FORK UNION, VA – The Fork Union Military Academy swimming and diving program competed in a pair of meets this past week, traveling to St. Christopher's prior to hosting the January Invitational. 
 
On Saturday, January 14, the Blue Devils competed at the St. Christopher's School Invitational, defeated Fredericksburg Christian School, Saint Anne's Belfield, Covenant School and Williamsburg Christian Academy.
 
The Blue Devils were edged by St. Christopher's and Christchurch School. 
 
"Overall, our guys had one of their best meets of the season and the divers did a great job and really helped us out by scoring a lot of points," said head coach Jon Larson. "This was a great opportunity to compete in the same pool that the Virginia Prep League Meet will be held in a few weeks."
 
The squad recorded four top-five performances, including a first place and second place performance on the 1-meter board. 
 
Junior Everett Mitchell won the 1-meter with a score of 191.95, senior Grant Demorro followed in second with a score of 182.50 and eighth-grader Kellen Colevas placed fourth with a score of 153.85. Junior John Cottey placed fifth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:25.58.
 
On Thursday, January 19, Fork Union hosted the Fork Union January Invitational and defeated Charlottesville High School, Roanoke Catholic and Saint Anne's Belfield. The lone Blue Devil loss came to Fluvanna County. 
 
"The highlight for us in this home meet was our medley relay of Brooks-Powell, Brown, Colevas and Cottey, who qualified for the State Championships," added Larson. "Cottey also swam well and got much closer to qualifying individually. Home meets are important as it allows us to get the entire team in the lineup and give them competitive experience."
 
The Blue Devils recorded 12 top-five finishes, including three event titles. Jaxon Brooks-Powell and Cottey led the squad with individual medals and helped the 400 freestyle relay to a first-place finish. 
 
Cottey and Brooks-Powell were joined by Nico Brown and Jacob Clodfelter and touched the wall at the 4:27.53 mark for the gold medal. Individually, Cottey won the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:00.14, while Brooks-Powell swam a time of 4:41.60 to win the 400 freestyle. 
 
The 200 medley relay team of Brooks-Powell, Brown, Colevas and Cottey put together a time of 2:09.54 to place second and qualify for the VISAA State Championships. 
 
Fork Union will return to action Saturday, Jan. 27 when the squad travels to Warrenton for the Junior Varsity Championships at 2 PM.