Montse Garduno Estrada placed first in the backstroke. Photo by Chris Do/Virginia Run Riptide
The Virginia Run Riptide ended its regular season with a home meet against the Oakton Otters on Saturday. The meet was close, forty-four personal bests were achieved, Charis Roundtree lowered her 9-10 girls butterfly record to 15.36, and the team honored their senior swimmers.
In freestyle, Matthew Kelliher placed first for the boys 8 and under group, as did Caitlin Do for the girls. Ethan O’Connor and Charis Roundtree both finished first for the 9-10s, William Whitton placed first for the 13-14s, while Sarah Boyle, Allison Hickey, and Maddy Whitton dominated with a 1-2-3 sweep for the girls 15-18 group.
The score after freestyle was a close 48-42 in favor of the Riptide. In backstroke the 8 and under had Nathan Tonthat taking first, Nicholas Harris took first place for the 9-10s while the 9-10 girls brought home another sweep with Anna Kelliher, Carson Coughlin, and Caroline Friess. Davis Collinsworth took first as did Montse Garduno Estrada in the 11-12s. Chelsea Nguyen placed first for the 15-18 group.
Heading into breaststroke, the score was 100 to 80 in favor of the Riptide. Angela Thomson earned first for the 11-12s. The 13-14 boys dominated with a sweep by Jackson Blansett, Nathan Ryman, and Sam Roundtree and Allison Hickey placed first for the 15-18 group.
The Otters pulled ahead after breaststroke with a score of 137 to 133. The fly round saw Caitlin Do placed first for the 8-and-unders, with Charis Roundtree, Caroline Friess, and Anna Kelliher sweeping the 9-10 race, Jackson Blansett took home first for the 13-14s and Sarah Boyle earned first for the 15-18 group.
After butterfly, the score was 179 to 181 with Oakton in the lead. The boys 8-and-under relay won, as did both the boys and girls 9-10 medley relay teams. The 11-12 teams both won their medley relays, and the 13-14 boys medley relay won, as did the girls 15-18 200 medley relay. The boys mixed age relay won as did the girls mixed age relay, clinching the win.
The Riptide ends the regular season with three wins and two losses. They placed third at the Division 4 Relay Carnival and eleventh overall at the All Star Relay Carnival and said an emotional goodbye to senior swimmers Sarah Boyle, Christina Nguyen, Harry Schlatter, Jack Tweddle, Joel Cheifetz, Rebecca Matthews, and Jack Metcalf.