By Marty Gordon
Blacksburg High School dominated Wednesday’s Region 4D championships at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center with wins over Salem, Pulaski, E.C. Glass and Amherst County.
The Blacksburg boys won with 213 points. Salem finished second with 144 points, E.C. Glass totaled 70 points to finish third, and Amherst County wound up fourth with 32 points.
On the girls’ side of the pool, Blacksburg rolled to a 274-78 win over second-place Salem. E.C. Glass was third with 77 points, Amherst fourth with 35, and Pulaski finished with 18 points.
In the Region 3D competition, host Christiansburg finished fourth in the girls competition and eighth on the boys’ side.
For the Blacksburg boys, Nick Fillo won the boys’ 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke, and Lewis Rockwell placed first in the 50-yard Freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. Sam Reilly won the boys’ 500-yard freestyle.
Blacksburg’s boys claimed the top four spots to sweep the diving competition with Eli Babcock taking the top spot. The Bruins also won four of five relay events.
Julie Anderson led Blacksburg with first-place wins in the girls’ 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. Anderson also jump-started the girls’ 400-yard relay, teaming with Madeline Combs, Andrea Leng and Emma Davis for the win. Anderson also teamed with Lexi Nussbaum, Norah Gulliot and Leng to win the girls’ 200-yard medley.
Meghan Anderson claimed the girls’ 200-yard individual medley while Leng finished first in the girls’ 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Emma Davis led a contingent of Blacksburg swimmers to the win in the girls’ 100-yard freestyle. 14-year-old Madeline Coombs took the top spot in the girls’ 500-yard freestyle. Grace Fillo won the 100-yard breaststroke, and Ella Semtner was first in the girls’ 1-meter dive.
Earlier in the 3D competition, Christiansburg claimed the top three spots in the 1-Meter Dive. Natalie Jones was first, followed by Teaghan Wilson and Karlie Hall.
Hidden Valley took the girls’ championship ahead of Cave Spring and Lord Botetourt. Christiansburg tallied 73 points for its fourth-place finish.
William Byrd claimed the boys’ regional title with 126 points. Cave Spring was second with 109 points. Christiansburg finished with 19 points.
