Becoming district champions wasn’t enough for Langley’s girls swim team. This past Saturday, the women’s regional team defeated numerous other schools with a total score of 241 to become regional champions. The Saxons faced teams from all over the northern region and beat out Yorktown (2nd place), who had 218 points, and Lake Braddock (3rd place), who had 167 points. The regional title hasn’t been held by a Langley team since 2001; the win marks the end of a decade long fight for the regional trophy.
Both on the diving boards and in the lap lanes, the Langley girls gave it their all. Junior diver Lauren Tangney, who finished in the top 15 said, “I had a blast diving, but it felt amazing for our team to win regionals because it was great to see all of our hard work and practice pay off.”
Allie Zeidan, one of the swimmers who qualified for states, added, “I had a ton of fun at regionals and I have a feeling that even more records will be broken at states.”
Numerous school records were broken, such as the girls 400 freestyle relay of Allie Zeidan, Jayme Katis, Abi Speers, Meghan Overend, and Jayme Katis’s 200 freestyle. There were also many individual victories. Abi Speers and Jayme Katis both won 1st place in their respective events, the 100 freestyle and the 200 freestyle.
The victories weren’t just taken by the girls. Although the men’s swim team didn’t claim the regional title, numerous records were shattered and many Langley athletes placed in their races. Most notably, senior Chuck Katis became an automatic All-American Swimmer by breaking two northern region records, setting four new school records, and placing in all of his events.
The next level of swim competition is the annual Virginia State Tournament, to be held at Virgina Beach with the following athletes comprising the team. Chris Barnard, Alex Brumas, Tyler Fritz, Chuck Katis, Ryan Natal, Max Propp, Michael Ratcliffe, and Jack Reilly will represent the Langley Men’s Swim Team. Megan Howard, Sierra Jeter, Jayme Katis, Meghan Overend, Caitlin Rose, Karen Schirm, Abi Speers, and Allie Zeidan will be representing the Langley Girl’s Swim Team. Congratulations to the entire swim team on a great performance!