WVSSAC State Swim Meet
- Feb. 15-16
- Mylan Park Aquatic Center
- Morgantown, West Virginia
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2024 WVSSAC High School Swim Champs”
Boys Team Scores
- Huntington – 186
- Tie: Parkersburg South / Bridgeport – 163
- –
- George Washington – 116
- Jefferson – 94
The Huntington High School boys shattered two West Virginia state records en route to their first-ever team championship at the WVSSAC State Swim Meet this week at Mylan Park Aquatic Center in Morgantown.
Huntington junior Keon McClure led the way for the Highlanders, sweeping the 100-yard freestyle (47.35) and 200 free (1:45.07) with personal-best times before helping take down a pair of state meet records as the leadoff leg for their 200 free relay (1:27.54) and 400 free relay (3:16.60). He opened the 200 free relay with a time of 21.56, then went even faster than his individual 100 free win leading off the 400 free relay with a personal-best 47.23.
The previous WVSSAC state meet records held by Parkersburg had stood for more than 15 years. Parkersburg posted a 1:29.69 in the 200 free relay back in 2008 and a 3:19.02 400 free relay in 2009.
Joining McClure on both record-setting relays was Huntington senior Luke Adkins, who split 20.83 anchoring the 200 free relay and 46.66 on the 400 free relay. Individually, Akins claimed the 50 free crown (21.01) while also placing 3rd in the 100 free (47.75). He shaved almost half a second off his previous-best 21.47 50 free from regionals earlier this month and more than half a second off his previous-best 48.32 100 free from the same meet.
Huntington junior Hawke Maynard also played a role on both relays with a 22.12 split on the 200 free relay and a 50.39 split on the 400 free relay. Christopher Young rounded out the 200 free relay with a 23.03 split and freshman Liam McClure stepped up on the 400 free relay with a 52.32 split.
“We had a rough year last year and we weren’t being ourselves and took ourselves too serious,” Huntington head coach Emily Randolph told the Metro News. “The meet didn’t go so great for us because of that. We went into this thinking we’re going to be us.”
Sophomore Kenneth McGlothen secured two individual state titles to help his George Washington squad place 4th in the team standings behind Parkersburg South and Bridgeport (163 points apiece). He defended his 500 free crown with a personal-best 4:39.78, dropping almost three seconds off his winning time from last year as a freshman. In the 200 IM, McGlothen blazed a personal-best 1:51.92, one second faster than his lifetime best and six seconds faster than his runner-up finish from last year.
Parkersburg South junior Quade Harris broke through with his first individual state title in the 100 back (52.01). He was slightly slower than his runner-up finish from last year (51.70), but it didn’t matter. Harris added a 2nd-place showing in the 100 free (47.53), dropping more than a second off his previous-best 48.68 from regionals earlier this month.
Elkins junior Isaac Anger dominated the 100 breast with a time of 57.52, more than four seconds ahead of the field. He just barely snuck under his previous-best 57.56 from last March.
Girls Recap
Team Scores
- Elkins – 184.5
- Morgantown – 135
- Parkersburg – 110
- George Washington – 95
- Brooke – 89
A pair of freshmen helped lift the Elkins girls to their first state title at the WVSSAC State Swim Meet on Friday.
The addition of rookies Lilly Irons and Lilly Anger boosted Elkins to relay victories in the 400 free relay (3:45.52) and 200 medley relay (1:54.61). Irons led off the 400 free relay with a personal-best 54.72 — way faster than her runner-up finish individually in 55.45 — along with a 27.38 butterfly split on the 200 medley relay. Anger split 56.14 on the 400 free relay and 25.04 on the freestyle anchor for the 200 medley relay.
Elkins senior Rachel Shryock was also instrumental with a 54.81 anchor on the 400 free relay and a 30.18 backstroke leadoff on the 200 medley relay. Elkins senior Emily Durst added a 58.69 on the 400 relay and sophomore Emma Ujvagi contributed a 32.01 breast split on the 200 medley relay.
The Elkins girls didn’t boast any individual champions, but their depth carried them atop the team standings. Shryock placed 2nd in 200 free (1:59.62) behind Bridgeport junior Amelia Romano (1:58.96) and 4th in 500 free (5:24.37). Ujvagi earned a runner-up finish in the 200 IM (2:18.62) to go along with a 4th-place effort in the 100 breast (1:12.15). Irons had a 5th-place showing in the 200 IM (2:24.87) along with her runner-up finish in the 100 free (55.45). And Anger placed 3rd in the 50 free (25.41) and 7th in the 100 breast (1:14.28) with lifetime bests in both events.
Three swimmers took home multiple individual titles on the girls’ side. Parkersburg South senior Jordan Claypoole swept the 50 free (23.84) and 100 fly (57.31) on Thursday before leading off her triumphant 200 free relay (1:44.16) with a 23.69. The Ohio University commit has been as fast as 23.61 in the 50 free and 56.58 in the 100 fly. Parkersburg South teammates Camryn McLain (26.61), Vada Hafer (27.06), and Paige Johnson (26.80) joined Claypoole on the 200 free relay.
Morgantown senior Delaney Householder culminated her high school career with state titles in the 200 IM (2:08.05) and 500 free (5:12.38). Those marked her first times atop the podium individually at the state meet after placing 2nd in the 200 IM (2:09.12) and 3rd in the 100 back (59.37) last year as a junior. Householder’s 200 IM win came in a new best time, dropping a few tenths off her previous-best 2:08.43 from 2022. The West Virginia commit has been as fast as 5:04.70 in the 500 free back in 2022.
“It’s been special to me to be able to swim at Morgantown and go out finally getting a state championship,” Housholder said. “I’ve been swimming with Lillian [Linscheid, who placed 2nd in the 500 free with a 5:20.12] for so long and we’ve been beside each other our whole lives. Being able to go out alongside my best friends and my sister, and with my dad as the coach it’s incredible.”
Charleston Catholic sophomore Lily Patnoe impressed with 1st-place finishes in the 100 free (54.14) and 100 breast (1:08.48). She dropped a couple tenths in the 100 free, but was slightly faster in the 100 breast at regionals earlier this month with a personal-best 1:08.09. Patnoe placed 2nd in the 100 breast (1:09.37) and 4th in the 200 free (1:58.31) last year as a freshman.
Huntington senior Lauren Lockwood made history for the Highlanders by becoming the first female swimmer in program history to clinch a state title with her 100 back victory in 1:02.76. She just barely squeaked past Charleston Catholic freshman Izzy Paulson (1:02.93), who dropped almost two seconds off her lifetime best from last month with her runner-up finish.
