"Way overperforming."
The quote came from Yorktown Patriots head coach Torey Ortmayer in describing the team's day-long strong showing Feb. 16 at the Virginia High School League's Class 6 girls state swimming and diving championships in Hampton, first in the morning's preliminary races then the evening's finals.
The result: A second straight state championship, third in four years, and fifth overall for the Patriots.
Yorktown won with 224 points, 51 more than the runner-up Robinson Rams. The point total was higher than expected and the reason for Ortmayer's quote.
"We expected to score about 210 points, which is about what is needed to win a state," said Ortmayer, who has coached the Patriots to their most recent three state titles. "By scoring 224, that can be a blowout. Our depth did a lot, especially in the freestyle races."
The coach said the showing was an example of the Patriots' strong depth, as Yorktown won the state by only winning one event, Lila Sherman's victory in the 500 freestyle in 4:54.33. The freshman also was third in the 200 free.
Another big reason for Yorktown's point total was second-place finishes by the team's 200 and 400-free relays. In addition, the 200 medley relay placed fifth.
Sherman, Nora Sherman, Clara McCarthy, Rachel Conley, Sophie Fredericks and Mary Hecmanczuk made up those second-place relays. Hecmanczuk, Fredericks, Nora Sherman and Jay Young compiled the medley relay.
Individually, Fredericks finished fourth in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 100 butterfly, Nora Sherman was third in the individual medley and eighth in the back, Conley was fourth in the 100 free and ninth in the 200 free, McCarthy was 13th in the 100 free and 14th in the 200 free, and Stella Barclay was 12th in diving. Jackie Furches also swam in the meet for Yorktown.
For Conley, a four-year member of the team, the state championship was her third.
"This was a lot more special being a senior and to win this one last time," Conley said. "It's nice to go out that way. We knew we had the chance to win the state again, and we put in the work. In the [state] finals we improved our seed times and that helped."
Said Ortmayer: "We over performed. It was a long, hard day for us. We knew at the start of the season we had a team good enough to win the state, and we know how hard it is to win this and what it takes with the ups and downs of the one day and the travel. But what we didn't know yet was how good the other teams were like Robinson, Langley, Oakton, Chantilly and Battlefield.
NOTES: The state title completed a second straight triple-crown season for Yorktown, which earlier this winter won region and district championships . . . At the Feb. 16 state finals, the preliminary races lasted about three hours, starting at 7:15 a.m. The finals began at 6 p.m. In between many of the Yorktown swimmers took a nap.
