High School State Championships: Texas 4A and 5A Boys and Girls

AUSTIN, Texas, February 28. HIGH school swimmers from throughout the state of Texas converged on the University of Texas campus in Austin to compete in the Texas 4A and 5A High School State Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 24-25. Highland Park and Stratford claimed team titles in Division 4A, while Carroll swept the 5A championship meet.

Division 4A
Stratford High School claimed the boys 4A title with 223.5 points, followed by Kingwood Park (173.5), Alamo Heights (160), Frisco (149) and Pearce (112).

Pearce's Adam Bull was the only double-event champion in 4A competition, grabbing wins in both the 200 IM (1:49.84) and 500 free (4:30.47).

Three different teams emerged as relay event winners. Stratford's quartet of Rob Gahn, Ford Story, Michael Miller and Juan Hirsch dueled Kingwood Park's squad of Brooks Powell, Travits Trotti, Matt Munoz and Mark Garner to a 1:35.01-1:35.13 triumph. Frisco's 200 free relay of Corey Nix, Radu Prunoiu, Ben Maxwell and Trent Sandwisch put together a 1:25.75 for their victory. Alamo Heights' Ian Lemaistre, Spencer Adickes, Christopher Spears and Travis Lipscomb combined for a 3:08.98 in the 400 free relay.

Relay swimmers who also gained an individual title included Stratford's Story in the 100 breast (56.63), Kingwood Park's Powell in the 50 free (20.28), Frisco's Nix in the 100 free (45.13) and Alamo Heights' Lemaistre in the 200 free (1:38.43).

Reid Elliott of Lake Travis placed first in the 100 back (47.68), Texas' Matt Cox placed first in the 100 fly (50.32) and Finn Scribbick from Alamo Heights scored 525.40 points in the diving event.

Highland Park swept the relay events and also relied on team depth for the girls team win. Its 200 medley relay of Tanner Harris, Kate Boyer, Meredith Kelly and Ann Claire Karalyos had a see-saw battle with the Magnolia West quartet of Carly Sullins, Amanda Bezilla, Bailey Bodway and Erin Giles. Highland Park came out on top, 1:49.09-1:46.16. Highland Park's 200 free team of Boyer, Karalyos, Lauren Murski and Annelyse Tullier took the 200 free relay with their 1:36.48; the 400 free relay quartet of Murski, Tanner Harris, Karalyos and Tullier combined for a 3:32.96 victory.

There were close races in the sprint freestyle events. Rockwall's Raena Eldridge pulled ahead of Highland Park's Kate Boyer in the 50 free, 23.69-23.75. Sammie Hashbarger was behind at the 50, but managed to edge out Cedar Park's Amanda Wu to claim first in the 100 free, 51.55-51.65. Claire Walters from Heath corked a 1:50.86 for the 200 free win, and Lovejoy's Emily Nightingale posted a 4:55.53 in the 500 free to win that event.

Prosper's Destiny Nelson edged Bridgette Seip from Manvel, 1:06.12-1:06.20, in the 100 breast. Other champions included Jessica Shepard, Dripping Springs (100 back, 55.62); Hannelore Strash, Alamo Heights (100 fly, 55.83); Whitney Allen, Frisco (200 IM, 2:03.54) and Phoebe Lamay, Stratford (1-meter diving, 481.60).

Division 5A
Southlake Carroll dominated the competition, scoring 275.5 points on the girls side and the boys contributed 286 points for a Division 5A sweep. San Antonio Reagan placed second in the girls division with 208.5 points, followed by Conroe The Woodlands (195), Humble Kingwood (154) and San Antonio Johnson (111). The second-place champion among the boys was San Antonio Churchill (158) with Conroe College Park third (144), Conroe The Woodlands fourth (138.5) and Round Rock Westwood fifth (117).

Carroll's girls team victory was in no small part due to their relay sweep. Lyndsie Gibson, Elise Weisert, Sydney Wheeler and Taylor Derevyanik put together a 1:44.22 in the 200 medley relay. Lindsay Schultz, Emily Zapinski, Emily Gibson and Derevyanik combined for a 1:36.08-1:36.10 over Reagan's team of Sarah Gibson, Mary Margaret Soderberg, Colleen Konetzke and Kristina Domaschofsky, 1:36.08-1:36.10. Rebecca Upton joined Schultz, Zapinski and Lyndsie Gibson for the 400 free relay (3:27.99).

Clements' Romy Landeck claimed event victories in both the 200 IM (2:01.67) and 100 breast (1:01.98). Paschal's Julia Anderson was also a multi-event winner, posting first-place times of 49.53 in the 100 free and 1:45.88 in the 200 free.

Maylin Meisenheimer from King dueled Churchill's Megan Strickland to a 23.33-23.35 victory in the 50 free. Another close race, this time in the 100 fly, saw Bryan's Haley Clark outswim Ashley Johnson of Langham Creek, 55.65-55.73.

Reagan's Konetzke claimed first in the 500 free (4:52.30); Caroline Korst from Hebron topped the field in the 100 back (55.62) and The Woodlands' Kassidy Cook scored 594.50 points for the diving championship.

Carroll was led on the boys side by Ted Singley, who posted first-place times of 1:38.38 in the 200 free and 4:23.68 in the 500 free. College Park's Gray Umbach also put together victories in two events with his 47.12 in the 100 fly and 1:45.39 in the 200 IM.

As in the girls race, there was a very close margin of victory in the 50 free. Churchill's Cory Bolleter touched out Collins' Jacob Gonzales 20.59-20.62. By 1.85 points, Westwood's Brad Homza bettered Marshall's Christopher Law in diving with scores of 572.10-570.15.

Liam Lockwood from Churchill found himself on the winning end of a close race in the 100 breast with his 56.17 to Carroll's John Remetta (56.31). Lockwood's teammate, John Murray, captured the 100 free event with his 43.76. Cypress Creek's Jacob Wallace conquered the 100 back in 49.45.

Churchill's 200 medley relay of William Glasscock, Lockwood, Murray and Bolleter posted a 1:33.31 for first. Collins' quartet of Gary Adams, Christian Grindal, Jules Lawrence and Gonzales combined for a 1:24.26 in the 200 free relay, and College Park's Umbach, Trey Trabona, Elliot Dewlen and Scott Mayberry put together a winning 3:04.42 in the 400 free relay.

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