Yorktown sophomore Maren Taylor remembered the bittersweet feeling. A year earlier she celebrated a Group AAA state championship with her teammates, but Taylor’s pride was tinged with disappointment after she couldn’t contribute because of a dislocated elbow.
Last weekend in Virginia Beach, Taylor was back with her teammates, helping the Patriots successfully defend their state title. She won the state dive competition with 420.93 points and, in a rarity for a high school diver, also swam her way to a medal with Yorktown’s 200-meter free relay.
“It hurt because I knew I could have helped us last year,” said Taylor, who has won the last two Northern Region diving titles. “So it wasn’t hard to stay focused. I was just glad to be here, knew I had a great chance to win. It was awesome to be abigger part of it this time.”
Taylor dislocated her elbow last February after falling from the bars during gymnastics practice. The injury came just days before the state meet and kept Taylor out of the pool and away from the gym for four months.
“I told Maren all week I was going to put her in some bubble wrap to protect her,” said Yorktown coach Dave Lassiter. “But it was great to have her this time. She and the girls put a lot of pressure on themselves to win another one and they got it done.”
The 400 free relay quartet of junior Edmi Ramos-Vasquez, sophomore Hilary Stetekluh and freshmen Abby Ortmayer and Kaitlin Wolla had finished seventh at the region meet. But they gained the Patriots a valuable 22 points at states by swimming their best time of the season in the preliminary race and qualifying for the final. Yorktown again won relay titles in the 200 free and 200 medley and set national records in both events, although most high school swim meets are held in yard pools, not meter pools like Bayside Recreation Center. Yorktown was losing the 200 free relay before senior Katy Hinkle took the lead in the final 50 meters.
“This was our goal to get another state title,” said senior Kristen Wolla, part of the 200 meter relay teams. “To win two years in a row with most of the same girls makes you feel lucky just to be part of it.”
Group AAA Swim & Dive Meet
» As expected, Robinson’s boys team won its fifth state championship with 274 points. Senior Zach Holmes (Virginia Tech) won both the 50 and 100-yard free and swam on state-title winning 200 free and 400 free relay teams. Robinson also won the 200 medley relay.
» Robinson junior Derek Bui won his second straight 100 breaststroke title. Sophomore Amanda Kendall won two titles for the Rams — the 50 free and the 100 free.
» Lake Braddock junior Molly Emery and Robinson junior LaurenKranz earned a rare co-championship in the 200 IM. Both swimmers finished in 2:22.45.
