Last Tuesday the George Mason High School varsity swimming team participated in the Region B Championship at Strasburg High School where the boys squad continued their total domination of Single A opponents. The Mustangs bested four other teams, as they put up 30 points more than second-place Clarke County to win the Region B championship in their first year as a varsity sport. The girls team fared nearly as well, falling to Clarke by 15 points to take home second place in the meet.
It was clearly a two-horse race throughout the night, as Strasburg, Stonewall Jackson and Goochland High all failed to make any noise in the meet, while Clarke and Mason battled back and forth for first place and the Region B crown. Seven Mustang swimmers now move on to the Single A State Meet, Feb. 16-17 in Charlottesville to compete in nine of 11 events.
As they had done so often in leading the boys’ squad to a 10-1 record, the boys 200-yd. medley relay team took home first in the tournament. Comprised of juniors Colin Lauer, Kyle Nette and Andrew Breen, as well as freshman Sam Parker, the team now advances on to the state meet.
Parker also took home first in the 200-yd. individual medley, winning by nearly four seconds, while Nette placed first in the 100-yd. butterfly, annihilating the nearest competition by 10 seconds. Nette and Parker also battled head-to-head in the 100-yd. breaststroke, with Nette coming out on top. Although he finished third in the 50-yd. free, Breen lost by a mere .2 seconds.
The boys 4×50 freestyle relay team, comprised of Breen, Nette, senior Eddie Huber and junior Jeff Williams, also took first. Arguably the most dominant relay team to wear a Mustang Speedo, the 4×100 freestyle relay team of Breen, Williams, junior Colin Lauer and sophomore Jack Cashin trounced the field, winning by 15 seconds. Most impressive, however, was the fact that the time the 400 free relay team posted in the Region B meet was 10 seconds slower than the state qualifying time Lauer, Williams, Kyle Nette and sophomore Carlos Clark posted earlier in the year. That time automatically qualified the boys for the state meet.
On the girls side, the 200-yd. medley relay of senior Mariam Alshagra, juniors Jourdan Frankovich and Krisie Southern and freshman Kelley Frank took first to lead the female swimmers. Frankovich won the 200-yd. freestyle by nearly 10 seconds, and will represent Mason in that event at the state meet.
As she has done all season, Frank took home more than her fair share of first place finishes, winning in the 100-yd. butterfly, the 200-yd. IM, as well as anchoring the 200-yd. freestyle relay team. The relay team of Southern, Frankovich, Frank and senior Kirsti Price will also don Mason’s colors in Charlottesville. Southern finished third in the 50 yard free, although she was a mere .3 seconds out of first place.
In addition to the aforementioned swimmers, the girls 200 medley relay team of Alshagra, Frankovich, Frank and Southern will travel to Charlottesville to take place in the meet against the best Single A swimmers in the state. Frank will also race in the 50-yard freestyle, as well as in the 100-yd. free.
On the boys side of the state qualifiers, Carlos Clark will represent the Mustangs in the 200- and 500- yd. freestyle, Sam Parker in the 200-yd. IM and the 100-yd. breaststroke, Breen in the 50 free, Nette in the 100 butterfly, Lauer and Williams in the 100-yd. freestyle, and the 200-yd. freestyle relay team of Breen, Huber, Williams, and Nette.
