As junior Matthew Popovich finished his eighth and final lap of the 200 free event at the VHSL 4A state swim meet this past Saturday, it was clear that the moment was bigger than just a state swim meet. After the tragic passing of his older brother, John Paul Popovich, this past December, the entire swim community rallied around Popovich as he broke the state record in the 200 freestyle event to win  a state championship.

After Matthew’s state victory, he will surely be placed alongside his brother on the Titan Wall of Fame. “I wanted to win for him,” Popovich said.

Popovich was confident going into the race knowing that he was seeded first by a couple seconds. Head Coach Susan Schlemmer said, “I knew coming into States that Matthew could take the 200 free. This mid-distance race is perfect for the type of training and talent he possesses.”

When the race began, Popovich went out strong for the first 100 of the race and held his pace for the last half. Popovich destroyed the competition and won the race by a quarter length. When he touched the wall, he was met by a swarm of his teammates. “My teammates were really happy for me, I could hear my family cheering for me up in the stands.”

“Matthew swam a smart race and did exactly what he needed to do,” Schlemmer said. Popovich holds the new record for the 200 freestyle event with a time of 1:41.1, breaking the previous record by .8 of a second. Ironically, Popovich’s record setting time is not actually his personal best for the event, but it was enough to break the state record.

In 2015, JP Popovich broke the state record for the 200 IM event. This year his record was broken by Heritage senior and longtime friend of JP, Michael Burris. To honor his brother, Matthew presented the state medal to Burris.