Courtesy: Virginia Athletics
The University of Virginia, coming off a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, headlined the inaugural VaSID Men’s Swimming & Diving All-State teams on Thursday. The Cavaliers won four of the five major awards, including Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, and Coach of the Year. The Virginia Sports Information Directors also named 33 individuals and 10 relays to the two all-state teams, based on a vote of athletics communications professionals from around the state.
Fifth-year senior Brendan Casey was named the State Swimmer of the Year, after leading the Cavaliers all season long. He earned three All-American honors individually at the NCAA Championships, placing fourth in the 400 IM as well as fifth in the 1,650 free and 13th in the 500 free. At the ACC Championships, he won the conference title in both the 400 IM and the 1,650 free, and finished second in the 500 free as well. Casey also broke UVA’s school record in the 400 IM, stopping the clock in 4:38.43.
Also for the Cavaliers, junior Bryce Shelton was named the State Diver of the Year. Shelton advanced to the NCAA Championships in all three events in diving, after placing sixth at the Zone Championships in both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards, as well as eighth in platform diving. At the ACC Championships, he was 11th on the 3-meter board, and heading into his final season in Charlottesville, already ranks second in school history in that event as well as fourth all-time on the platform.
Cavaliers true freshman Casey Storch was named the Rookie Swimmer of the Year, after finishing 13th in the 400 IM at the NCAA Championships to claim Second-Team All-America honors. Storch also swam at the national meet in the 200 IM and the 200 breast as well. At the ACC Championships, the rookie was fifth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200 breast, and ranks fifth all-time at UVA in the 400 IM and eighth in the 200 IM after just one season.
Virginia Tech freshman Noah Zawadzki was named the Rookie Diver of the Year, after a strong season for the Hokies. He was the only freshman in the ACC to make the finals in platform diving at the conference championships, and qualified for the NCAA Championships in all three diving events. Zawadzki’s top finish at the national meet was 21st on the platform.
Rounding out the individual awards was UVA mentor Todd DeSorbo, who was named the State Coach of the Year. As noted before, he led the Cavaliers to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, earning eight All-American honors individually as well as scoring three relays. Virginia finished third overall at the ACC Championships, earning a total of 14 all-conference nods, and set seven school records over the course of the season.
In addition to the five major awards, two all-state teams were also announced, comprising of five relays and 16 individuals on each team. As fitting for the Swimmer of the Year, Brendan Casey was the only man to be named all-state in two different strokes, freestyle and IM, and was named first-team in both. He was joined on the first team by several teammates, including Bryce Shelton in diving, freestyler and three-time All-American Ryan Baker, All-American backstroker Joe Clark, two-time All-American breaststroker Keefer Barnum, All-American fliers Zach Fong and Bryce Keblish, and 400 IM All-American Ted Schubert. The Cavaliers also claimed three first-team all-state relays, including the 800 free relay and both the 200 and 400 medley relays. Virginia Tech had four individuals named first-team All-State, including Noah Zawadzki and Ben Schiesl in diving, as well as Ian Ho in the freestyle and Sam Tornqvist in the backstroke events. The Hokies also claimed the final two first-team all-state relays, the 200 free relay and 400 free relay. William & Mary’s Colin Wright, who won seven conference titles at the CAA Championships, was named first-team all-state in the freestyle as was Washington & Lee’s Patrick Sullivan, who finished fifth in the 200 free at the NCAA Division III Championships. Rounding out the all-state first team was Jeff Leckrone of Mary Washington, who earned All-American honors in both breaststroke events at the NCAA Division III Championships.
2018-19 VaSID All-State Men’s Swimming & Diving Team
Swimmer of the Year – Brendan Casey, UVA
Rookie Swimmer of the Year – Casey Storch, UVA
Diver of the Year – Bryce Shelton, UVA
Rookie Diver of the Year – Noah Zawadzki, VT
Coach of the Year – Todd DeSorbo, UVA
First-Team All-State
Free – Ryan Baker, UVA – Jr., Arlington, Va.
Free – Brendan Casey, UVA – R-Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.
Free – Ian Ho, VT – Sr., Blacksburg, Va.
Free – Patrick Sullivan, W&L – So., Pawley’s Island, S.C.
Free – Colin Wright, W&M – Jr., Williamsburg, Va.
Back – Joe Clark, UVA – Jr., Worcester Park, Great Britain
Back – Sam Tornqvist, VT – So., Stockholm, Sweden
Breast – Keefer Barnum, UVA – So., Louisville, Ky.
Breast – Jeff Leckrone, UMW – Sr., Earlysville, Va.
Fly – Zach Fong, UVA – Sr., Moorestown, N.J.
Fly – Bryce Keblish, UVA – Sr., Fairfield, Conn.
IM – Brendan Casey, UVA – R-Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.
IM – Ted Schubert, UVA – Jr., Ashland, Va.
Diving – Ben Schiesl, VT – Sr., Fairfax, Va.
Diving – Bryce Shelton, UVA – Jr., Vienna, Va.
Diving – Noah Zawadzki, VT – Fr., Greensboro, N.C.
200 Free Relay – Virginia Tech
400 Free Relay – Virginia Tech
800 Free Relay – Virginia
200 Medley Relay – Virginia
400 Medley Relay – Virginia
Second-Team All-State
Free – Wyatt Boyer, RMC – Fr., Irmo, S.C.
Free – Brian Harnish, UMW – So., Manassas, Va.
Free – Carter Kale, W&M – Sr., Williamsburg, Va.
Free – Sam Magnan, UVA – Sr., Bethlehem, Pa.
Free – Lane Stone, VT – So., Springfield, Va.
Back – Colin Demers, W&M – Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.
Back – Ryan Donnelly, GMU – Jr., Raleigh, N.C.
Breast – Matthew Otto, UVA – So., Newark, Del.
Breast – Brooks Peterson, W&M – Sr., Carrollton, Va.
Fly – Jack Doherty, W&M – Jr., Middletown, Conn.
Fly – Antani Ivanov, VT – Fr., Valiko Tanovo, Bulgaria
Fly – Dylan Peck – GMU – So., Fredericksburg, Va.
IM – Ben Skopic, W&M – Jr., Marriottsville, Md.
IM – Norbert Szabo, VT – Sr., Budapest, Hungary
Diving – Walker Creedon, UVA – Fr., Cary, N.C.
Diving – Gerald Hodges, Jr., GMU – Jr., Springfield, Va.
Diving – John Reed – VMI – Sr., Clifton Forge, Va.
200 Free Relay – William & Mary
400 Free Relay – Virginia
800 Free Relay – Virginia Tech
200 Medley Relay – William & Mary
400 Medley Relay – William & Mary