For the first time in 19 years the girls swim team has won the Valley District championships. Although HHS was already pre-qualified for regionals, because every team in our district is in the 3A division, they were still able to compete for a district title.

The team included first place finishes from sophomore Mia Constantin, freshman Maddie McCay, junior Olivia Arndt, junior Lily Gusler and senior Samantha Little. The team was also able to snag a few second place finishes from sophomore Lizzy Wyatt, McCay, Gusler, senior Andi Fox, junior Grace Gabriele, freshman Layla Seefried and Little. Along with all of the first and second places, the team was also able to gain a few third places from Seefried, Fox, Constantin and Arndt.

According to senior Christa Cole, the 400 meter freestyle was the most exciting event of the night. Usually HHS doesn’t stack this event with their best freestylers, but during the Valley District Championships, it was a fully stacked relay containing Constantin, Gusler, Little and McCay. Seeded first was the Rockbridge team that had beaten the Streaks last year.

“[The relay] was so exciting because there was a gap and then there wasn’t a gap and there was a gap. It was just a crazy feeling, and we were all screaming so hard, and we were so excited. There was so much energy. That was a really cool feeling, and I was so proud of all of our girls,” Cole said.

The boys only fielded eight swimmers because of the bout of sickness going through the team. Three swimmers had to drop out.

The top boys scorers of the night were senior William Daniel, senior Kyle Brown, senior James Henderson, freshman Andrew Thurnau, junior Ritt Culbreth and senior Aly Shama. The guys were able to garner a third place finish, beating Turner Ashby for the spot.