The Connection

Oakton High School’s Varsity Swim and Dive teams won both the boys’ and girls’ Concorde District Swim & Dive Championship Saturday night, Jan. 26, at Cub Run RECenter. The girls won with 532 points over Robinson in second place with 323 points. The boys won with 464 points over Robinson (460) in second place.

Oakton’s divers set the stage for an incredible night. Bennett Fagan placed third for the boys. Julia Powell and Hana Burkly placed fifth and sixth overall respectively.

John Shebat, Michael Pettinichi, Philip Hu, and Gregory DeRosa placed first in the 200yd Medley Relay with a state qualifying time. In the 200yd Freestyle, Nathan Pawlowicz placed fourth with a regional qualifying time, and Michael Ambrose placed fifth. Denny Nguyen placed first in the 200yd Individual Medley with a state qualifying time, and Michael Pettinichi took fifth place for Oakton. In the 50yd freestyle, John Shebat placed second with a state qualifying time, and Gregory DeRosa placed sixth. In the 100yd Butterfly, Philip Hu finished first and Denny Nguyen placed third, both with state qualifying times. Nathan Pawlowicz placed first in the 500yd Freestyle with a state qualifying time, and Gray Liddell finished fourth with a regional qualifying time. In the 200yd Freestyle Relay, Gregory DeRosa, Denny Nguyen, Michael Ambrose, and John Shebat finished second with a state qualifying time. Philip Hu and John Shebat took first and third place respectively in the 100yd backstroke with state qualifying times. Michael Pettinichi placed third in the 100yd Breaststroke with a state qualifying time. Denny Nguyen, Michael Ambrose, Nathan Pawlowicz, and Philip Hu placed third in the 400yd Freestyle Relay with a state qualifying time.

Janet Hu, Melissa Shebat, Julia Capobianco, and Gillian Crews took first for Oakton in the 200yd Medley Relay with a state qualifying time. Megan Byrnes placed first in the 200yd Freestyle with a state qualifying time, and Kendall Lawhorn followed in second place with a regional qualifying time. In the 200yd Individual Medley, Janet Hu took first place with a state qualifying time.

Laura Branton placed second in the 50yd Freestyle. Also in the 50yd Freestyle, Gillian Crews placed fourth, and Elise Bourdelais placed seventh both with regional qualifying times. Laura Branton and Julia Capobianco placed first and second in the 100yd Butterfly with state qualifying times. Gillian Crews placed fourth in the 100yd Butterfly with a regional qualifying time. Janet Hu placed first in the 100yd Freestyle with a state qualifying time. Kendall Lawhorn took second for Oakton in the 500yd Freestyle with a regional qualifying time. Dylan Staniszewski, Madelynne Norton, and Mary Arscott placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 500yd Freestyle. In the 200yd Freestyle Relay, Gillian Crews, Elise Bourdelais, Megan Byrnes, and Laura Branton finished first with a state qualifying time. Megan Byrnes placed first in the 100yd Backstroke with a state qualifying time, and Julia Capobianco placed fourth with a regional qualifying time. Melissa Shebat and Ashley Nero placed fourth and sixth in the 100yd Breaststroke. Laura Branton, Kendall Lawhorn, Megan Byrnes, and Janet Hu placed first in the 400yd Freestyle Relay with a state qualifying time.

Swimmers and divers with regional qualifying times/scores will advance to the AAA Northern Region Championship Meet at Oak Marr RECenter starting Tuesday, January 29th, with boys’ diving at 5:30pm, followed by girls’ diving on Wednesday, January 30th, at 5:30pm. Swim preliminaries will take place for boys on Thursday, January 31st, at 5:30pm, and for girls on Friday, February 1st. Swim finals will be held Saturday night at 5:30pm at Oak Marr RECenter in Oakton, Virginia.