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The Nansemond River High School swim team performed well in the Class 5A region swim meet Thursday afternoon.

The Warriors will quickly shift their focus to the Class 5 state meet next week after a strong showing at the region meet. Eighteen teams competed in the newly expanded region meet. The girls’ team placed fifth on the afternoon, while the boys placed seventh. Pretty much every swimmer was able to drop their times, which was something Coach Shamus Riley was expecting the team to do going in.

“It was a little bit harder for us this year with all the teams in the region this year, but we swam hard,” Riley said. “About 90 percent of the whole team dropped their times, and there’s not much more you can ask for.”

Over the last couple of weeks, the Nansemond River swimmers have been dropping time, which is always the goal, despite where the team and individuals may have finished in the actual meet. On the boys’ side, Andrew Betts has qualified for a fourth straight year as an individual. He finished fourth in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.05 and also placed seventh in the 100 free. The 200 medley relay of Betts, Justin Croft, Cameron Wilkins and Jonathan Sullivan finished just outside of state qualifications, placing fifth as a group with the top four relays qualifying.

On the girls’ side, Selby Heyman qualified in the 200-yard free with a time of 1:58.02, which is a new school record. The 200-yard medley team of Heyman, Olivia Browning, Ashlyn Swaim and Rana Ceribasi finished in the second place at the region meet, qualifying for states and welcoming in a new school record with a time of 1:55.85. The 400-yard free relay of the same swimmers qualified for state with a time of 3:37.08, which is also a new school record.

“Andrew and Selby have experience swimming at the state level, with them having qualified every year individually,” Riley said. “Our relay team of ladies are young, and this will be a good experience for them, and we hope to get building on all of these things.”

As NRHS prepares for the state meet, they will continue to be safe in their practices, making sure they are at their best for the Class 5 state meet at George Mason University.