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Brentsville boys, girls advance to regions with district titles
The Brentsville District boys’ swimming team reclaimed the Northwestern District crown last Friday while the girls’ team brought home its first-ever conference title at the district championship meet in Manassas.
Senior Jordan DeGayner, junior Alexander Morres and sophomore Michael Hughes won two events each for the boys while freshmen Nicole Haynes and Annalee Gallagher combined for three golds and one silver.
That sort of depth chart has given fifth-year coach Julie DeNard reason to be optimistic about her Group AA teams’ chances in regions, states and beyond.
“I see us only getting better,” said DeNard. “(We) can really compete with any of the (Group) AAA teams in our area.”
The Tiger boys brought in the more lopsided win of the two teams at the Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center, topping second-place John Handley 181 to 117. Sherando (85 points), James Wood (57), Millbrook (42) and Central (18) rounded out spots three through six, respectively.
It was the girls, however, that scored the most points. Their 185 points were enough to give the Tigers a 50-point victory over second-place John Handley (135 points) while Millbrook (76), James Wood (45), Sherando (34) and Central (25) all trailed too.
Both teams ended district play with identical 5-1 overall records and 5-0 conference records.
DeNard offered on Tuesday that the boys team is well-positioned to take second place at regions on Feb. 2 in Fork Union despite not having a diving squad. That will hurt Brentsville in the standings because one of the events they cannot compete in will be diving.
Qualifying Tiger swimmers will then head back to the Freedom Center for the Group AA state championship. Last year, the Brentsville boys finished tenth.
The coach is hoping her girls will crack a top 10 finish at regions and is projecting that between the girls and boys, Brentsville will be sending 20 to 25 of its 60 swimmers to states. At the district championship, 35 of 38 Tiger swimmers qualified for regions.
Despite being a senior, this year marks the first time DeGayner will get a taste of play-off action with Brentsville as he is a transfer student from Wisconsin. He does have an advantage though in that he trains for national-level competition throughout the year. At districts alone, he broke school records in the 200 yard freestyle (1:48.59) and 100 yard butterfly (0:54.02).
“I think other kids just kind of look at him like, ‘Wow, if I put in the extra time, then I could be this good,’” said DeNard.
Morress joins DeGayner as Brentsville’s other top threat in the pool as the junior has competed nationally and trains in Maryland during the season so he can prep for an eventual bid to qualify for the Olympic nationals. He won the 200 individual medley (1:55.84) and 100 breaststroke (0:58.79) on Friday.
“It’s hard to find kids who want to compete and stay competitive and not just have to social aspect of it,” said the coach as she noted that it has been since her high school days that she last saw someone with the aspirations of Morress on her team.
“He’s so in control of his races,” DeNard added.
Through sheer effort did Hughes take first-place in the 500 yard freestyle (4:54.55) and 100 yard backstroke (0:57.75) as the sophomore routinely practices 15 hours a week prior to meets.
“He’s just incredibly improved,” commented his coach, who described his weekly routine as “intense.
“He’s brought a lot to the team… He’s very intense because I think he knows he wants to be at the next level, the national level.”
Haynes, in just her first and freshman year, has already established herself as one of the fastest girls on the Brentsville roster. She wrapped up wins in the 200 yard freestyle (2:05.08) and 100 yard backstroke (1:02.84) at districts though DeNard mentioned that the youngster has enough versatility to compete in any event.
Like Haynes, Gallagher started the season as just another shy freshman, according to the coach. But with a win in the 50 yard freestyle (0:26.73) and second place in the 100 yard freestyle (0:58.63), she’s had reasons to be excited for the post-season.
Gallagher swam the same events that her coach did in high school, and likewise, DeNard was able to give her a couple tips at districts in the 100 freestyle. She recommended the freshman do the first half of the race in 28 seconds and close it in 30.
And that’s what happened.
“(She) swam it exactly like I told her to swim it,” said DeNard. “She just got in there and worked her butt off.”
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