The Yorktown Patriots dominated the girls competition last month to win the latest in a recent string of state swimming/diving championships.
Yorktown won the 2026 Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state crown with 300.5 points, 118.5 more than the runner-up Robinson Rams, the night of Feb. 21 at the Jeff Rouse Swim and Sport Center in Stafford.
The state title was Yorktown’s fourth in a row and its sixth in program history. The Patriots have also finished second in the state four times, three since 2018.
“We did better than we had scored the meet before the competition, and also won by more than we thought,” first-year Yorktown coach Callie Hyder told ARLnow. “Right from the start we were strong, set the tone right away and we didn’t let our foot off the gas. We had a lot of great times and performances.”
Yorktown’s most significant accomplishment was scoring 120 points by winning all three relays, including the 200 medley in 1:44.47 in the first race of the competition. The Patriots also won the 200 free (1:35.29) and the meet-ending 400 free (3:26.80) relays.
“Winning the medley relay got us started the way we needed, then we continued to do what we needed the rest of the meet,” Hyder said.
Sophie Fredericks, Mary Hecmanczuk, Lila Sherman, Jackie Furches, Cory McKenzie, Emory Haynes and Alex Bristow swam on the relays.
“Doing well in the relays is very important in big meets like the state, because there are so many points to earn, and it provides a lot of momentum,” Hyder said.
In individual races, Fredericks, a senior who will swim in college at the University of Delaware, led the way by winning the 100 butterfly in 53.55 seconds and finishing second in the 50 freestyle.
Sherman, a junior planning to swim for Duke University, was second in the 200 and 500 free races. Hecmanczuk, a senior headed to Lehigh University, was third in the fly and seventh in the 50 free.
McKenzie, a sophomore, was second in the 100 backstroke and third in the 50 free. Furches was seventh in the 500 free and eighth in the 200 free.
Yorktown scored big points in the 50 free, with three swimmers placing in the top seven.
The Patriots enjoyed success in girls diving, as sophomore Cecilia Yen finished third and junior Cate Lawler eighth. That gave Yorktown team points prior to the start of the swimming finals.
“That was a big and important boost to have the points from diving,” Hyder said.
Prior to the state meet, Yorktown won the Liberty District championship for the ninth straight season, then finished second in the 6D North Region meet. The Patriots continued their overall success and didn’t let their feet off the pedal under Hyder, in her first season as head coach.
“Collectively, we all had the same goal: to build strong team culture this season and continue what had been established,” Hyder said.
In the boys state meet at the same time and place, Yorktown finished seventh. The Patriots were led by freshman swimmer Manu Maher with a second in the 500 free and third in the 200 free. Junior Mitchell Robinson was third in the 100 breaststroke and ninth in the fly. Yorktown’s 400 free relay placed seventh.
For the Washington-Liberty boys team, Kedar Kambhampaty was ninth in the fly and individual medley. Zane Rogers was 10th in the 100 free, and in the 200 free relays was seventh.
