The Saints went marching in at the Mississippi high school Class 1 state championships this weekend, with the St. Joseph Catholic girls and Saint Andrews Episcopal boys taking home state titles.
Boys Meet
The boys of Saint Andrews won more than half the events in the lineup to take home the Class 1 title. That included wins in the opening 200 medley relay (1:42.79) and closing 400 free relay (3:29.16).
Each of those relays was part of a multi-event run for Saint Andrews that powered their team title from either end of the meet.
After the medley relay, Thatcher Shepard went 1:48.82 to top the 200 free by almost two seconds. Several events later, Jack Smithson would win the 100 free in 47.21, a crushing win by almost four ticks.
Those two both doubled on the day, with their second wins kicking off a Saint Andrews run that put the meet on ice. First, Smithson went 51.76 to win the 100 back, with his closest challenger over 6 seconds behind. But Shepard outdid even that, winning the 100 breast in 1:03.14 in the next event – a margin of victory of 9 full seconds.
That led into the 400 free relay, Saint Andrews 6th win of the day.
The only other two-event winner of the meet was Sacred Heart Catholic’s Davis Bruton, who won the 200 IM (2:12.53) and 500 free (5:10.08).
Other event winners:
- Rhet Hailey won the 50 free in 22.57 for the Mississippi School of Math & Science. He also presumably helped his team’s 200 free relay win a state title in 1:38.90, though official relay lineups were not available.
- St. Patrick Catholic’s Gray Carpenter took home the 100 fly title in 57.64.
Top 5 Teams:
- Saint Andrews Episcopal – 120
- St. Joseph Catholic – 91
- Cleveland – 57
- Mississippi School of Math & Science – 57
- Sacred Heart Catholic – 49
Girls Meet
On the girls side, St. Joseph’s Catholic won 5 of 11 events including all three relays. The 200 medley went 2:01.94, the 200 free 1:49.75 and the 400 free 4:01.09 as once again, relay lineups were not available.
The only other wins St. Joseph’s needed were in the sprint frees, where two different swimmers combined for a sweep. Sophia Waddingham won the 50 free in 26.25, and Emma Adkins added a 59.29 victory in the 100 free.
Cleveland High School wound up third overall with a 100 fly/100 back double from Shelby Cox. Cox was 1:01.07 in the fly and 1:01.37 in the back, winning both by solid margins.
Also winning twice were Mississippi School of Math & Science’s Madison McLean and Vancleave High’s Cait Chandler. McLean won the 200 IM (2:21.87) and 100 breast (1:12.90), while Chandler took the 200 free (2:01.97) and 500 free (5:32.55).
Top 5 Teams:
- St. Joseph Catholic – 140
- Saint Andrews Episcopal – 70
- Cleveland – 59
- Mississippi School of Math & Science – 52
- St. Patrick Catholic – 48
Great job everyone! Some fast swims.