By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Blacksburg High School claimed the 2021 state 4A swim championship for both the boys and the girls Tuesday at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.
The Blacksburg boys rolled up 450.5 points. Monacan finished second with 237 points. The Blacksburg girls notched a win with 375 points, outswimming second-place Hanover’s 222 points.
On the boys’ side of the pool, Eli Babcock led a Blacksburg contingent that took all four top spots in the 1-meter diving event. David Roethlisberger was second followed by teammates Brady Semtner and Theo Villanueava.
Andrea Leng took state gold in the girls 50-yard freestyle.
The Blacksburg boys and girls won the 200-yard medley relay while the girls picked up the win in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Meanwhile on the track, both Christiansburg boys and the girls won the Region 3D indoor track meet, slipping by Abingdon in both competitions. The Christiansburg boys scored 117 points to Abingdon’s 100 while the girls’ squad tallied 140 points to Abingdon’s 120.5.
Jesse Hudnall won the region in the 1,000-meter run for the Blue Demons while Lily Shepherd claimed the long jump with a mark of 14-10.5. Amara Okonkwo won the girls triple jump.
The Christiansburg boys took the 4X800 and 4X400 relay events, and Tyler Trout won the regional championship in the boys’ shot put with a heave of 35-2.5.