Boys Swim wins State Championship

The best swimmers from across the state converged on the USC Natatorium in Columbia on Saturday for the Class AAA state championships. The event turned out to be a battle of Lowcountry teams. Bishop England and Academic Magnet stole the show, finishing first and second in both the boys and girls team championships. Bishop England won the boys title with 401 points, followed by Academic Magnet with 374 points. Roles were reversed in the girls meet as Academic Magnet repeated as the state champion with 486 points. Bishop England was the state runner-up with 401 points. In the boys meet, Bishop England’s Carter Rose placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley. Teammate Addie Laurencelle took fourth in the 100-yard freestyle and fifth in the 50-yard freestyle, while Joseph Bolchoz added a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Cole Mummert aided the Bishops’ effort with a silver medal in the 100-yard butterfly and teammate Josh Adams finished sixth. Noland Griffith took third-place in the 100-yard backstroke. Leading Academic Magnet’s runner-up finish were Ryan Troy and Zach Moody. Troy placed second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500-yard freestyle, while Moody was second in the 500 and third in the 100-yard breaststroke. Charles Blanc had a pair of top five finishes (200, 100) and Garrett Smith finished fourth in the 50-yard freestyle. Depth proved to be the strength of the Academic Magnet girls team. The Raptors did not win an individual event but piled up points with top 10 placements. Emma Ludman was a fourth-place finisher in the 200-yard individual medley and Skyler Ayers was fourth in the 50-yard freestyle. Malia Borg finished third in the 500-yard freestyle, while Julia Zimlich and Sarah Feingold finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 100-yard breaststroke. Bella Kissell was the top individual performer for Bishop England, finishing fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and fifth in the 200-yard individual medley. The Class AAAAA championships were decided Friday night. The Wando boys posted a strong runner-up finish to state champion Riverside and Wando finished third in the girls championships. In the boys meet, Wando finished with 360 team points and had one individual state champion as Johnny Gush captured gold in the 100-yard butterfly finals. Gush also took third-place in the 200-yard freestyle finals. Wando’s Dan Sulkowski earned a silver medal in the 100-yard breaststroke and Ryan Pitts was third in the 100-yard freestyle. The Wando girls finished third behind Riverside and Fort Mill. James Island also finished in the top 10, placing ninth in the team standings. Wando was led by Sophia Vanderpool’s third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. For the second consecutive year, Porter-Gaud swept the boys and girls team championships at the SCISA state swim meet at the Augusta Aquatics Center. First Baptist placed fourth in AAA, while Palmetto Christian finished third overall in the AA/A championships. The First Baptist boys received strong showings from Victor Arrendondo (third in 200, third in 100 breaststroke) and Quinn Mann (2nd in breaststroke and third in 200 individual medley).Palmetto Christian’s Sam Biggerstaff won the 100-yard backstroke state title in AA/A, and also finished second in the 200-yard individual medley. The sister combo of Kaila and Elysse Pardus led the charge for the Porter-Gaud girls. Kaila won state titles in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke, while Elysse won the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle — setting SCISA state records in both events. In the AA/A meet, Palmetto Christian’s Lauren Pernell won the state championship in the 50-yard freestyle. Faith Lakemacker of James Island Christian was fourth in the 200-yard freestyle.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Bishop England High School Athletics

BOYS SWIM WINS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

DAVID SHELTON

Moultrie News | 10/20/2016