Swimrva Rapids

Although we pretty much always have wonderful practices available for our Rowdy Rapids families here at SwimRVA, today marked our first day officially back to kick off the fall season. And it was a great one!

Who is ready for the next greatest season ever for SwimRVA?

What an amazing accomplishment for an even more amazing young lady! Huge congratulations goes to Ashlyn Keith for winning the 200 backstroke at age group zones!

Today marks the start of the Eastern Zone Age Group Championships and SwimRVA has a team record 11 swimmers representing Virginia Swimming!! (We actually qualified 12 this year!) This is up from 8 swimmers over the last two years. Needless to say, the Rowdy Rapids are RISING!!

Good luck this week SwimRVA and Virginia Swimming!! Let’s go take home the team title! 💪🔥🔥💪

We had such a fun time tonight at the SwimRVA SummerFest Time Trial Meet! There were plenty of smiling faces, best times, and even two team records! It was pretty amazing seeing how much energy we could create with such a small group of Rowdy Rapids!!

What a historic weekend of racing in Christiansburg!! Before Age Group Champs even started, SwimRVA had made history by having a team record 40 swimmers in the meet (3rd largest team), up from our record 32 last year. Then, by Day 3 of 4, we had already taken down our team record of points from last year with a whole day to go, only to improve from 1172 points to an astonishing 1640 this season!

Finally, for the last two years the Rowdy Rapids had finished 5th overall at the meet. And even though we fell so microscopically short to our friends from Cavalier by only 5.5 points for 3rd overall, we still set another team record with our first 4th place finish at LC AG Champs, and a back to back Top 4 finish at the meet in 2024.

Needless to say, the Rapids are still on the Rise and even greater things are coming this year! Thank you for being such a special part of it and we cannot wait to share all of the details with you in our meet write up soon. Congratulations on a historic weekend of Rowdy Racing!

Together We Rise!!

Congratulations to Christine Datovech whose 26.85 freestyle swim earned her a top 8 championship final finish at the elite level Futures Championships!! That’s a spicy meatball!

Christine will be representing the Virginia Tech Hokies in the fall and we are excited for the awesomeness that is to come for her! Rise Up!!

The Rowdy Rapids are having such a wonderful time in Christiansburg at Age Group Champs and in Richmond at USA Swimming Futures!! Congratulations to the record holders of 9 new SwimRVA team records!!

Ashlyn Keith 13-14 50 back (31.64)
Lexi Hynst 9-10 100 breast (1:31.41)
Piper Price 15-16 & Open 200 breast (2:39.1)

10 & Under Girls 200 free relay (2:15.87) 200 medley relay (2:38.76) Mabel, Claire, Lexi, Anais
13-14 Girls 200 free relay (1:54.16) Sierra, Hadley, Maddie, Ashlyn
13-14 boys 200 free relay (1:44.32) Barrett, Matthew, Trey, Caleb
13-14 boys 200 medley relay (1:54.93) Cal, Ayden, Trey, Matthew

Ladies and Gentlemen…let us introduce you to the first EVER SwimRVA athlete to win a 10 & Under event at the Virginia Swimming Age Group Champs…..Lexi Hynst!!!

Her time of 1:31.41 is not only a SwimRVA record, but it is history for our rising program and family. Lexi, you have worked your heart out and you deserve every bit of your success. Congratulations on becoming the fastest swimmer in all of Virginia and one of the best in the nation! 🙌💪

SwimRVA is crushing it in Christiansburg right now!! We set yet another 11 team records on Friday with two more days to go. Congratulations to each of our great new team record swims!

Lexi Hynst 50 breast (42.22), 100 fly (1:26.77), 200 free (2:35.51)
Trey Young 50 breast (32.19), 100 breast (1:08.73), 100 fly (59.25)
Carrie Norman 200 back (2:40.12)
Sierra Durrette 200 free (2:12.17)
10 & under girls 400 medley relay (6:08.30) Claire Mariscalco, Lexi Hynst, Anais Pozzi, Mabel Broadhurst
13-14 Boys 400 medley relay (4:14.92) Ayden Greer, Trey Young, Nolan Feighner, Jude Chapman

Trey Young is no stranger to winning Age Group Champs titles! Tonight’s 1:08.73 in the 100m breaststroke, however, is his first championship for 13-14 boys! He breaks Jack Clippinger’s 50 and 100 breast team record from two years ago when he, too, won Age Group Champs!

SwimRVA Welcomes Karen Ladman as Head Novice Coach!

As we prepare for what is absolutely set to become the next greatest season in SwimRVA history, the Rowdy Rapids are thrilled to announce an exciting and new full-time staff member! Starting this short course season, Karen Ladman, will be joining the SwimRVA family as our first ever Full-Time Head Novice Coach. With her she will be bringing an inspiring way of connecting and communicating with our families and swimmers. Between her positive approach, her attention to detail and her encouraging way of working with her athletes, one could easily say that she has been “SwimRVA” long before her first day as our Head Novice Coach.

