While Western Albemarle managed a to repeat as the Group AA champions in the girls swimming and diving championships, Western’s girls were far from the only local products that made a big impact Friday and Saturday.
Ryan Mitchell, Ian Milburn, Bryce Campenelli and Alex Rayle all put together top-10 performances during the Group AA meet in Christiansburg.
Mitchell took fifth in the 500-freestyle and sixth place in the 200-freestyle for the Mustangs. The junior swimmer also swam a leg of the the Mustangs’ 200-medley relay squad and 400-freestyle relay squads that took 11th overall in both races.
Rayle’s third place in the 200-meter individual medley and fifth place in the 100-meter breaststroke was a big reason the Warriors’ boys squad managed an 11th place finish on the day. He also swam legs of the 200-medley and 400-frestyle relays for Western that finished ninth and 10th respectively.
Rayle’s teammate Max Tempkin also performed well, taking 12th in the 200-meter freestyle and Western’s Danny O’Dea took 11th in the 100-backstroke.
Milburn took fifth place in the 100-yard backstroke for Fluvanna County, finishing with a time of 54.56, more than a second off his previous career best.
Campanelli took third place Friday night in the diving championships. The sophomore put together a sterling performance in the event, jumping out with several strong dives before a slip-up forced him to battle back and hang in the top three.
“I was only four points off of second and then I messed up on my first dive of round three so then I was really close to the fourth place guy,” Campanelli said. “It was just mental strength, lots of preparation.”
Campanelli held his own in what’s definitely a challenging field as freshman Ron Piemonte, who’s father is the diving coach at Virginia Tech, set a state record with his score of 483.35. Campanelli earned third with a 370.15.
“He’s been diving since he was seven, he’s amazing,” Campanelli said.
Kelsey Schlein, a Fluvanna senior, finished ninth in the girls diving. Schlein’s teammates, Alena Billingsley, Lauren Cabrera, Yvonne Smith and Carly Csapo took 14th in the 400-freestyle girls relay. Charlottesville’s squad finished 12th in that event, as Madeline Keach, Maya Jazouli, Charlotte Keely and Emily Keely combined for the finish.
William Monroe’s Brian Snow put together a huge day for the Dragons as he finished fourth in the 100-meter backstroke and took 14th in the 200-IM. The meet serves as a combination meet for Group A and Group AA as many Group A schools don’t field swim teams.
For Madison County, Kara McHaney finished 13th in the girls 100-fly. McHaney is just a freshman.
