A caption with a Feb. 19 Sports article misspelled the last name of South Lakes swimmer Mei Christensen and misidentified the race pictured. The photo shows Christensen pulling ahead of Lake Braddock's Ashley Danner in the girls' 200 individual medley.
Virginia Swimming and Diving
Yorktown Wins, With a Little Help
Mei Christinsen, foreground, from South Lakes passes Lake Braddock sophomore All-Met Ashley Danner to win the 400 freestyle relay. But Danner came from behind to beat Robinson and give Yorktown the team title.
(By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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Sunday, February 19, 2006
When the Yorktown girls' swimming and diving team received the Virginia AAA championship trophy yesterday, no one would have blamed the Patriots if they had invited Lake Braddock's Ashley Danner to join them in celebrating.
Danner, a sophomore All-Met, brought Lake Braddock from behind to win the 400-yard freestyle relay over Robinson in the thrilling final event of the AAA swimming and diving championships at George Mason University's McKay Natatorium. Robinson would have won the state title with a win in the relay; instead the Rams' second-place relay finish gave Yorktown its first team championship with 185 points. Robinson and Fairfax tied for second at 180.
"You are my hero," Yorktown junior Katy Hinkle said she told Danner afterward.
The Patriots did not have a team in the 400 relay, the same predicament they faced at the Northern Region meet two weeks ago. That time, it cost them the title when Fairfax won the team championship in the last event.
This time, however, Yorktown's lead entering the final event was large enough. The Patriots won two relays -- setting a state record in the 200 freestyle relay (1 minute 36.58 seconds) -- and did not have an individual winner.
On the boys' side, Robinson won two relays and three individual events en route to its fourth consecutive state championship. The Rams finished with 283 points, ahead of runner-up Lake Braddock's 177.
Robinson senior All-Met Drew Finelli said he was tired as he took his last flip turn in the 200 freestyle, but after laboring through the final 50 yards, he successfully defended his championship in the event and established a new personal-best and state-record time of 1:41.59.
Rams junior Zach Holmes paired a state 50 freestyle championship with his Northern Region title in that event. He finished with an automatic all-American time of 21.28, just 0.07 of a second faster than top-seeded Patrick Stevens of Centreville.
Stonewall Jackson senior All-Met Zach Hayden placed third in the 50 freestyle, a disappointing finish that motivated him to win the 100 freestyle championship with an automatic all-American time of 46.49. Hayden won the state 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke titles last seasons, but a broken leg suffered last October forced him to focus on training freestyle.
Arguably the meet's most intriguing race pitted All-Mets Mei Christensen of South Lakes against Danner in the girls' 200 individual medley. Danner overtook Christensen, the defending state champion, during the breaststroke leg, but Christensen came back in the freestyle and edged Danner by 0.05 of a second with a state-record time of 2:03.61.
"I knew it would be close," said Christensen, who also set a state record in the 100 backstroke (56.11).
W.T. Woodson senior Michael McDonald reclaimed his state one-meter diving championship by coming from behind to beat Robinson senior Mike Papageorge, the defending state champion, 519.15-506.20.
McDonald, an All-Met, won the state title as a sophomore but lost to the Papageorge in last year's state final after winning the Northern Region title. He saved his best dives for the end of yesterday's competition and overtook Papageorge in the penultimate round with a front two-and-a-half pike that earned 63.70 points.
"I just knew that I needed to hit it," McDonald said of the dive. "I was just patient in my hurdle, and I just jumped it up and looked for my entry."
Marshall's Cassie Self was the highest area finisher in the girls' diving competition. She finished second with 384.05 points, behind champion Caitlin High of Maggie L. Walker (430.55).
AAA Championships Mission Accomplished: Madison senior Alex Anderson had hoped to break the Northern Region 500 freestyle record (4:31.87, set by Olympian Tom Dolan of Yorktown in 1993) in the regional meet two weeks ago. Anderson came up short there but was ecstatic yesterday after beating Dolan's time and reclaiming his state championship in a state-record 4:30.57. It was one of 11 state records set at the meet. "I felt on top of the world when I saw my time," Anderson said.
