Boys' swimming outlook

The Clarke County boys’ swimming team has only one senior, but an Eagles program that is accustomed to success boasts plenty of talent on its 14-person roster.

In placing fourth at last year’s Class 2/1 state meet, the Eagles earned their seventh straight finish of fourth or higher in state competition. Clarke County has five state qualifiers back from that team.

The lone senior will lead the way. Liam Whalen placed fourth in the 200 freestyle and also swam on each of Clarke County’s three All-State relay teams, each of which placed sixth or better. Whalen’s sophomore brother Patrick (sixth in the 500 free) also swam on those relays. Clarke County will have to find replacements on the relays for the graduated Cooper Lowell, the state runner-up in the 100 free last year, and Colin Moran, who is wrestling for Clarke County this winter.

The Eagles still feature junior Lucas Welch (seventh in Class 2 in the 100 breaststroke, eighth in the 200 free), sophomore Joseph Ziercher (10th in the 200 individual medley, 11th in the 100 backstroke) and junior Dylan Rosenbohm (13th in the 100 butterfly).

In the Class 4 Northwestern District, James Wood appears to have the best chance among the local schools of winning the Class 4 Northwestern District title. They bring back several key swimmers from the team that took second in the district two years ago (Frederick County did not compete in the Virginia High School League season last year) and have added another Warnagiris.

Junior Paul Warnagiris placed 13th in the 200 IM and 14th in the 100 breast at the 2020 state meet. Junior Andrew Thompson (second in the 100 fly and third in the 500 free at the 2020 district meet) and junior Trent Rakowski (sixth in the 50 free at the 2020 district meet) also return. Freshman Joseph Warnagiris placed third in the 100 back, fourth in the 200 IM, fifth in the 100 breast and seventh in the 100 free in the Under-13 division at the International Swim Coaches Association Elite Showcase in St. Petersburg, Fla., in April.

Handley competed in the VHSL postseason and took third in the district behind Kettle Run and Fauquier. The Judges only have seven swimmers, but they feature All-State competitor Henry Fowler (sixth in Class 4 in the 500 free and the district champ in that event last year) as well as fellow senior Ryan Stickley, the reigning 200 free district champ.

Sherando suffered two big losses to graduation in Peter Pham, the 2020 Winchester Star Boys’ Swimmer of the Year, and Trevor Cram, who is now swimming for NCAA Division II Barton College. The Warriors’ leaders this year include senior Ben Jensen, who placed eighth in the district in the 100 back as a sophomore and swam a leg on the area’s fastest 200 medley relay team that same year.

Millbrook will be led by senior Aidan Post, who placed 18th in the 500 free at the 2020 state meet and won that event at the district meet that year; and his sophomore brother Wyatt, who captured the 100 butterfly in Saturday’s meet with Kettle Run at Jim Barnett Park.

The following is a glance at each area team:

Clarke County

Coach: Carol Marshall, 20th season.

Last year: Fourth in Class 2 state meet.

Key losses: Cooper Lowell, Colin Moran.

Key returnees: Liam Whalen, Sr.; Patrick Whalen, So.; Dylan Rosenbohm, Jr.; Ethan Marchisano, So.; Lucas Welch, Jr.; Joseph Ziercher, So.

Key newcomers: Jefferson Fairbanks, So.; Ethan Franceschini, Fr.; Ryan Hooks, Fr.; Ron Martin, So.; Danny Harwell, Jr.; Aidan Kreeb, Fr.

Marshall’s outlook: “The team is young. I’m counting on Liam Whalen’s leadership to help establish team culture. Liam sets the practice pace which helps develop the potential of the younger swimmers. Dylan Rosenbohm and Lucas Welch spent time off-season to get stronger and focused on fly and breast. Joseph Ziercher and Ethan Marchisano both have solid back and breast strokes. Jefferson, Ryan and Ron are excellent sprinters and are quickly building endurance for the 200s. I feel we have the potential to perform well at the regional and state level.”

