MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A year ago on the first day of the WVSSAC State Swim Meet, then-George Washington junior Kenneth McGlothen was part of the Patriots’ winning 200 medley relay team before going on to win the 200 freestyle.
On Thursday, it was partially a case of history repeating itself for McGlothen, who began the final meet of his storied prep career by joining forces with teammates Sam Lopinsky, Wes Hamrick and Ali Elkhansa to give GW a victory in the 200 medley relay (1:40.10).
McGlothen then added to his hardware collection in a different event, claiming a victory in the 200 individual medley at 1:51.13 — a shade behind his time of 1:50.50 earlier Thursday during preliminaries.
“It’s mostly because of my team,” McGlothen said of his success. “My main goal this year was to get the state record in the 200 IM, which thankfully I was able to do that in prelims. Being able to reach the goals that I’ve set for myself and to continue to go higher and higher feels good.”
With a surplus of past experience and success on the biggest stage, McGlothen made sure to turn the page quickly after being part of a winning relay squad.
“We were excited about the win obviously, but you have to put it behind you no matter what and be thinking about that next race,” he said. “You have to take it one race at a time and can’t be thinking about I have this ahead or I just did this. You have to approach each race differently and attack it like its own beast.”
McGlothen’s efforts were among the top stories from the Division I boys category.
Other individual winners on the first day of the WVSSAC State Swim meet included Parkersburg sophomore Levi Moor in the 200 freestyle at 1:42.74 and Musselman senior Sawyer Wright in the 50 freestyle at 21.84, which was enough to narrowly edge Bridgeport’s James Hadjis (21.85).
Morgantown senior Christian Hammer took the 100 butterfly at 49.97, while Fairmont Senior sophomore Tred Bennington won the final event of the night with a time of 46.68 in the 100 freestyle.
That was the Polar Bears’ second individual champion, as FSHS sophomore Claire Ciemania repeated as a state champion in the 200 IM at 2:08.32.
“It feels so great. It’s definitely good to do it the second time around,” Ciemania said. “I’m happy with my time and I can’t wait to see what I do tomorrow in the 100 back.
“I’ve been swimming since I was 5, so I’m definitely with the races and my strategies.”
Elsewhere on the girls side in Division I, Bridgeport’s Brooklyn Richmond, Jacie Wood, Emma Ahmed and Kennedy Marsh won the 200 medley relay at 1:56.32 in what was not ruled an officially completed event until well after it had finished due to potential issues with a time discrepancy.
That was the start of a special day for Ahmed, a sophomore who later won the 50 freestyle (24.69) and 100 freestyle (53.69).
Along with Ciemania and Ahmed, two other sophomores were Division I state champions on the girls side — Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass in the 200 freestyle (1:52.69) for the second straight year and Morgantown’s Ellie Perella in the 100 butterfly at 1:02.29.
Through one day and thanks in large part to the efforts of Ahmed, Bridgeport leads the girls team scoring with 40 points, followed by GW (30), Morgantown (26), John Marshall (25), Washington (24) and Parkersburg (22).
GW leads in boys team scoring with 39 and Bridgeport is second at 36. Morgantown (31), John Marshall (26), Fairmont Senior (24) and Musselman (22) follow.
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One year after garnering a state championship, the Elkins girls lead Division 2 with 76 points after Day 1.
The Tigers’ performance was highlighted by a 200 medley relay win in 1:54.10 from the quartet of Aleah Irons, Emma Ujvagi, Lilly Arons and Lilly Anger.
Lilly Irons, a junior, gave EHS a win in the 100 freestyle at 54.34 to close Thursday’s action. It marked the second straight year Irons won the event.
It’s also the second straight year Robert C. Byrd sophomore Liza Saas is a state champion after her victory in the 50 freestyle at 24.26. As a freshman, Saas won the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
“I’m really happy with how I swam today. I’ve been practicing a lot,” Saas said. “That really helped with swimming and getting to this point. The feeling of getting this done is really cool.
“I have improved a lot. I’ve cut time in almost all of my events this year, so I’m really happy about that.”
Herbert Hoover is second in the team standings with 53 points and senior Ashton Walker provided the Huskies with nine via her 200 freestyle win in 2:00.03.
Charleston Catholic, which is third with 26 points, got a win from junior Izzy Paulson in the 200 individual medley (2:15.34) and Doddridge County junior Isabella McGrady won the 100 butterfly at 1:00.30. McGrady shed more than a full second off her preliminary time of 1:01.57.
“I always swim better at finals. I tend to do better then and kind of strategize that way,” McGrady said. “I go out a lot faster in finals than in prelims.
“For prelims in the morning, I don’t feel my body is as fueled as usual. For finals, my body is very prepared and really awake. I have a good meal in me and feel like I’m able to do a lot more.”
Robert C. Byrd enters Friday with 63 points to lead the Division 2 boys standings. The Eagles got a win from senior Armondo Montero in the 100 butterfly (55.73).
“I have my technique down at this point and I know what I want to do, but it’s more about calming my nerves and making sure I know what I can do,” Montero said.
Four other individual champions came from four different schools — Wheeling Central junior Alex Mihalovich in the 200 freestyle (1:51.27), Charleston Catholic sophomore Zach Lanning in the 200 individual medley (2:05.68), Bluefield junior Andy DiNovo in the 50 freestyle (22.50) and Philip Barbour’s Isaiah Starks in the 100 freestyle (50.61).
Elkins claimed the 200 medley relay win as Dorsey Cutright, Joel Casto, Kyan George and Kolton Ward teamed up to finish in 1:49.75.
The Tigers enter Friday in second place with 40 points and are seeking a repeat team title.