MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — George Washington swim coach Doug Price felt the Patriots’ boys and girls teams both had a chance to be in the mix for team titles this year at the WVSSAC State Swim Meet at Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.
As it turned out, both GW squads did much more than remain in the mix, instead finishing on top of Division I to notch both boys and girls team championships.
George Washington’s boys totaled 83 points to narrowly edge defending state champion and runner-up Bridgeport (79), with Morgantown also well in the mix with 75 points.
As for the girls, it was an even tighter race, with the Patriots accumulating 58 points to edge runner-up Parkersburg (57), Morgantown (55), Bridgeport (54) and Fairmont Senior (51).
“When we knew where people were seeded, the message was if you can hold your seed, then you can have a chance,” Price said. “We knew our competition with the boys was going to be Bridgeport and Morgantown. But with the girls, it was wide open.”
Patriots’ standout Kenneth McGlothen, who will prolong his swim career at West Virginia University, closed his career in the fashion he desired and won the 100 backstroke at 49.77.
A second-place finish from freshman Liam Dailey in the 500 freestyle provided seven points and Sam Lopinsky took third in the 100 breaststroke for an additional six points.
The Patriots also gained 14 pivotal points courtesy of a second-place finish in the final event — the 400 freestyle relay.
GW entered Friday with a team-high 39 points thanks in large part to its win in the 200 medley relay and McGlothen’s victory in the 200 IM.
Through one day, the GW girls were in second with 30 points, trailing Bridgeport, which led with 40.
“At this point, it’s a motivational thing where you’re telling people, ‘hey you need to do this, and if they do this, then something can fall into place.’ I think everybody hoped for it, but I’m not sure anybody expected it,” Price said.
The Patriots benefited from a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay that amounted to 14 points, while a fourth-place finish from Reese Holbert in the 100 backstroke brought about another five points.
A fifth-place finish in the final event — the 400 freestyle relay — added another eight points to GW’s total.
It was perhaps the best example of every swimmer having the chance to make their mark, including Ava Mitias finishing eighth in the 100 backstroke for what proved to be a pivotal point in the end.
“Everyone gives good effort. Some girls are year-round swimmers and some of them are high school athletes that play other sports and when we can put them all together, they do really well,” Price said. “Our top girls points wise were Reese Holbert and Presley Pendell, but every single point was valuable.”
Parkersburg’s Levi Moor set a new state meet record with a time of 4:36.36 to win the 500 freestyle by more than 20 seconds.
“Ever since last year when I was at 4:38, it was definitely a goal this year to get it,” Moor said. “It’s a big sigh of relief. I’m so happy I can be with my best friends to get it. The race itself was just amazing. From the first 50 to the last 50, I gave it all I had.”
Saint Albans’ John Humphreys finished the 100 breastreoke in 58.11 to take first, while finishing .02 seconds better than what he had earlier Friday during preliminaries.
The Bridgeport quartet of James Hadjis, Patrick Hammond, Cole Parsons and Nate Dodson took first in the 200 freestyle relay (1:29.28).
Morgantown won the 400 freestyle relay as Solomon Roston, Owen Gregory, Lincoln Alugbuo and Christian Hammer combined to finish in 3:17.67.
Moor wasn’t the only Parkersburg sophomore with a memorable state meet. That distinction also belonged to Delaney Snodgrass of the PHS girls team.
After winning the 200 freestyle Thursday, Snodgrass was first in the 500 freestyle at 4:59.48.
Fairmont Senior sophomore Claire Ciemania also continued to excel and took first in the 100 backstroke (56.28), while teaming with Giana Armistead, Lily Rosenberger and Hailey Rogers to give the Polar Bears a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:45.34.
University junior Monica Fisher won the 100 breaststroke at 1:08.89, while the group of Lily Kozel, Maya Nalcakan, Avery Householder and Ellie Perella gave Morgantown a win in the 400 freestyle relay at 3:52.74 to edge Parkersburg by .24 seconds. Had the Big Reds finished first, they win the team championship.
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In Division 2, Robert C. Byrd’s boys broke through for the program’s first state championship, while the Elkins made it three straight team titles.
The Eagles won by a wide margin, totaling 119 points for a comfortable victory ahead of runner-up Elkins (77).
RCB entered Friday with 63 points and was in front by 23 after Armondo Montero won the 100 butterfly.
Montero teamed with Owen Dodd, Samuel Griffith and Anthony D’Anselmi to give the Eagles a commanding win in the 200 freestyle relay at 1:35.40, while Montero, Dodd, Griffith and Branner Rock capped the event with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a finish of 3:31.51 — good for a nearly 20-second victory.
“Armondo Montero won an event and got second in an event and we had other boys up there, but then you saw those sixth, sixth, seventh and eighth places add up,” Eagles’ coach John Kroll said. “We knew we had strong relays because we have a good core, but we also have the depth. It was a mix of both and we just took off.”
Kroll was elated with RCB’s ability to stay present and not rest on its accomplishments from Thursday that left the team in a good spot.
“We were in prime position,” Kroll said. “Last night went as well as it could’ve went and that’s what we wanted. We had two big relays today that we really wanted to win and needed to win, and we did. In the morning, I told them just try and take care of business. You don’t have to go crazy or do anything extra, but they swam so well all week that when we got tonight, it was the same message — it’s ours to lose and let’s just go swim. They went even faster, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Much like it was for RCB’s boys, it was strength in numbers as well for the Elkins girls.
The Tigers scored 126 points to get by Herbert Hoover (121).
Relay teams were a major reason why, including the group of Aleah Irons, Leah Ours, Sophia Rhodes and Emma Ujvagi, which won the 200 freestyle relay at 1:44.30.
“Our team has a ton of depth, they work incredibly hard and they’re willing to stop outside of their comfort zone to make sure our team gets key points in key areas,” Elkins assistant coach Seth Blake said. “I can’t say enough about how mature they’ve been through the whole process and how much they’ve grown over the last three years while winning three state championships.”
Elkins entered Friday with 76 points to the Huskies’ 53.
Lilly Irons, Ours, Rhodes and Lilly Anger won the final event of the meet — the 400 freestyle relay at 3:50.51.
For the Huskies, a victory from Ashton Walker in the 500 freestyle (5:23.81) was among the top Friday highlights.
Other winners Friday on the boys side included Wheeling Central’s Alex Mihalovich, who finished the 500 freestyle in 5:06.53 after recording a time of 5:04.74 in prelims; Sissonville’s Liam Riley, who won the 100 backstroke at 54.47; and Charleston Catholic’s Zach Lanning, who won the 100 breaststroke at 1:01.91.
Charleston Catholic’s Izzy Paulson and Robert C. Byrd’s Liza Saas both won a second individual state championship.
Paulson, who took first in the 200 IM on Thursday, won the 100 backstroke at 1:00.99.
Saas, winner of Thursday’s 50 freestyle, took home some more coveted hardware with a victory in the 100 breaststroke at 1:04.20. That gave her the win more than 9 seconds.