It has become something of a tradition for Robinson’s boys swim and dive team. The Rams win a Group AAA state title and their star swimmer heads off to a major Division I college program.
Robinson has won the past four state championships and senior Zach Holmes, a Virginia Tech signee, is hoping to lead them to a fifth when postseason meets begin next week.
“It’s probably the best thing about high school swimming,” said Holmes, who has helped the No. 3 Rams to a 6-0 record entering Friday’s season finale against Fairfax. “We all feel like we’re continuing something that’s bigger than ourselves, something that’sbeen going on for a while. You don’t always get that as a club swimmer.”
Holmes, a club swimmer at Machine Aquatics, made his mark last year in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100 free. As a junior, he won Patriot District, Northern Region and state championships in the 100 and region and state titles in the 50. Holmes was also part of Robinson’s state championship 200 and 400 free relay teams along with seniors Matt Krebs and Jonathan Dee, junior Tim Wingert and sophomore Jeff Bobsin.
“Zach’s always been one of those guys who knows his role on the team,” said Robinson coach Rich Gordon. “He was never too big for his britches when he was younger and people respect you for that.”
Holmes follows in the wake of Robinson’s top all-time swimmers, Steve Scheren (Auburn) and Drew Finelli (Alabama). A 2005 graduate, Scheren was a two-time district, region and state champion in the 50 and 100 free (state-record 20.80). Finelli, a 2006 graduate, was a two-time district, region and state champ in the 200 free (state-record 1.41.59) and won a 500 free state title.
With three days of club practice each week, a high school practice on Thursday, a high school meet on Friday and a club meet on Saturday the schedule can get a little hectic for Holmes.
“You have to take it easy because you can definitely get worn out,” Holmes said. “But I’ve felt strong this whole season. I have a lot of things left to accomplish.”
The show must go on
Robinson won’t defend its Group AAA state title at the Freedom Center in Manassas on Feb. 9 as originally scheduled. Because no host school could be found in Northern Virginia to run the event, the Virginia High School League is expected to announce Thursday it will move the state meet to a site in the Eastern Region, according to multiple sources. VHSL assistant executive director Tom Dolan was in the Norfolk area on Tuesday to finalize negotiations for a new site. The only hold-up is the necessary approval from the VHSL Executive Committee. It was initially feared the meet would be cancelled for lack of host and site.