To read more about Karen and the great energy and experience she brings to the Rowdy Rapids, check out the news article on our website at https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/usavasrva/page/news/526717/swimrva-welcomes-karen-ladman-as-head-novice-coach.

We have a potato infestation at SwimRVA….they are taking over! 🤣 These awesome young ladies are having a blast as always at Age Group Champs!

If you think SwimRVA is a “swim team”, then look a little closer. We are a family! These Rowdy Rapids (among many others) had themselves a terrific morning at Age Group Champs and are fueling up for finals! RISE UP!!

For the first time ever, SwimRVA is in 3rd place overall after Day One at Age Group Champs! Let’s keep the good vibes rolling into Day Two!

And happy Olympic Day today!!!

The Rowdy Rapids are living up to the hype already in Christiansburg!! Shout-out to our team record breakers on Day 1 at Age Group Champs!

Lexi Hynst 9-10 girls: 400 free (5:26.39)
Jack Norman 11-12 boys 400 free (4:51.08)
Trey Young 13-14 boys 200 free (2:02.66)
13-14 Boys 800 free relay Trey Young, Jude Chapman, Nolan Feighner, Gareth Hollender (8:30.19)

Shout-out to Lexi for her podium finish after earning 3rd in the 400 free! Our 13-14 boys had two relays in the Top 10 with both girls and boys A relays earning Top 5! Amazing start to a fun weekend. Keep Rising Rapids and keep bringing the energy!!

Great start to Futures for SwimRVA! Both Bryce Mortimer and Piper Price earned their way to finals of the 100 breast with Bryce in the “B” final and Piper in the “D” final. Bryce went on to swim his 2nd and 3rd best 100s ever after going a best time earlier this season. Piper cracked four team records today by setting the 15-16 and Open 50 breast marks (34.79) and 15-16 and Open records in the 100 breast (1:14.49). Straight 🔥🔥!

More greatness to come from Richmond and Futures Champs!

Here’s a fun little deep dive into what made this such an amazing Senior Champs for the Rowdy Rapids!! The true magic is how hard-working, encouraging and fun our swimmers are, as well as how thoughtful, caring and detail oriented our coaches are.

As far as the numbers go, check this out!

If you only look at the final team placement or points, you’ll be missing the full story and the bigger picture.

In 2023, SwimRVA finished a team high 8th place with 372 overall points. In 2024, we finished 9th either 326 points. But here’s where it gets exciting!!

In 2023, SwimRVA had 15 swimmers earned a total of 35 Top 32 finals swims. In 2024, SwimRVA had 19 swimmers earn a total of 42 Top 32 swims!! 💪💪

In 2023, the Rapids had 9 x Top 16 swims. In 2024, we had 17 x Top 16 swims even though we were missing our top 2 returning swimmers from 2023 who were unavailable.

Looking ahead…100% of our individual team points in 2024 will be returning next season and beyond! 12% of our points came from 17-18 year-olds, while 88% of our individual points came from 15-16 year old athletes!!

Needless to say, the Rapids are in the RISE at Senior Champs!! Big things are happening here at SwimRVA and we are thrilled to have you as a part of it!

Together We Rise!

If you’ve been paying attention, some pretty special things are happening at SwimRVA!!

The fourth and final day has concluded and our Rowdy Rapids broke another 7 team records at Senior Champs! This brings the total number of records broke to 37 on the weekend. 😳 Buckle up too because we have Age Group Champs and Futures next week!!

Jack Clippinger: 800 free (8:50.16) 15-16 and Open
Henry Brooks: 200 back (2:13.66) 17-18
Thomas Senfield: 200 back (2:13.36) 15-16 and Open
Piper Price: 200 breast (2:39.80) 15-16 and Open

Shouts-out to Piper Price for becoming the first female Rapids swimmer to break 2:40 in the 200 breast. She also had a team high 2nd place overall at Senior Champs!!

Shout-out to Jack Clippinger for becoming the first male Rapids swimmer to break 9:00 in the 800 free.

Shout-Out to Crawford Craig who also broke the previous all-time open 200 back time today with a 2:13.67 while in a heat with Henry and Thomas. 3 gentleman under the all-time record in one race!

Stay tuned this coming week for a complete meet write up celebrating all of our success in Hampton!

Congrats to Rapids Senior swimmer, Kaleb Kashinejad, as he and his coaching staff helped guide the Hanover Country Club Sharks to earning BOTH the Sportsmanship AND Coaches Awards at the GRAL Championships this season!!

