State Champ Swegle Becomes 1st Black Female Tactical Pilot


Lake Braddock Secondary alum and 2012 4x800 VHSL State Champion Maddie Manhertz (now Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle) has made history and will be the US Navy's first black female tactical jet pilot. Just this week she passed her final training flight to finish her undergraduate Tactical pilot training. 

" Maddy was the consummate teammate. She filled in for us in many places as she is a tough kid. In fact, I never worried about her being anything less than super successful, her whole family is like that. I'm more than privileged to have been her coach."

                                             - Lake Braddock Secondary Coach Mike Mangan  

After attending Lake Braddock in Northern Virginia she competed for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There she competed primarily in the jumps and sprints according to her college stats. 

While in high school she found success across a wide-array of events and was a member of the 2012 state championship 4x8 quartet outdoors. Her teammates were Ally Robinson, Sophie Chase, and Hannah Christen. Ally went on to be a part of some historic Bruin teams while Chase and Christen went on to compete at Foot Locker Nationals.