Johnson, Punnewaert Take Down Records at Missouri Girls’ Class 1 State Champs

MISSOURI CLASS 1 GIRLS’ STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

FINAL TOP 5 TEAMS

  1. Parkway West 171
  2. Parkway Central 168.5
  3. Ladue Horton Watkins 166
  4. Nerinx Hall 157.5
  5. Webster Groves 144

For the second-straight season, the 2020 Missouri Class 1 State Championships came down to the final relay. The Parkway West girls, who placed 4th in 2019, won the team title. It was a tight race in the top 5, with just 37 points separating 1st from 5th. Parkway Central finished as the runner-up by just 2.5 points. Ladue Horton Watkins, the 2019 champion, was just 5 points shy of the winning score to take 3rd.

Though they didn’t win any events, the Parkway West girls had the depth to take their first team title since 2011. They earned silver in both the 200 medley relay (1:51.33) and 400 free relay (3:42.11). Senior Lauren Beard and freshman Campbell Murawski were championship finalists in both of their individual races. Beard, the 2019 200 IM champion, placed 4th in both the 200 IM (2:10.28) and 500 free (5:13.70). Her fastest 500 free swim of the day was a 5:13.04 in prelims. Murawski was 4th in the 100 free (54.14) and 7th in the 100 back (1:00.53). Murawski had been slightly faster in prelims with a 53.74 100 free and a 59.19 100 back.

There were a couple of Class 1 Records set at the meet. Nerinx Hall’s Brooke Punnewaert repeated as champion in the 200 IM. Incarnate Word Academy’s Ellie Wehrmann took the early lead, but Punnewaert charged ahead on the breast led. She held off a final surge from Wehrmann on the closing leg to win it in 2:07.43. That was a best by 2 seconds.

Wehrmann was just 2 hundredths short of catching her, posting a 2:07.45. Wehrmann had swum back-to-back individual events. Her silver in the 200 IM came minutes after the 200 free. She won that event in 1:52.05, a second shy of her Class 1 Record from 2018.

Another Class 1 Record went down in the 100 breast. Logan-Rogersville’s Cabrini Johnson dropped nearly a second to dominate in 1:03.23. She earned back-to-back titles in the event and took a second and a half off her own former Class 1 Record.

Summit Prep sophomore Maggie Moore was the only swimmer to win multiple individual titles. Her first win came in the 50 free, where she raced to a lifetime best 23.57. Moore then repeated as champion in the 100 back, dropping a second in 55.74. Her older sister, Molly, owns the Class 1 Record with a 54.39 from 2018.

Additional Event Winners

  • Girls 200 medley relay: Central, 1:50.91
  • Girls 100 fly: Emily O’Connell, Visitation Academy, 56.30
  • Girls 100 free: Makenzie Kurre, Savannah, 52.55
  • Girls 500 free: Lindsey Hervey, Father Tolton Catholic, 5:01.39
  • Girls 200 free relay: Villa Duchesne, 1:41.01
  • Girls 400 free relay: Webster Groves, 3:38.76

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About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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