Collegiate Girls, St. Christopher Boys Complete Four-Peats at Virginia Independent Schools Champs
Two Richmond schools were winners yet again in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state championships. Saturday night at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sports Center in Stafford, the Saint Christopher boys and Collegiate girls both grabbed their fourth consecutive VISAA swimming and diving titles.
The two teams won with a mixture of all-state swims and considerable depth. “It was the fastest VISAA state meet ever,” said meet co-host and Collegiate coach Mike Peters. Nineteen of 22 events had at least one All-American consideration qualifier and 12 events had multiple swimmers meeting the consideration standard.
Boys Meet
Nowhere was that more apparent than in Saturday night’s 200 and 400 yard free relays where the Saints went hammer and tong against sprint-oriented Norfolk Academy. The Bulldogs won both but St. Chris’ second place finishes were more than enough to give them the crown with 299.5 points, 64.5 better than Norfolk. Bishop O’Connell was third with 190 while Trinity finished fourth (148) and Collegiate fifth (147).
Bucka Watson, who once swam and coached at Collegiate, has found a home at St. Christopher’s. “It’s fun to coach a group of guys that are so self-motivated,” he said. “Whether they are year-round or primarily high-school only swimmers, these athletes buy into the team identity and culture. As a coach, I always strive to put them in the best possible situations to succeed, but it’s ultimately up to them. Their excellence is a by-product of their commitment to training and their passion for this team. I am so proud of these guys and am just grateful to be their coach,” he said.
Saint Christopher’s scored early and often in the two day meet. They began by copping the opening 200 medley relay when senior Ryan Smith, junior Edward Johnson, senior Alex Gertner and senior Ben Butterfield ripped a 1:32.79 for a new state record. Sophomore Ben Franks followed with a second in the 200 free (1:41.93), Johnson finished third in the 200 IM (1:52.41) and Williams college commit Gertner rounded out the opening session by gaining third (49.79) in the 100 fly.
While the Saints boys scored in virtually every event, they did their most serious damage by piling up 114 points in relays. However, mastery in the freestyle relays once again belonged to the perennially strong Norfolk Academy Bulldogs. In the 200 free relay, the quartet of Spencer Thompson, John Benton, Fletcher Creech and Blaise VanSlyke roared to a 1:24.22 in part thanks to a 20.07 anchor split. In the 400 free relay, Van Slyke, as he did in 2024, again erased a slight St. Christopher’s lead when he blistered the last four lengths in 43.93 to post a new state record 3:03.68, consigning St. Christophers to second (3:04.38). Both squads achieved AA-A times.
Other Swims
Honors in the 200 IM and 100 breast went to Tennessee commit and male swimmer of the meet Gabe Nunziata of Stonebridge, who knocked out AA-A times of 1:47.24 and 53.23. Nunziata’s breast finish broke the VISAA’s longest standing record, a 54.17 from 2009 by Collegiate’s Stuart Ferguson, a 3x National Junior Team member and 7x CSCAA A-A at Auburn. Ferguson’s mark was the last from the supersuit era.
Distance ace in the boys meet was Will Charlton, a junior from The Covenant School who won both the 200 free (1:38.79) and the 500 free (4:29.26) in All-American consideration times.
The male sprint king, by virtue of his 50 free (20.77, AA-B) and 100 free (44.43, AA-A) wins, was St. Anne’s-Belfield senior Will Browne who is headed to Harvard. Browne’s clocking bested the 2014 44.81 posted by Fork Union’s Ali Khalafalla, eventual Egyptian Olympian and 10x CSCAA All-American at Indiana. Khalafalla still holds the VISAA 50 free record at 20.39. Winner of the 100 butterfly was Tyler Phillips, a junior from Trinity Christian School, whose 48.72, bested Norfolk’s VanSlyke by .17.
It was a good weekend for Woodberry Forest junior, and Duke University commit, Rawlings Leachman who garnered AA-A times in winning the 100 back (48.62), finishing second in the 200 IM (1:48.82) and leading off the Tigers second place 200 medley relay in 22.80.
While Flint Hill eighth grader Cristiano Garcia didn’t threaten current Ohio State diver Tyler Read’s state record of 673.90, he did more than enough to win the 2025 VISAA 1-meter diving crown. His 586.20 bested second place Bishop O’Connell freshman Rai Detten by 132.15 points.
