On Apr. 23, 14 Oakton Swim Club athletes competed at the Special Olympics Virginia Regional meet at George Mason University. At this meet, the athletes could qualify for the State Summer Games in June at the University of Richmond.

  Oakton Swim Club is Oakton’s Special Olympics swim team. Student-athletes from the varsity swim/dive team coach Oakton students with intellectual disabilities through swim practices and meets. Oakton Swim Club competes in Area 26 of the Special Olympics Virginia Potomac Region.

  All of the swimmers who attended the meet swam with enthusiasm and determination, as this was the meet to show the region everything they had to qualify for the state meet. With multiple weeks of practice, each swimmer showed improvement in their times  and their technique from the beginning of the year.

  After the conclusion of a successful meet, some of the coaches and parent representatives stayed for the drawing. If a swimmer placed first in their division, which is based on gender and age, their name was written on a piece of paper to be put into the drawing. Placing first in their division for their event did not automatically qualify a swimmer for the state meet. Fifty names were drawn because a maximum of 50 swimmers was allowed for this year’s competition.

  The drawing resulted in six Oakton swimmers qualifying for States, with four additional alternate swimmers that could qualify if a certain number of swimmers were to withdraw from the meet. Brian Evans, Ethan Lee, Joey Messaros, Nick Donner, Katie Nelson, and Teddy Hackemer are the six Oakton swimmers heading to Richmond for the Special Olympics State meet in June. Dillon Midson, Jessica Lewin, Tarun Ramesh, and Stephen James are the four Oakton alternates.

  Last year at the state meet, eleven swimmers travelled to Richmond and competed in the meet earning a total of twelve medals. This year, the coaches have high hopes for their swimmers to do their best and bring a few more medals back to Oakton.