Wood's Warnagiris, Sherando's De Jong shine for girls at Class 4 state swim meet

RICHMOND — Juniors Kimberly Warnagiris of James Wood and Emma De Jong of Sherando each had two individual all-state performances to highlight local girls’ performances on Saturday at Class 4 state swim meet at SwimRVA.

De Jong led Sherando to eighth as a team with 106 points and James Wood was 12th with 85 points.

The top eight performers in each preliminary event Saturday morning advanced to the finals at night. The finalists earn all-state honors.

Warnagiris placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly in 57.93 seconds and sixth in the 100 backstroke in 59.72 (swam 59.63 in the preliminaries). De Jong finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.89) and seventh in the 100 freestyle (53.52 finals, 53.00 prelims).

De Jong also swam on two all-state relays. The 400 free relay team that also featured Natalee Tusing, Jordyn Jones and Taylor Smith took fifth in 3:43.35 (3:42.43 prelims) and the 200 medley relay of Jordyn Jones, De Jong, Smith and Lexee Schellhammer placed sixth in 1:52.42 (1:52.03 prelims).

Other local all-state performances were turned in by Sherando freshman Chelsey Jones (sixth in the 100 fly, 59.00, recorded a 57.72 in the prelims) and James Wood freshman Lauren Masters (seventh in the 50 free, 24.77).

Millbrook did not score. Monacan won with 276 points and Blacksburg was second with 250.

Led by a ninth-place finish from its 200 medley relay team, James Wood had five more performances in the Top 16. Warnagiris, Paige Simko, Leah Snapp and Masters swam 1:51.32 (1:52.55 prelims) in the medley relay. The 200 freestyle relay team (Simko, Snapp, Warnagiris, Masters) was 10th in 1:42.66. Masters took 11th in the 100 freestyle (54.56 with a 54.30 in the prelims). Simko was 13th in the 100 freestyle (55.31) and 14th in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.57).

The Warriors had three more individual and one relay performance that placed in the Top 16. Tusing took 15th in both the 200 freestyle (2:03.73) and 100 freestyle (55.88, with a 55.46 in the prelims). Chelsey Jones was 16th in the 100 backstroke (1:02.83 with a 1:00.60 in the prelims). The 200 freestyle relay squad of Tusing, Lindley Armel, Kyra Schultz, Schellhammer (1:44.32) took 13th.

Sherando’s Pham paces area boys

Sherando junior Peter Pham and James Wood freshman Paul Warnagiris each had two top-14 performances in Saturday’s Class 4 meet.

Pham placed 11th in the 100-yard butterfly in 54.15 and 13th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.19 (swam 1:02.17 in the prelims). Warnagiris took 13th in the 200 individual medley in 2:01.34 (2:01.23 in the prelims) and 14th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.41 (1:02.39 in the prelims).

Warnagiris also helped the Colonels’ 400 freestyle relay team take 14th in 3:31.84. Andrew Thompson. Brendan Cassidy and Trent Rakowski also swam on the relay.

Handley’s Henry Fowler placed 15th in the 200 free in 1:54.70 (1:54.48 prelims).

Blacksburg won with 303 points and Salem was second with 209. James Wood was 24th (13 points), Sherando was 26th (10) and Handley was 27th (2). Millbrook did not score.