After the loss to the Mount Vernon Majors, 11 members of the Girls Swim & Dive Team traveled to Newport News, VA to compete in the Twentieth Annual Kecoughtan Invitational.

Individual qualifiers included Maggie Cullather (200 FR, 200 IM), Clara Dombroski (50 FR, 100 BK), Jenny Moore (200 IM), Emily Sturges (100 FL).

Relay swimmers were Bethany Boveri, Kristina Clingaman, Mary Earnhart, Sarah Kane, Shelley Kendall, Faithe Ofilas, Chnar Sindi.

The team arrived in Newport News on Friday night around 1:00 AM.  With a 5:30 AM wake up call, no one got very much sleep.

The meet started out with the 200 Medley Relay.  The A relay finished in 25th and the B relay finished in 29th place.  Next, was the 200 FR.  Maggie swam in her first Invitational meet and placed 39th.  She then turned around and had to swim in the very next event.

The 200 IM featured Maggie and Jenny, swimming next to each other.  Both girls had strong swims to finish 36th and 40th.

In the 50 FR, Clara swam a personal best to finish 27th.  Emily swam next in the 100 FL, finishing 41st.

The 200 FR relay of Clara, Jenny, Kristina, and Maggie just missed qualifying for finals by finishing 20th, with Clara going another personal best to lead off the relay.  The B relay of Bethany, Chnar, Faithe, and Mary finished 33rd.

In the 100 BK, Clara qualified for the consolation final by placing 12th.

The 400 FR relays finished 26th and 27th.  Afterward, the team packed up and headed to Anna's Pizza for their annual Kecoughtan lunch.

During lunch (with many MANY pizzas), the team heard from trip coordinator Shelly Blincoe.  Following tradition, all seniors spoke about their memories with the team and in regards to the Invitational.  The team heard from Bethany Boveri, Sarah Kane, Jenny Moore, Faithe Ofilas.

After lunch, the team headed back to Midtown Aquatics Center for finals.

Clara was the one female swimmer to qualify for finals.  Although she had a long wait, she was ready to swim fast! Clara went out fast from the start, going almost as fast as her relay split from the morning session.  She kept her speed all the way in, and was able to finish in 10th with a new personal best!

The 2009 Kecoughtan Invitational was one of the most exciting in recent years, and we hope that next year's will be even better!