What an honor for two amazing young people!! Congratulations to Christine Datovech and Cole Nuckols who both won Len Everett Scholarships as GRAL seniors. These two amazing Rapids swimmers have been tremendous contributors to the community in so many ways over the years. We are so proud of the young adults you are turning into! Congratulations!! Rise Up!

Day 3 at Senior Champs was our biggest day of records so far!! 5 individuals and a relay took down 12 total team records on Saturday and the energy is flowing with one more day to go. Keep Rising Rapids!!

Libby Miyash*ta: 200 fly (2:26.74) 17-18
Jack Clippinger: 200 fly (2:15.38) 15-16 & Open, 400 free (4:19.72) 15-16 & Open
Ellie Mierenfeld: 100 back (1:05.63) 15-16 & Open
Henry Brooks: 100 back (59.61) 17-18 & Open
Thomas Senfield: 400 free (4:23.81) 15-16 & Open
Girls 400 free relay: Elizabeth Cribbs, Kylee Crotts, Brooke Bailey, Ellie Mierenfeld (4:03.86)

Shout-out Cribby and Henry for cracking the 1 min barrier in free and back! Shout out Libby for dropping 8 seconds on the day in the 200 fly! Together We Rise!

What a day of racing for our Rowdy Rapids!!! After smashing ten records on Day 1 at Senior Champs, SwimRVA has now broken 8 more from Day 2! Keep Rising!!

Piper Price: 400 IM (5:09.14) 15-16 and Open
Thomas Senfield: 400 IM (4:47:47) 15-16 and Open
Crawford Craig: 100 back (1:00.70) 15-16 and Open
Girls 400 medley B relay Ellie Mierenfeld, Elianna Cuce, Josie Van Schaften, Kylee Crotts (4:31.42)
Girls 400 medley A relay Sidney Kaufman, Piper Price, Libby Miyash*ta, Elizabeth Cribbs (4:26.77)

You know you’re doing something right when your B Relay also breaks the record!!

Together We Rise!!

We are off to a great start in Hampton as the Rowdy Rapids are cracking off loads of personal and TEAM RECORDS!! In fact, we are only 1 day into this 4 day competition and already have set 10 new team records!! Keep Rising Rapids!!

Piper Price: 200 IM (2:24.55) 15-16 and Open
Brooke Bailey: 200 IM (2:31.60) 17-18
Elizabeth Cribbs: 200 free (2:12.49) 15-16 and Open
Jack Clippinger: 200 IM (2:15.38), 100 breast (1:06.49) 15-16
Henry Brooks: 100 free (54.07) 17-18
Girls 800 free relay Cribbs, Bailey, Mortimer, Price (9:04.80)
Boys 800 free relay: Clippinger, Brooks, Senfield, Weber (8:14.87)

The Rowdy Rapids were rockin all over RMAL Champs today!! Countless top finishers, best time and loads of laughter and smiles! We even had four swimmers take down four different RMAL all-time league records! Congratulations to our Shenandoah Sharks swimmers, Ayden Greer (24.9 back), Chloe Clemmons (32.3 breast), Trey Young (23.4 fly), Kylee Crotts (23.9 free) for breaking the 13-14 mixed medley record by 3.5 seconds with 1:44!!

To add to it, Ayden’s 50 back was a league record and Trey’s 23.8 fly and 27.6 breast were also RMAL records!! Amazing job Rapids and congrats to all who crushed it today!

That index finger in the air can only mean one thing….Jade Hynst is #1 as your 800 Freestyle Summer Awards CHAMPION!!! Her 19 second drop earned her the 1st overall spot for 13-14 girls. But what that smile and index finger represents is even more important….determination…persistence…confidence…and hard work! Amazing weekend of racing Jade!

Isaac Chapman only had one day of racing at Summer Awards, but it was an awesome one!! Not only did he break the 8 & Under Boys TEAM RECORD in the 100 free, he also became a Summer Awards CHAMPION in the 50 fly, 100 back and 100 free!! What a day!!

Maddie “Mad Dog” Walker has been on a mission this season….to earn every freestyle Age Group Champs qualifying time. On Sunday of Summer Awards, she completed that journey after earning her 100 free cut!! Amazing stuff!!

This young lady had quite the weekend of racing!! On Sunday, Elise Bradbury not only earned two more Age Group Champs cuts in the 100 free and 50 fly, but she WIN the 11-12 50 fly to become a Summer Awards CHAMPION!! Way to go Elise!

I’m getting tired just thinking about racing 14 times in three days, but that’s just what Hannah Sherrill did at Summer Awards in Lynchburg!! Between prelims, relays and her amazing finals swims, she was a busy young lady who swam great!! We hope you are as proud of yourself as we are of you Hannah!!💪💪