Rebels swim and dive concludes season at state meet

On Dec. 6-7, 15 swimmers and two divers represented Vestavia Hills High School at the 2019 AHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championship meet at Auburn University. In the Class 6A-7A division, the boys team finished 11th, scoring 155 points, and the girls team placed 16th with 114 points.

Westminster Christian Academy won the girls competition in runaway fashion, while Huntsville edged Daphne to win on the boys side for the fourth consecutive year.

The Vestavia boys team broke four school records, with senior Chris Rubin placing third in the 100-yard backstroke and breaking a 41-year-old VHHS record with a swim of 51.73 seconds. Rubin also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, setting a new school record of 1:54.87.

Other top eight finalists included Adeline Carroll (fourth in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke), Nick Velezis (sixth in the 200 freestyle) and Peter Shields (eighth in the 500 freestyle).

“The numbers of the swim and dive team have increased, and we would like to continue to grow that number,” Vestavia Hills swim and dive coach Oliver Aaron said. “With the planned completion of the Wald Park facility [in 2020], we anticipate that Vestavia’s swim program will grow.”

Middle-school swimmers Maddie Hunsberger (Pizitz) and Melissa McClintock (Liberty Park) also scored points, with Hunsberger placing sixth in the 500 freestyle and McClintock finishing ninth in the 100 backstroke. Diver Michael Helton, also from Pizitz, finished ninth in the boys 1-meter diving competition.

“Swimming is a fantastic sport for students who want to be multisport athletes,” Aaron said. “Our swimmers are some of the most well-conditioned athletes on campus. Students in grades seven through 12 can compete for the high school at the varsity level.”

All of the high school’s relay teams were in the finals, with two teams setting new school records. The boys 200 medley relay team (Rubin, Ian Cheng, Velezis and Sam Campbell) placed sixth and set a new VHHS record of 1:39.51. The boys 400 freestyle relay team (Rubin, Shields, Chip Hwang and Velezis) placed fourth and set a new school record of 3:17.11. The boys 200 freestyle relay team (Cheng, Jonathan Huang, Shane Mackey and Hwang) placed 13th.

The girls 200 medley relay team (McClintock, Carroll, Hunsberger and Molly Myrick) placed seventh. The girls 400 freestyle relay team (Myrick, Hunsberger, Anne Lauren Ingram and Carroll) finished eighth. The girls 200 freestyle relay team (Rebecca Chow-Wah, McClintock, Gabrielle Velezis and Ingram) placed 14th.

“This year’s senior class of Sam Campbell, Shane Mackey, Chris Rubin and Nick Velezis has worked hard to rebuild the swim program at VHHS, and their contributions have been noticed and appreciated,” Aaron said. “They have established a foundation for a strong team that will continue to have success in the coming years.”

– Information for this story was contributed by Julie Chow-Wah.