet in 2004.
“The boys nailed absolutely every single race they swam,” said secondyear RC head coach Eric Bisaillon. “Their relays times, while not school records, were the fastest swims from Rockbridge County since the Copeland era of 2004.”
Bisaillon was speaking of the team led by 2004 RC graduate William Copeland, who won several state titles before going on to the swim for the University of California, Berkeley, and then swimming professionally for more than a decade, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Trials three times. In the fall of 2022, Copeland was named to RC’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class.
This year’s team, which had placed second in both the Valley District and Region 3C meet, scored 142 points, trailing only winner Western Albemarle (399.5), runner-up Lafayette (169.6) and third-place Goochland (164). Meridian (135) rounded out the top five. Last year, the RC boys tied for eighth place in the state.
Pfaff won the 50-yard freestyle in 21.11 seconds, one of the fastest times in program history for the Wildcats, to narrowly beat Western Albemarle’s Richard Wang’s time of 21.24. Bisaillon noted that Copeland swam the race in 20.92 seconds in the 2004 state championship. Last year, Pfaff placed sixth in the state.
“I was seeded second in the 50 freestyle going into the meet, so I knew I had a chance to win if I swam well,” said Pfaff. “I swam a good race in prelims, finishing first and getting a best time. I was nervous going into finals because I was the top seed and felt some pressure to win. I swam my hardest and didn’t breathe for the entire race.”
“I could see that my competitors on both sides were extremely close,” he added. “When I hit the wall, I didn’t know if I had won. My vision is pretty bad so when I looked up at the scoreboard I couldn’t see it well enough to know if I had won. I congratulated the swimmers on both sides of me, got out of the pool, and asked my teammate Keagan [Black] if I won. He said ‘yes.’ I was really happy, especially after I got my time from Coach Erica.”
Pfaff added that it was cool to win the state title in the event because his older sister Ali, now a freshman swimmer for Duke University, won the state title in the race when she was a junior at RC.
In addition to the 50-yard freestyle, Spencer Pfaff earned a medal in the boys’ 100-yard freestyle by placing in the top six. He placed fourth in 47.95 seconds. “I hope that next year I can continue to drop time in the 50 and 100 free, as well as get faster in a third event,” said Pfaff.
Also continuing his remarkable career for the RC boys was sophomore Keagan Black, who broke both of his own school records. He placed second in the 100-yard backstroke in 53.27 seconds, trailing only Kettle Run’s Tishler Jackson (50.18). In the 100-yard butterfly, Black placed sixth in the 100-yard butterfly in 53.01 seconds.
Senior Will Gibbs had two season-best times in his final high school meet, placing 11th in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:52.03 and 12th in the 100yard butterfly in 56.61. “He swam his heart out for his last swims as a Wildcat,” said Bisaillon.
“Gibbs is a fantastic captain and leader, and he inspired his teammates to give it their all, his final ‘last one, fast one,’” added Bisaillon.
The RC boys placed second in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:29.36, about two seconds off the school record and trailing only Western Albemarle’s winning time of 1:25.34, while Liberty Christian Academy finished third in 1:30.16. RC team members were Black, Gibbs, Pfaff and junior Grayson Garcia.
The same four RC boys teamed up to place third in the 400-yard freestyle in 3:17.81, about two seconds off the school record while trailing only Western Albemarle (3:16.19) and Goochland (3:16.68).
The lone RC girl competing was junior Rio Bucy, who placed 22nd in the preliminaries of the 500-yard freestyle in 6:20.38, overcoming a lot of adversity to finish.
“I’m extremely proud of Rio Bucy for working hard during the preliminaries of the 500 freestyle,” said Bisaillon. “At the very beginning of her 500, she experienced every swimmer’s nightmare. Her goggles came off, pulling down around her throat. With the strap tucked under her cap, the goggles did not come free, instead rested under her jaw, exerting pressure. Rio didn’t stop. She kept swimming, blinded by chlorine, struggling to see the lap counter or walls. She swam the entire 500 without goggles, and didn’t let up a bit. Even then Rio only added an average of 1.2 seconds to her 50 pace, resulting in a time of 6:20.38, still 16 seconds faster than her original 500 time this season.”
Reviewing the state meet, Bisaillon said it was “bittersweet – all state championships are. They mark the end of the season, and thus, the graduation of our seniors.” Bisaillon noted that, while Pfaff and Black are underclassmen, they have been teammates with Gibbs for 10 years, ever since Bisaillon started coaching them with the Rockbridge Storm youth club.
Pfaff added his words of praise for Gibbs. “He has been an integral part of our relays and our team as a whole,” he said. “Hopefully, the three of us from the relay who are remaining will be able to get faster and make up for Will’s absence.”
The Wildcats will miss Gibbs and their other five seniors: Greta Guse, Rowan Moles, Quinn Fountain, Ezra Kelland and Chase Lowney.
Reflecting on the contributions of the Wildcats’ seniors, Bisaillon said, “I believe all of our seniors, new and returning, taught the younger members of the team a lot this final season, and I expect that future teams will always carry on their legacy as their love of the sport, compassion and friendship is passed down by those who experienced it.”
