The William Byrd swimmers had their first meet of the new year Tuesday
as they hosted Roanoke Catholic and Hidden Valley at the Gator Center in
Roanoke.
The Byrd boys swept the competition, defeating Catholic 50-33 and taking
down the Titans, 50-38. The girls split, defeating RC 56-29 but falling to a strong
Hidden Valley girls’ team, 69-24.
“We were up against some tough competition,” said Byrd coach Krista
Martin.
In the boys’ meet Brody Parrish won the 100 breaststroke, coming from
behind to win by two-tenths of a second. The boys 400 freestyle relay team of
Cole Kovacevic, Michael Hoyos, Blake Richardson, and Evan Copening also
came in first.
Distance swimmer Lindsay Murtaugh won the 200 free and the 500 free
for the Byrd girls, winning the 500 by almost a full minute. Lindsay was also a
member of the victorious 400 free team with Cary Jones, Gabby Romeo and Mia
Pippin.
This Saturday the Terriers will be competing in the All-Timesland meet at
the Gator Center. It’s one of the largest meets of the season in the Roanoke area
and includes most of the Roanoke Valley teams. Preliminaries begin at 10 am
with finals scheduled for about 5:30 pm.
“We’re looking forward to All Timesland on Saturday,” said Martin.
“Definitely one of my favorite meets of the year. It’s such a great opportunity to
race swimmers from all over our area. Byrd will have 20 swimmers competing,
and our goal will be to have as many swimmers as we can qualify for finals at
night.”
Next Tuesday, January 16, Byrd will have “Senior Night” at the Gator
Center as the Terriers swim against Patrick Henry. Seniors to be recognized
include Maddy Davis, Cole Kovacevic, Bruno DeMelo and Michael Hoyos.
