RICHMOND — This time last year, Joe Warnagiris cemented himself in Frederick County history. On Monday, he put himself in the state record books.
Warnagiris won two state titles at Monday’s Class 4 swimming meet held at SwimRVA in Richmond, placing first in the 200-yard individual medley and setting a Class 4 record in the 100 breaststroke.
Warnargiris wasn’t the only local swimmer to make history, either, as Sherando’s Toby Winston became the first Warrior to earn a state title after placing first in the 100 freestyle.
After already winning the 200 IM state title for the second year in a row at Monday’s meet, Warnagiris closed out his high school swimming career with a bang, swimming the 100 breaststroke in record time.
Warnagiris’ 55.48 seconds in the 100 breaststroke broke the Class 4 record, which was previously held by former Atlee swimmer Brock Rempe, who swam the event in 55.59 in 2022. The James Wood senior’s time was 1.36 seconds ahead of Jefferson Forest’s Max Schonfelder, who finished second in Monday’s race. The record-breaking swim also marked back-to-back breaststroke titles for Warnagiris, who swam the event in 56.43 at last year’s state meet.
Before Warnagiris could look up at the board to see his time, he heard the public address announcer say he broke the state record. After looking at the board and confirming what he heard, Warnagiris pounded the water and let out a celebratory scream.
“It’s really amazing,” Warnagiris said. “I mean, my goal was to get the two titles again. That state record was just like an extra [bonus]. I mean, I knew I could do it. I’ve been nervous all day thinking about it, because it was a fast time I had to go. I’m just so happy I was able to do it.”
As James Wood coach Jessica Barr looked back and forth between Warnagiris and the leaderboard, she couldn’t help but grin ear to ear for the University of Missouri commit.
“When I saw him touch the wall, I was just so happy that he won,” Barr said. “And then when I saw his reaction, I looked up, and I saw the little [state-record icon] pop up on the board. I knew that was his ultimate goal. And just to watch him achieve his goal, it just makes me feel so good for him and his family.”
Winston also made waves alongside Warnagiris, swimming the 100 freestyle in 45.56 seconds for his own gold medal.
“It’s just a great feeling,” Winston said. “I can’t really put it in words. I’m just very grateful to have the opportunity to come out here and swim.”
Winston and second-place finisher Chandler Rose of Atlee were neck and neck in the final 25 yards of the race. Ultimately, Winston finished one-tenth of a second before Rose.
Although the end result was as close as it could’ve been, Winston was just focused on himself during the swim.
“I don’t really think when I swim,” Winston said. “As soon as I hear the buzzer, I just black out until the end of the race. That’s all I was focusing on, was the race. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. Just [telling my] arms, legs, just got to go faster. Every wall, every lap, just try to get a little bit faster.”
After not being on Sherando’s team last year, Winston came back this year and capped off his high school career with the ultimate prize.
“It’s shock immediately,” Winston said. “And then it starts to settle in once you look at the scoreboard, and you see the number one.”
Sherando coach Christine Welch said that, while Winston can be nonchalant about his swimming ability, he “thrives off competition.”
“It’s just awesome,” Welch said of Winston’s title. “And it’s awesome to me that he won the state title, but the best thing I would say is he’s the first one to give knuckles to everyone up there on the starting block. Just the sportsmanship and the ability to rally our team together, with [how] excited they were to come here, I think that says volumes about the kind of person that he is.”
With his championship, Winston joined Warnagiris as the only Frederick County swimmers to win a state title.
Warnagiris was more than happy to have another local swimmer join the club.
“I was the first one in Frederick County history last year, and the fact that he joined me a year later, it’s just a great feeling to have one of my friends there with me,” Warnagiris said of Winston’s performance.
Warnagiris finished the 200 IM in 1:49.61, over four seconds faster than second-place finisher Andrew Takach (1:53.62) of Rock Ridge.
Warnagiris swam the backstroke portion of the medley almost two seconds quicker than the rest of the heat. That leg of the race, along with his 23.56 time for the butterfly portion, gave him over a three-second lead heading into the final 100 yards.
“My fly felt solid, backstroke felt solid, breaststroke felt good and my freestyle [felt good],” Warnagiris said. “I just gave it all I had left. I just wanted to leave it all in the pool.”
Winston also earned silver in the 200 freestyle in 1:43.05, 22 seconds behind first-place finisher Cameron Roy of Blacksburg.
Monacan took first place in the girls’ meet with 349 points. Millbrook took 14th place out of 25 scoring teams with 30 points. Handley placed 23rd with seven points, and Sherando placed 25th with three points.
James Wood placed 10th out of 28 scoring teams with 112 points in the boys’ meet, 118.5 points behind first-place Blacksburg. Sherando took 17th place with 41 points, and Millbrook took 27th with nine points.
Along with Warnagiris’s performance, Wood’s Eddie Grimes received medalist honors by placing fourth in the 500 freestyle in 4:47.37. Grimes also placed ninth in the 100 backstroke in 55.34. Michael Thompson placed 15th in the 500 freestyle in 5:14.34.
The James Wood boys’ 200 medley relay team (Grimes, Warnagiris, Alex Hua, Zach Harrington) finished eighth in 1:40.45. Thompson, Grimes, Warnagiris and Hua were all also part of the Colonels’ 400 freestyle relay team, which placed seventh in 3:20.27.
Sherando’s boys’ 200 medley relay team (Jackson Hepner, Henry Knight, Winston, Aiden Callas) placed 16th in 1:50.57.
As for Millbrook, Nathan Truong finished 10th in the 200 IM in 2:02.94 and 15th in the 100 butterfly in 56.53.
In the girls’ meet, Millbrook’s Kiera Webster finished sixth in the 100 butterfly in 59.47 and seventh in the 200 IM in 2:11.36. Riley Pillo and Haley Butler also scored points for the Pioneers. Pillo placed 15th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.49 and 16th in the 50 freestyle in 25.83. Butler was 15th in the 500 freestyle in 5:36.16.
Handley’s Shane Kim finished 12th in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.22, earning five points for the Judges. She also placed 15th in the 200 freestyle, swimming the event in 2:07.80.
Millbrook coach Will Sigler and Handley coach Alisha Hilliard were not reachable for comment.
— Contact Justin Robertson at jrobertson@winchesterstar.com
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