Just as he has all season, senior Ryan Dunne (KBST) won his two individual sprints and swam well in his relays, helping the Brentsville Tigers to their second consecutive state title at the Group AA State Swimming Championships this past weekend.

Dunne out-touched Marion's Brandon Kegley in a 50-yard freestyle race that was close from the start, beating him by .11 seconds with a time of 21.36. Dunne dropped his preliminary time by nearly four-tenths of a second. Then, in the 100-yard freestyle, he dropped nearly two seconds off his preliminary time to beat Kegley again, this time by nearly three-tenths of a second (46.65).

Dunne led off the 200 freestyle relay for the Tigers in impressive fashion as he and teammates junior Ben Cumberland, junior Justin Doyle, and senior Nathan Brown (KBST) broke a state record that had existed since 2004 with a time of 1:27.43.

200 Free Relay record setters Ryan Dunne, Ben Cumberland, Justin Doyle, and Nathan Brown
 

"Ryan's races were very close, but I had full confidence he could do it," Brentsville coach Ashleigh Krzywicki said. "He is a great swimmer and does not like to lose."

The Tigers' relay team of Doyle, senior Chuckie Zumbaugh, senior Tim Rackowski, and Cumberland placed third, but as the first event, "set a good tone for the meet," Krzywicki said. The same lineup of swimmers took third in the 400 freestyle relay.

Doyle finished sixth in the 200 individual medley (1:59.46), shaving five seconds off his previous best time in the process. He also finished sixth in the 100 backstroke, setting a school-record with a time of 53.99, three seconds better than his previous best time.

Zumbaugh notched a personal-best time in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.82) to take fifth place. Rackowski placed 12th in the 100 butterfly (53.68), but did not reach the finals in backstroke, yet still notched personal bests in each event.

Brown placed ninth in the 200 freestyle (1:46.97), but dropped nearly four seconds from his preliminary time and actually had a better time than the eighth place competitor in the finals, despite not making the championship heat.

"I am so proud of these boys," Krzywicki said. "Most of them are seniors and were focused on the team win leading up to the meet. All [of the seniors] played a big part of both Brentsville championships. Last year's championship was very close, but this year's win was better. We knew going into the 400 relay [the last event] that all they had to do was not DQ [get disqualified] and the title was ours."

Krzywicki noted that prospects for a third consecutive title are somewhat questionable because she is not sure how many of the five underclassmen will return to Brentsville because of the opening of Patriot High School next year.

"We have a lot of talent from our freshman class [that could return], but I guess we will have to wait until November of next year to truly know what the team will look like. For now, though, we are savoring this title," Krzywicki said.

The Brentsville girls' team finished an all-time best ninth place in the team race, up from 11th place last season, according to coach Ashleigh Krzywicki. Nicole Haynes led the way, with second place finishes in both the 100 freestyle (53.53) and the 100 backstroke (58.20). Haynes also led off for the Tigers' 200 medley relay team, where she and teammmates Amy Tansil, Kara Tansil, and Annalee Gallagher (KBST) finished eighth (1:53.18). The Tigers' 400 freestyle relay team of Haynes, Kara Tansil, Sydney Thorpe (KBST) and Gallagher also placed eighth (3:53.50).

Kara Tansil placed 14th in the 200 individual medley (2:15.98) and eighth in the 100 backstroke (1:02.15), while her sister, Amy, a freshman, placed seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.20).

The girls' team graduates three-Haynes, Kara Tansil, and Gallagher, each of whom were four-year lettermen for the Tigers.

"Like the boys' [seniors], these girls will definitely be missed because they contributed so much to the Brentsville swimming program," Krzywicki said.

By Hugh Rist  Source: News & Messenger, February 27, 2011