The William & Mary men's swimming team was well represented on the inaugural Virginia Sports Information Directors Men's Swimming All-State Thursday, earning nine total honors, third-most among every college and university in the state. 16 men and five relays were named to each of two teams, based on a vote of athletics communications professionals from around the state.
Leading the way for the Tribe was junior
Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.), who was picked to the all-state first team as a freestyler. Wright was the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships this winter, winning a conference record-tying seven gold medals as he helped lead W&M to its fifth-straight team title. Wright swept the 50, 100, and 200 free, all in school-record times, and also swam on winning relays in the 800 free relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, and 400 free relay. He is the fourth man in CAA history to win seven gold medals in a single meet, and the first to do so since 2006. After three years, Wright ranks third in CAA history with 17 career conference titles, the most in school history, and is just five golds away from tying the all-time conference record.
Among the five men earning second-team all-state honors was senior
Carter Kale (Williamsburg, Va.) in the freestyle events. Kale won the 1,650 free for the third year in a row at the CAA Championships, and also swam on the gold-medal 800 free relay for the second consecutive season. Kale also finished second in the 500 free, and third in the 400 IM at the conference championships, and during the regular season, broke the Tribe dual-meet record in the 200 fly. His classmate
Brooks Peterson (Carrollton, Va.) was also named second-team all-state, in the breaststroke events. In the final race of his college career, Peterson came back from eighth after 50 yards in the 200 breast, and won the CAA title, his first, by 0.01 seconds, setting a lifetime-best 1:59.70 in the process. Peterson was also seventh in the 100 breast at the CAA Championships.
Three more juniors all made second-team all-state as well.
Colin Demers (Virginia Beach, Va.) won the 100 back at the CAA Championships, W&M's first win in the event since 2014, and also swam on the 200 and 400 medley relays that won gold. In the 200 medley relay, Demers' lead-off split of 22.20 for the 50 back broke the school record, his first individually. In the IM events,
Ben Skopic (Mariottsville, Md.) was the CAA Champion for the second year in a row in the 400 IM, leading a Tribe sweep of the podium, and he also swam on the winning 800 free relay. Skopic also finished second in the 200 IM with a school-record time of 1:46.20, and was third in the 200 breast.
Jack Doherty (Middletown, Conn.) was honored in the fly events after setting the school record and earning an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 100 fly at 46.62. Doherty also earned an NCAA cut in the 50 free, at 21.41 seconds, and at the CAA Championships finished second and third in those events, respectively. Doherty earned gold at the conference meet on three relays, the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, and the 400 medley relay, helping break the school and conference records in all three events.
Those three relays were all also picked second-team all-state by the voters. The 200 free relay won the CAA title for the fourth year in a row, breaking the school and conference records in 1:18.91. The team included Wright, Doherty,
Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.), and
Evan Baker (Chantilly, Va.), and also broke W&M's dual-meet record with a time of 1:22.12 during the regular season. The 200 medley relay included Demers,
Devin McNulty (Herndon, Va.), Doherty, and Thompson, and set the school and conference records at 1:26.71. The Tribe won that event for the third year in a row, and the fifth time in the last six years. The 400 medley relay won for the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last six years, as the team of Demers, McNulty, Doherty, and Wright reset the school and conference records with a time of 3:11.06.
