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This past weekend the state of Mississippi held their MHSAA Championships at the Courthouse Aquatic Center. The state of Mississippi has two different classes that schools can fall under, thus creating more opportunities for students to battle for the top spots on the podium.
The Class I (1-4A) state championships saw the same three schools battling for the win on both the boy’s and the girl’s side.
On the girls side:
St. Joseph Catholic claimed the win after posting a whopping total of 140 points. Saint Andrew Episcopal School finished second overall with a total of 70 points, while third place went to Cleveland High School (59 points).
Cait Chandler of Vancleave High School kicked the meet off with a win in the 200-yard free posting a winning time of 2:01.97. Chandler finished an astonishing 6.13 seconds ahead of the competition. Later in the meet Chandler swam ahead of the competition to claim a win in the 500-yard free. Chandler finished with a time of 5:32.55, bettering upon her seed time of 5:37.91.
Madison McLean of the MSMS finished ahead of the competition in the 200-yard IM, posting a final time of 2:21.87. Alex Smith of Cleveland High School turned in a time of 2:25.91 for second, while Katlyne Callahan was third with a time of 2:28.11.
McLean grabbed a second individual win in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.90. Smith was a close second, finishing with a time of 1:13.52. Third in the event went to Avery Nicholas (1:15.59) of St. Joseph Catholic School.
Shelby Cox of Cleveland High School dashed to first in the women’s 100-yard fly stopping the clock at 1:01.07. Ginny Ray Clevenger of Itawamba A.H.S. finished second with a time of 1:08.83, while third went to St. Joseph Catholic’s Abby Starnes and her time of 1:10.31.
The 100-yard back saw Cox pull ahead of the competition and turn in a win of 1:01.37. Sophia Waddingham of St. Joseph Catholic finished second overall with a time of 1:03.19. Emily Herrington was third with a time of 1:04.55.
Waddingham earned a first place finish in the 50-yard free, touching the wall in 26.25.
Emma Adkins of St. Joseph Catholic grabbed first in the 100-yard free with a time of 59.29, finishing just over a second ahead of the competition. Emily Pierce of Amory High School took second in the event, posting a final time of 1:00.57. Jeanne Torp of St. Patrick Catholic was third with a 1:01.37.
On the boys side:
Saint Andrew Episcopal collected a total of 120 points to win the meet, while St. Joseph Catholic finished second with a total of 91 points. Cleveland High School finished third overall with a total of 57 points.
Thatcher Shepard was one of three athletes who collected two wins each. Shepard’s first win of the meet was in the 200-yard free where he posted a final time of 1:48.82. Will Baugh of Cleveland High School turned in a time of 1:50.66 for second, while third went to Itawamba A.H.S’s Cooper Clevenger and his time of 1:52.59.
Shepard’s second win of the day was in the 100-yard breaststroke where he swam an astonishing 9.07 seconds ahead of the competition stopping the clock at 1:03.14. His final time was just shy of the Class I meet record of 1:02.80 set by Zack Cruthirds in 2013.
Davis Bruton of Sacred Heart High School claimed wins in the 200-yard IM (2:12.53) and the 500-yard free (5:10.08).
Jack Smithson collected his first win in the 100-yard free, turning in a final time of 47.21. Clevenger grabbed second with a final time of 51.18, while third went to Jack Collins of St. Joseph Catholic and his time of 51.95.
Rhet Haley of the Msms claimed the 50-yard free with a time of 22.49, and Gray Carpenter demonstrated his prowess in the 100-yard fly finishing first with a time of 57.64.
