News at St. Catherine's

Saints Capture Swimming Titles

St. Catherine's and St. Christopher's swim and dive teams captured their respective league titles over the weekend.
Posted: Saturday, February 4, 2017 8:25 pm
By DYLAN GARNER
Richmond Times-Dispatch

     After a four-hour battle culminated in an unprecedented tie for the Prep League swimming and diving title, who gets to take home the trophy?
     A game of rock-paper-scissors was the judge.
     “It took about four rounds of ties to get the victory,” St. Christopher’s senior Frost Wood said. “I threw out rock against scissors.”
     St. Christopher’s and Trinity Episcopal tied at 475.5 points to be named co-champions at the Prep League championships at St. Catherine’s on Saturday, a first in league history, while St. Catherine’s claimed the LIS title with 505 points.
     St. Christopher’s led by 6 points over Trinity entering the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Titans clinched the event behind junior Jacob Johnson, setting a league record in 3:12.05. The Saints finished second, and the 6-point gap evaporated.
     “Our 400 free relay is the best we have,” said Trinity coach Ashley Tremper, who was on the losing end of rock-paper-scissors. “It’s my favorite relay, which makes me nauseous and nervous every time.”
     Sophomore Sean Hogan was the muscle behind the Saints, who led for the majority of the meet. He won the 200 individual medley and then the 100 backstroke, with his time of 49.44 breaking the school and league record. Drake Wielar added a win in the 100 breaststroke, and the Saints won the first two relays of the meet.
     Johnson bolstered the Titans with dominant wins in the 50 free and 100 free, and Vinny Vivadelli claimed the 500 free.
     Reactions were mixed upon announcement of the victory, nobody really knowing what came next. But senior captains for both teams met to hold up the trophy. Both teams are using the tie as extra motivation for the VISAA state meet.
     “It’s pretty hard to do, to score 475.5 points and still tie,” St. Christopher’s coach Stuart Ferguson said.
     St. Catherine’s started out its day with a huge lead after the diving portion of the meet Friday. Riley Alvis and Naomi Chetelat finished 1-2, while Chandler Kerkam and Abby Craig finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
     The Saints had 64 points to set the foundation for Saturday’s swimming.
     “When we left the dive meet last night, we were on cloud nine because we knew they had worked really hard and set up us to do well today,” St. Catherine’s coach Susan Crook said.
     Junior Grace Wielar swam to victory in the 100 butterfly and 200 free, breaking her own school record set earlier this season.
     Trinity won all three relays with LIS-record times.
     After swimming against a run of Collegiate championship teams and the powerful Trinity team during the regular season, St. Catherine’s senior Callie Nesbitt thought a victory was far from assured even with a head start.
     “Honestly, I didn’t think we were going to win, I thought we were going to get second or third,” Nesbitt said. “And (it’s) an amazing feeling because all of the hard work paid off today.”

LIS Results
Team scores: St. Catherine’s 505, Trinity Episcopal 488, Collegiate 449, Norfolk Academy 226, Saint Gertrude 144, Covenant 107, St. Anne’s-Belfield 95, St. Margaret’s 57

200 medley relay: Trinity Episcopal 1:46.91; 200 free: Wielar (STC) 1:51.05; 200 IM: Svoboda (TE) 2:06.26; 50 free: Whiting (TE) 24.98; Diving: Alvis (STC) 358.20; 100 fly: Wielar (STC) 56.35; 100 free: Whiting (TE) 52.94; 500 free: Ladd (TE) 5:08.90; 200 free relay: Trinity Episcopal 1:39.04; 100 back: Burton (TE) 58.66; 100 breast: Svoboda (TE) 1:06.04; 400 free relay: Trinity Episcopal 3:37.70


Prep League
Team scores: Trinity Episcopal 475.5, St. Christopher’s 475.5, Fork Union 284, Collegiate 270, Norfolk Academy 201, Woodberry Forest 166, St. Anne’s-Belfield 110, Christchurch 74
200 medley relay: St. Christopher’s 1:37.80; 200 free: Cram (COL) 1:45.82; 200 IM: Hogan (STC) 1:55.25; 50 free: Johnson (TE) 21.30; Diving: Scott (COL) 495.95; 100 fly: Khalil (FUMA) 52.93; 100 free: Johnson (TE) 46.97; 500 free: Vivadelli (TE) 4:47.38; 200 free relay: St. Christopher’s 1:27.64; 100 back: Hogan (STC) 49.44; 100 breast: Wielar (STC) 1:00.62; 400 free relay: Trinity Episcopal 3:12.05


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Located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, St. Catherine’s School is a private, all-girls pre-K, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school. We provide a well-rounded educational experience for girls from communities across Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and all of central Virginia. St.Catherine’s all-girls educational experience is rooted in more than a century of history and tradition. From our revolutionary past to our dynamic present, St. Catherine’s has always focused on preparing students for a boundless future.