CAPE HENRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
KEEGAN McLAUGHLIN

The Cape Henry boys swim team has met every preseason expectation that was sent its way, and some were quite lofty. The Dolphins have all but dominated their competition in 2010. As of Thursday their record is 11-3, with their only swimming losses coming at the hands of talented St. Christopher’s and Richmond Collegiate teams, and a big reason why has been the effort of this week’s Athlete of the Week, Keegan McLaughlin.

“Keegan has been great to work with this year,” head coach Josh Fulton said of the talented senior. “He is an extreme talent that is athletic enough to take his swimming anywhere. Keegan has been a huge help to this team because of his strong will to win.”

The will to win pushed McLaughlin to work harder and gain speed in the pool, and he is doing just that during his final year at Cape Henry. In the last week of competition the Dolphins had two meets (last Tuesday and Friday), and they flat out dominated the competition. Cape Henry swept Norfolk Collegiate, Hampton Roads Academy and Trinity Episcopal on Tuesday, and it followed that effort by cruising through the swimming events at Norfolk Academy on Friday. Cape Henry earned three more swimming victories against the Bulldogs, Norfolk Christian and Peninsula Catholic (NA won the meet by earning diving points). McLaughlin was a big reason why the team has had such success.

“His performances at NA were a real treat to watch,” Fulton continued “He stepped it up another notch for his team; that internal desire to be a champion took over and he swam great.”

Individually, McLaughlin won the 200 Freestyle in a time of 1:48.57, and he won the 100 Freestyle in a time of 48.69—Keegan didn’t just win, though, he broke records. His 100 Freestyle victory broke the school record that was previously owned by Robert Knuth. In addition to those impressive results, McLaughlin was part of the 200 Freestyle Relay team that broke another school record.

“Robert and Keegan have a great rivalry and really push each other to get better,” Fulton said of the senior duo. “The biggest swim was of the foursome of Robert Knuth, Max Serpe, Josh Cooper and Keegan in the 200 Free Relay. They beat NA, the best team in the TCIS in that event—not anymore, and they broke a school record that has been on the books for 10 years.”

McLaughlin and the Dolphins have been impressive in their focused determination to march through conference and state opponents this year, and a lot of that success comes from the senior leadership, including that of McLaughlin

“He is an athlete that I have full confidence to put at the end of relays and know he is going to lay it on the line for his team and get his hand on the wall first,” Fulton finished. “His leadership has been impeccable. When healthy he has led by example every practice and every meet. He has shown our younger swimmers what its like to be a competitor.”

These are the intangibles that have allowed McLaughlin the level of success that he has earned thus far, and those same intangibles look to carry him to future success. Keegan was last year’s 200 Freestyle TCIS champion and looks to repeat that performance this year. He also is the favorite in the 100 Freestyle at the TCIS meet. He was a top eight finisher last season at VSIS state meet last year, and he has a shot to be a top three finisher and compete for an individual title this year.

The goals to close out the 2010 campaign remain lofty, but with talent like McLaughlin’s they are all within reach.