SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL SWIM LEAGUE (SCHSL) STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 5A
- October 17-19, 2024
- Columbia, South Carolina
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
The 2024 South Carolina High School 5A State Championship wrapped up earlier this month in Columbia, South Carolina. Class 5A schools, meaning the largest public schools across the state, gathered to fight for the title. Wando and JL Mann High School battled for first, as the Wando girls secured 1st and JL Mann finished 2nd, and boys’ teams placed in the opposite order. This marks JL Mann’s first state victory since entering class 5A in 2016. While in class 4A the school often finished in the top 3, but struggled to take home the gold.
Girl’s Recap
Top 5 Teams:
- Wando High School – 354
- JL Mann High School – 331.5
- James F Byrnes High School – 247
- Clover High School – 235
- Spartanburg High School – 222.5
Even though they never took 1st in a race, Wando High School’s girl’s team still won the state title thanks to a stack of silver medals that scored them 354 points. JL Mann followed closely behind, winning multiple golds at the meet. Wando’s larger team and more entries allowed them to pick up more points, putting them ahead by 22.5 points.
Senior Julia Reed scored the most points on Wando, bringing home three silver medals. She swam a personal best time of 52.89 in the 100 free, putting her just .81 seconds behind first-place finisher Emma Durham. Her 200 free time of 1:55.66 placed her 4th, meaning she did not win a medal but still scored 19 points from the event. Her best time of 1:55.02 would have put her in 3rd. Reed helped her team’s 200 free relay and 400 free relay claim 2nd, and was .52 seconds away from finishing 3rd in the 200 free. Reed has swam in the state meet all four years of college.
Reed’s teammate senior Ciara Twomey took home two silvers, swimming to 2nd in the 100 fly at 58:07. She joined Reed in the 400 free relay, and swam a new personal best in her 50 fly split of 26.60 in the 200 medley relay.
Senior Maecy Wells of River Bluff High School held on to her 100 fly state title for the third year in a row, swimming a personal best time of 55.60. Wells has been the reigning champ of the event since her sophomore year after placing 5th as a freshman. She also took 1st in the 100 back for the second year in a row, hitting a new personal best of 55.85. The time is nearly a second faster than what she swam at the 2023 state meet.
At her debut state championship meet, freshman Claire Burns of JL Mann High School made a strong impression. She swam a personal best of 2:07.25 in the 200 IM, earning her 3rd and finishing 5.1 seconds ahead of 4th. She also placed 3rd in the 100 breast at 1:06.67, and swam on her team’s gold-medal winning 400 free relay and silver-medal winning 200 medley relay. Burns’s standout performance placed her on the list of names to watch in the upcoming years.
Auburn University commit Lilly Gault Abdella of JL Mann High School dominated the distance events, taking 1st in the 500 free with a time of 4:59.84 and 1st in the 200 free at 1:51.56. Abdella has taken the state title in the 500 free each year throughout high school and took home 1st in the 200 free every year since she was a sophomore, opening up a spot for a new top performer after she graduates at the end of this season.
Boys Recap
Top 5 Teams:
- JL Mann High School – 459.5
- Wando High School – 309
- Ashley Ridge High School – 255.5
- Mauldin High School – 213
- West Ashley High School – 212
University of Arizona recruit Wells Cloud went out with a bang at his final state championship meet, breaking two state records and swimming five new personal best times. The senior took 1st in the 200 free at 1:37.62, breaking a new state record as the only male to break 1:40. He broke 49.00 in the 100 fly for the first time, lowering his best time from 49.50 to 48.05, landing him in 1st once again at a new state record. His 100 fly was so quick that he broke a best 50 fly time with a split of 22.60. Cloud led off both his 200 and 400 free relay teams, swimming a best time of 20.68 and 44.99, respectively. While his 200 relay team placed 8th, Cloud was the only male competitor to swim below 21.00 in the 50 free split.
Junior Luke Green of Wando High School took home the most gold medals among the boys. He secured gold in the 100 free at a personal best time of 46.23, and in the IM at another personal best of 1:51.63. He led his 200 free relay to 1st and the 200 medley relay to 2nd, putting up a best 50 back time of 23.55. With another year of high school to go, Green remains a top threat for competitors at the next state championship.
Ivan Wilson of Summerville High School climbed the ladder to 1st place in the 50 free, with a new personal best time of 21.30. The senior did not compete in the state meet his freshman year, then placed 5th in the 50 free his sophomore and junior years before finally claiming 1st. His 100 free time of 47.70 was a season-best, landing him in 4th with just 0.63 seconds separating him from 2nd.
Another notable win includes Oliver Stull’s 500 free. The Mauldin High School senior put down a 4:34.87, nearly 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place. Since last year’s state championship, Stull has dropped just under 12 seconds in the event. He took 2nd in the 200 free touching in 1:40.29, slightly above his best time of 1:39.69.
Senior Shay Brunmeier of Clover High School set a personal best of 53.25 in the 100 back, out-touching Cade Taylor for 1st place by .20. Brunmeier broke a new personal best in the 100 fly as well, swimming to 51.80 in 3rd place. While he’s swum in the state championship meet every year since he was a sophomore, this year marks the first time he walked away with a medal.
