2023 VISAA Virginia Independent High Schools State Championship
- February 17-18, 2022
- Liberty Natatorium, Lynchburg, Virginia
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Meet Results
Both team titles were defended at the 2023 VISAA State Championship meet. The meet, which includes the state’s private and independent schools, is one of six state championships awarded, per gender, in Virginia high school swimming.
There are two divisions in VISAA swimming; all athletes compete together in the same state meet and are ranked jointly, but the highest scorers from Division II (the state’s smaller schools) are also given State Championship trophies.
Boys’ Meet
- Overall Champion: St. Christopher’s School
- Runner-Up: Woodberry Forest School
- Division II Champions: The Covenant School (12th overall)
- Division II Runners-Up: Virginia Episcopal School (13th overall)
Nine different schools won at least one event, and no schools won more than two, but it was the depth of St. Christopher’s, with eight total top-three finishes, that carried the meet by more than 100 points over runners-up Woodberry Forest.
- St. Christopher’s – 322
- Woodberry Forest – 195
- Norfolk Academy – 188
- Paul VI – 169
- Collegiate School – 162
Senior Joshua Fisher of Veritas School was named Swimmer of the Meet on the boys’ side. He won a pair of events, scoring his team’s only points, leading the field in both the 100 fly (48.54) and 100 back (48.83). He won both races by about two seconds.
He swept those events last year as well, but was way faster than he was last year (49.93/50.43, respectively). Fisher is committed to swim at Kentucky next season.
The champions from St. Christopher’s School picked up just one win at the meet, but that was enough for them to take the team title. They won the 200 free relay in 1:24.82, with the team of Alex Gertner (21.64), Ryan Smith (21.03), Brandon Moore (21.61), and Carter Perkins (20.54). While the last two legs of this relay are seniors and are graduating, Smith is a freshman and Gertner is a sophomore, so they’ll have a young core to rebuild around.
Besides Fisher, two other swimmers picked up double individual victories. Simon Bermudez from Flint Hill, a junior, won the 100 breaststroke (55.91) and 200 IM (1:49.70). The NC State commit is now a perfect four-for-four in individual events at the VISAA Championships in his career.
The other double winner was sophomore Will Browne from St. Anne’s-Belfield School. He topped the field in the 100 free in 45.82 and the 200 free in 1:39.02 – an All-American Consideration time. That 200 free knocked about nine-tenths off his previous best time from last year’s YMCA Nationals.
Other individual event winners included Charlie Mayr from the Collegiate School who swam a best time in the 500 free of 4:36.61, and Patrick Puzon from Trinity Episcopal School, who swam a best time of 20.87 in the 50 free.
Grove Christian also picked up a win thanks to senior Tyler Read in the 1-meter diving event. He scored 673.90 points, almost doubling his next-closest competitor. Read was a NISCA All-American last year.
Woodberry Forest’s runner-up effort was boosted by a win in the 200 medley relay to open the meet. Rawlings Leachman (23.53), Ayrton Moncur (26.21), Nate Stein (23.74), and Alec Desmond (21.17) combined for the win in 1:34.65. Leachman, a freshman, got them out to an early lead with the fastest split in the field, and while St. Christopher’s School clawed back in a big way on the last two legs (they closed the gap by more than two seconds), Woodberry Forest held on to win by a tenth. St. Christopher’s runner-up time was 1:34.76.
Norfolk Academy wrapped the meet with a win in the 400 free relay by more than three-and-a-half seconds. That team of Spencer Thompson (48.04), Siddhant Sehgal (48.17), Carter Whetstine (48.03), and Blaise VanSlyke (45.37) combined for a 3:09.61 win.
Girls’ Meet
- Overall champion: Collegiate School
- Runner-Up: St. Catherines
- Division II Champions: The Seton School (9th overall)
- Division II Runners-Up: Virginia Episcopal School (13th overall)
Like the boys’ champions, the girls from Collegiate School dominated the team scoring, winning by over 100 points. Unlike the boy’s champions, however, the Collegiate School picked up multiple wins: five in total throughout the meet.
- Collegiate School – 368
- St. Catherine’s – 249
- Norfolk Academy – 196
- Paul VI – 176
- Trinity Episcopal – 160
Leading the way for The Collegiate School was sophomore Elle Scott, who won the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM for the second straight season.
She swam 1:59.39 in the 200 IM, which is a new personal best, and the 100 breaststroke in 1:01.70. Both times are NISCA Automatic All-America times.
Scott also swam crucial legs on the winning 200 medley and 400 free relays as well. The Collegiate School’s 200 medley relay included Isabella Little (27.05), Emily Kantner (29.19), Elle Scott (24.31), and Maddie Jewett (24.12). Of that group, Kantner is a senior, and the rest are sophomores.
They bookended the day with a 3:33.88 in the 400 free relay. That was another very young relay that included two sophomores and two 8th graders, boding well for the future of the program.
Valentina Linkonis (53.86), Amelia Chen (56.54), Jasper Jones (53.33), and Scott (50.15) were the winning relay. Linkonis and Jones are the 8th graders.
Scott, fittingly, was the hero, splitting 50.15 on the anchor leg to overcome a two-and-a-half second deficit when she hit the water to the St. Catherine’s School. At the finish, Scott was .06 ahead of St. Catherine’s.
St. Catherines’ leadoff Elizabeth Goodwin-Birnie had the best flat-start of the relay in 51.82. That was two seconds better than anyone in the A-final. She finished 3rd in the individual 100 free behind winner Allie Witdoeckt of the Trinity School (51.02). In the 100 fly, Goodwin-Birnie was the runner-up (56.47), again behind Witdoeckt (55.46).
Witdoeckt, an uncommitted high school junior, swam best times en route to both wins.
The Collegiate School swept the relays, winning the middle event, the 200 free relay, in 1:37.36. Even without Scott, they won that relay by two-and-a-half seconds ahead of Norfolk Academy.
The winning relay was Linkonis (24.59), Amelia Chen (24.42), Gabby Chen (24.32), and Isabella Little (24.03). Chen was one of only two senior legs out of 12 on their winning relays.
Witdoeckt and Scott were the double winners of the meet. Among the other victors was freshman Kate Douglas of the Potomac School (not to be confused with Virginia collegiate star Kate Douglass). She won the 50 free in 23.84. THat was about a tenth shy of her best time from November.
St. Catherine’s sophomore Mary-Stuart Hawkins won the 500 free in a personal best time of 4:58.77. She also swam a best time in the 200 IM for 3rd place in 2:06.03.
The other individual swimming winner was Molly Blanchard from Vertias High. She won the 100 back in 56.87 and was 2nd in the 100 free in 51.06 (she was the top seed coming out of prelims).
Michayla Eisenberg of Flint hill School won the girls’ 1-meter with a score of 452.65.