Next meet: Saturday vs. Millbrook at Signal Knob Recreation Center, Strasburg.

Handley

Coach: Tag Grove, 20th season.

Last year: Third in Class 4 Northwestern District; eighth in Region 4C.

Key loss: Chris Stearns, Jack Nelson.

Key returnees: Henry Fowler, Sr.; Ethan Gluszak, Sr.; Brendan Love, Sr.; Lucas Mammano, Jr.; William Stevens, Sr.; Ryan Stickley, Sr.

Key newcomers: Trey Grim, Jr.

Grove’s outlook: “Our numbers are down. Some kids decided to do track, a couple moved, and some kids decided not to come out due to our practice times. Two of our three days are in the morning. Henry’s got a shot at getting back to states again. He’s probably going to have to swim a little bit faster this year with hopefully all the teams back in the water at the same time [after sitting out for COVID-19 reasons]. He was away most of the summer, so he’s kind of getting back into putting more yardage in. I’m really curious to see what Ryan Stickley does. He’s been looking pretty good in practice. He’s in really good shape from cross country. He wasn’t too far off from his personal-best times in his time trials [last week]. If we can find a way to sneak him into states, I’d love for that to happen.”

Next meet: Today vs. James Wood at Jim Barnett Park, 5 p.m.

James Wood

Coach: Jessica Barr, third season.

Key losses: Eli Britton, Adam Stautzenbach.

Key returnees: Paul Warnagaris, Jr.; Andrew Thompson, Jr.; Trent Rakowski, Jr.

Key newcomers: Alex Hua, Fr.; Joseph Warnagaris, Fr.

Barr’s outlook: “Our boys’ team is a bit smaller this year, but it will certainly be a top contender amongst the district. We enter this season with clear goals in mind — first, win the Northwestern District and secondly, advance two boys relays to state championships. Joe and Alex bring in the additional talent and experience that we need to get to that next level. For the first time in years, we have a top contending swimmer [Joseph Warnagiris] that specializes in each of the four strokes which will allow us to put together our most ideal medley relay. In addition to our key returners, we also return a handful of sprinters that should consistently contribute by filling in key second and third spot points. We are very excited to see what we can accomplish this season.”

First meet: Today vs. Handley at Jim Barnett Park, 5 p.m.

Sherando

Coach: Joe Knight, 17th season.

Key losses: Trevor Cram, Erik Grafel, Brendan Johnson, Peter Pham, Ryan Simmons.

Key returnees: Austin Forrer, So.; Jack Ubert, So.; Ashraf Ibrahim, Sr.; Ben Jensen, Sr.; Ben Stange, Sr.

Key newcomers: Ryan Ames, Fr.; Ian Liang, Jr.; Evan Mercer, Jr.; Ryan Toomey, Fr.; Toby Winston, Fr.

Knight’s outlook: “We have gone through several years now of graduating a lot of our boys from the swim team program. Our squad is small again this year, so it will be difficult to outscore some of the larger teams in the district like Kettle Run and James Wood. We’re fortunate to have Ben Jensen and Ashraf Ibrahim return to the team after a year’s hiatus due to COVID, and combined with returnees Austin Forrer and Jack Ubert along with newcomers Evan Mercer and Toby Winston, we’re going to swim some good races. However, our team success will depend on how well the newcomers acclimate to high school swimming and contribute to team scoring.”

First meet: Saturday vs. Liberty at Jim Barnett Park.

Millbrook

Coach: Will Sigler, eighth season.

Key loss: Ben Rayburn.

Key returnees: Aidan Post, Sr.; Wyatt Post, So.; Nicholas Barreda, Jr.

Key newcomer: Nathan Regula, Fr.

Sigler’s outlook: “We are excited to get back to a regular swim season with 10 meets scheduled. We are a small team with good quality this year. There will be a lot of competitive swims with several of our individual swimmers. We should have some individual state qualifiers which will also help with getting a relay to states this year.”

Next meet: Wednesday at Turner Ashby.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
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