Girls Meet
Peters took a young but seasoned Cougar female squad to Stafford that swam above seed all meet. The green and gold totaled 358 points besting the other top teams, St. Catherine’s (222), Bishop O’Connell (194), Madeira (193) and St. Anne’s – Belfield (183), in the 28 team field. “It was a team effort top to bottom,” said Peters. “Our girls are an extremely talented and deep group. We had 14 girls, from freshmen to seniors, score individual points. They broke three school relay records, achieved two in All-American times and set seven school marks in all.”
Collegiate Junior Emory DeGuenther, who is headed to Duke, led the way with four first places. She won the 200 free (1:48.28, AA-A) for the second consecutive year, clocked a 100 free time (51.31) and was a part of two All-American relays. In the 200 medley relay, she teamed with freshmen Kate Boutry and Savannah Harris and sophomore Jasper Jones to win in 1:44.12 and then anchored the 400 free relay with Jones, Boutry and sophomore Elizabeth Cribbs for a 3:27.31 triumphant finish. Collegiate’s third All-State relay, the 200 free, comprised of sophomore Valentina Linkonis, senior Bella Little, Harris and Jones and recorded a 1:36.03 to finish just .20 behind the winning Madeira quartet (1:35.83) of Lydia Foster, Sunny Chen, Coleen Desmond and Kayla Smith.
Naval Academy recruit Elizabeth Bryan, a junior at Oakcrest School, reprised her 2024 honors as VISAA female swimmer of the meet. She did so by winning the 200 IM and the 100 breast in AA-A times of 1:59.90 and 1:02.25. Kate Douglas, a junior at the Potomac School, showcased her sprint skills by running away with the 50 free in 23.74 and the 100 back in 55.18. Top 100 yard butterfly honors went to St. Anne’s – Belfield freshman Grace Browne, and sister of boy’s meet sprint double winner Will Browne, who topped the podium with her 56.52.
St. Stephen’s Saint Agnes junior Haley Lehman (William and Mary) muscled a 4:56.65 to win the 500 free after finishing second in the 200 free. She edged Seton School sophomore Ariana Aldeguer by 1.69.
In diving Paul VI senior Allie Reback compiled 399.25 points to snare the 1-meter competition, 399.25 to 368.30, over Stonebridge senior Lily Ditman.
2025 VISAA State Swim & Dive Championship Meet Results Summary
Overall State Champions
Girls
Collegiate School – Champion
St. Catherine’s School – Runner-up
Boys
St. Christopher’s School – Champion
Norfolk Academy – Runner-up
Division II State Champions
Girls
St. Anne’s-Belfield – Champion (5th overall)
Seton High School – Runner-up (9th overall)
Boys
The Covenant School – Champion (8th overall)
Seton High School – Runner-up (12th overall)
Special Awards
Swimmer of the Meet
Elizabeth Bryan, Oakcrest School – Girls
Gabe Nunziata, StoneBridge School – Boys
Diver of the Meet
Allie Reback, Paul VI – Girls
Cristiano Garcia, Flint Hill – Boys
John O’Hara Coach of the Year Award
Mike Peters, Collegiate School – Girls
Bucka Watson, St. Christopher’s School – Boys
Diving
Joe Smolinske, Paul VI– Girls
Jamie Davidson, Flint Hill School – Boys
Sportsmanship
St. Anne’s-Belfield School – Girls
Woodberry Forest School – Boys
Spirit
Norfolk Academy – Girls
Seton High School – Boys
New State Championship Meet Records
- Girls 200 Medley Relay: 1:44.12, Kate Boutry, Savannah Harris, Emory DeGuenther, & Valentina Linkonis, Collegiate School
- Boys 200 Medley Relay: 1:32.79, Ryan Smith, Edward Johnson, Alex Gertner, & Ben Butterfield, St. Christopher’s School
- Boys 100 Freestyle: 44.43, Will Browne, St. Anne’s-Belfield School
- Boys 100 Breastroke: 53.23, Gabe Nunziata, StoneBridge School
- Boys 400 Free Relay: 3:03.68, Spencer Thompson, Jude Carroll, Adam Fairchild, & Blaise VanSlyke, Norfolk Academy
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