Amanda Weir’s 20-Year-Old GHSA Record in 100 Free Broken Twice at 4-5A State Championship

GHSA 4-5A State Championship

• McAuley Aquatic Center
• Feb. 6, 2024
• SCY (25 yards)
• PDF results

Girls Team Scores

1. Westminster – 356
2. Northview – 318.5
3. Cambridge – 261
4. Chamblee – 255.5
5. Chattahoochee – 228

Boys Team Scores

1. Chattahoochee – 350
2. Chamblee – 331
3. Northview – 265
4. Westminster – 238
5. North Oconee – 171

For two decades, no Georgia high school swimmer could crack the oldest GHSA record on the books belonging to four-time Olympic medalist Amanda Weir in the 100-yard freestyle (49.06).

But at the GHSA 4-5A State Championship on Tuesday (1A is Georgia’s smallest schools, 7A is its biggest), two swimmers broke the 49-second barrier in the 100 free to take down Weir’s standard 20 years later.

Midtown High School freshman Sarah Paisley Owen first broke Weir’s mark with her individual 100 free victory in 48.94, dropping more than half a second off her previous-best 49.48 from last February. In the process, the 15-year-old Owen moved up to 60th in the U.S. girls’ 15-16 national age group (NAG) rankings.

Then at the end of the finals session, Westminster School senior Katie Christopherson went even faster leading off her triumphant 400 free relay (3:30.12) with a 48.59. It was her first time under 49 seconds in the 100 free as her previous best stood at 49.08 from last March. A 17-year-old University of Virginia commit, Christopherson is now tied for 89th in the 17-18 NAG rankings.

The 100 free was Christopherson’s third GHSA record of the meet after already rewriting standards in the 200 IM (1:55.46) and 100 breast (59.91) during her individual events. In the 200 IM, she lowered her lifetime best by .03 seconds to move up to 27th in the 17-18 NAG rankings. In the 100 breaststroke, Christopherson brought the state record under a minute for the first time, taking down the mark of 1:00.56 clocked by Alpharetta’s Alicia Henry in 2020.

Statesboro High School senior Olivia Stewart earned a runner-up finish in the 100 breast (1:00.24), also under Henry’s old GHSA record. The Auburn commit improved upon her previous-best 1:00.99 from November.

Christopherson added a 27.48 breast split on Westminster’s triumphant 200 medley relay (1:44.41) along with Sadie Clayton (26.49 back), Greta Myers (25.04 fly), and Lauren Fogelsong (25.40 free). The Westminster girls went on to capture the GHSA 4-5A team title with 356 points ahead of Northview’s 318.5 — their seventh state title in a row, and second straight at the 4-5A level after moving up from 1-3A last season.

Owen may have had her 100 free record snatched away, but she also obliterated the GHSA standard in the 50 free — and still has three more years to reclaim the 100 free mark.

In the 50 free, Owen blasted a 22.25 to knock almost half a second off the previous state record of 22.69 set by Woodward’s Caitlin Cooper a decade prior. She has been faster in the event before with a 22.21 at Winter Juniors in December. She was one of only two swimmers under 24 seconds along with Greater Atlanta Christian junior Abigail Heizer (personal-best 22.97). Outside of the pool, Owen is a black belt in Taekwondo.

One of the most astonishing swims of the day came in the girls’ 100 backstroke, where McIntosh senior Lila Lillie sliced almost two seconds off her lifetime best to smash the GHSA record with a winning time of 53.39. The Arizona commit had never been under 55 seconds before — her previous best was a 55.08 from Winter Juniors in December — and she skipped 54 altogether to break the state record of 53.71 posted by Walton’s Erin Reisinger back in 2009.

Although the Westminster girls are graduating Christopherson this year, their future remains bright. Freshman Greta Myers secured state titles in the 200 free (1:51.54) and 100 fly (55.49), both in best times. Myers dropped almost three seconds in the 200 free and nearly a second in the 100 fly.

Boys Recap

On the boys’ side, Northview senior William Gavin pulled out hard-fought victories in the 100 free (44.65 after personal-best 44.62 in prelims) and 200 free (1:38.16). The University of Georgia commit held off Westminster freshman Connor Christopherson, who placed 2nd in both the 100 free (45.83) and 200 free (1:39.29). Gavin’s 100 free marked a new lifetime best, taking a few tenths off his previous-best 44.93 from 2022 Winter Juniors. He also contributed a 20.51 leadoff to Northview’s victorious 200 free relay (1:26.14) before JunYi Mo (22.49), Ethan Pure (22.15), and Ashton Tan (20.99) sealed Northview’s win in 1:26.14. Gavin posted a personal-best 20.48 in prelims, just under his previous-best 20.53 from last March.

Chattahoochee senior Sahaj Patadia won the 100 back with a personal-best 49.22 to lead his squad to the boys’ team title with 350 points ahead of Chamblee (331) and Northview (265). Patadia knocked more than a second off his previous-best 50.48 100 back from December. He also helped Chattahoochee to a pair of relay victories in the 200 medley relay (personal-best 23.01 backstroke leadoff) and 400 free relay (47.54 leadoff). Patadia added lifetime best in the 100 free (47.20) during the individual event en route to a 5th-place finish.

Chamblee junior Ian Combs placed 2nd behind Patadia in the 100 back (50.87), but he reached the wall first in the 200 IM (1:51.04) with a huge personal best. Combs dropped more than three seconds off his previous-best 1:54.85 from last March to beat Chattahoochee senior Daniel Gonzalez (1:51.70).

Decatur sophomore Isaiah Lewis couldn’t quite match his personal-best 21.16 from prelims in the 50 free final, but his winning time of 21.21 was still .38 seconds ahead of the field — a relatively wide margin for such a short race.

After placing 5th in the 200 IM at last year’s state championships, Flowery Branch junior Tyson Huynh switched up his training focus and captured the 4-5A crown in the 100 fly (48.85). He shaved a few tenths off his previous-best 49.13 from November.

Other Winners

• Cedar Shoals sophomore Christopher Koch dropped more than four seconds in the boys’ 500 free to take the title in 4:33.27. He shattered his previous-best 4:37.55 from just a couple months ago.
• The girls’ 500 free title went to Cambridge junior Jennifer Griner (5:02.55), who shaved .07 seconds off her best time from December.
• Starr’s Mill sophomore Jack Lynch lowered his best 100 breast time from 58.19 to 57.57 en route to the state crown.
• Greater Atlanta Christian triumphed in the girls’ 200 free relay (1:36.96) courtesy of Abby Sutter (24.57), Madeline House (24.27), Rylie Hill (25.35), and Abigail Heizer (22.77).
• North Oconee senior Aiden Sadler made it a three-peat in the boys’ 1-meter diving event with a winning score of 782. Fellow North Oconee senior Ivy Buckley successfully defended her title in the girls’ 1-meter with a score of 658.8.