LHSAA Division II Swimming Championships
- November 22-23, 2024
- SPAR Aquatic Center
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Full Results
Girls’ Meet
The Saint Scholastica girls won their 14th straight Division II Louisiana state title, scoring 365 points to beat second-place Ruston High School by 91 points. The Saint Scholastica girls had a pair of event winners in junior Emma Mae Smith and senior Gabby Hall.
“We brought 19 girls and 18 girls swam, and they all did well,” Saint Scholastica coach Chris Prator told nola.com. “Everyone contributed to keep the streak alive.”
After Saint Scholastica took fifth in the opening 200 medley relay—won by Ruston—Smith earned their first event win in the 200 freestyle. She was the only one to touch under 2:00, clocking 1:56.13 for the win. Later, she won the 100 freestyle in 52.49.
Meanwhile, Hall, a Colorado State University commit, neared her lifetime best with a 56.75 to win the 100 fly. She doubled up on event wins with the 100 backstroke, swimming 56.47 to win that event by 4.28 seconds.
Four girls—Smith, Hall, Sadie Huenefeld, and Hannah Poynter controlled the girls’ meet. Each won two events, accounting for all the individual event wins at the meet. Ruston senior Huenefeld won the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, lowering her own Division II high school state record in the former. She won in 23.71, breaking her Division II record from two years ago by five-hundredths.
Haynes Academy’s Poynter won the 200 IM/500 freestyle combination, swimming 2:11.92/5:16.50 for her event titles.
In addition to getting multiple event wins from Smith and Hall, Saint Scholastica won the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Hall led off the 200 free relay in 24.06, Smith anchored in 24.26, and Amelia Smith (26.07) and McKenzie Douglas (26.07) took care of the middle 100 as the team stopped the clock at 1:40.46, missing the Division II record the school set last year (1:39.77) by less than a second.
Hall, Douglas, and Smith teamed with senior Lily Capshaw on the 400 freestyle relay, swimming 3:42.44 for the win.
Girls’ Final Top 10 Scores:
- Saint Scholastica — 365
- Ruston High School — 274
- Benjamin Franklin High School — 235
- Haynes Academy Advanced Studies — 225
- Caddo Magnet High School — 176
- The Willow School-HS — 172
- Lakeshore High — 147.5
- Patrick F. Taylor High School — 133.5
- Academy of the Sacred Heart — 108
- St. Thomas More — 62
Boys’ Meet
On the boys’ side, Holy Cross kept their winning streak alive as well, winning their 7th straight Division II high school state title. They racked up 333 points, winning over Ruston High School—the girls’ and boys’ runner-ups—by 108 points.
“All of our seniors did a phenomenal job,” Holy Cross coach Dale Turner said to nola.com. “Took care of business on Day 1, and today, they knew what they needed to do if they wanted to keep the tradition going. They swam their hearts out.”
Indeed, it was senior Logan Beebe who led the way for Holy Cross, winning their lone individual event and contributing to their winning 200 freestyle relay.
Holy Cross started the meet strong, as Tristan Caffery (27.03), Ethan Turner (28.92), Billy DiPaola (23.94), and Korbin Hefler (21.48) won the 200 medley relay in 1:41.37, more than a second ahead of the Willow School. Beebe kept the team rolling, swimming 1:53.96 to win the 200 IM. Then, he teamed with DiPaola, Drew Launey, and Turner to win the 200 free relay in 1:30.18.
Beebe was the runner-up in his second individual event of the day, the 100 fly, as Ruston freshman J.J Hoover crushed the Division II record for the second time in as many days. During prelims on the first day of the meet, Hoover set the record at 50.17. He blew past that time to win the event, swimming 49.69 and soaring under the 50-second barrier for the first time.
Hoover picked up his second win of the meet in the 100 breaststroke, swimming 58.93 for another lifetime best. He also helped Ruston end the meet on a high note, as he anchored the quartet of Owen Frick (46.97), Taylor Rollins (55.26), Samuel Jackson (48.41), and himself in 47.96 to win the 400 freestyle relay (3:18.60).
Frick was another standout at the meet, winning two individual events. He swept the 100 and 200 freestyle, swimming lifetime bests of 46.91 and 1:41.70, respectively to win.
Other Event Winners:
- 50 freestyle: Blaise Boyd, Haynes Academy — 20.83
- 500 freestyle: Nicolas Aldana Huelga, Ben Franklin — 4:39.99
- 100 backstroke: Curtis Malone, Pineville — 50.80
Boys’ Final Top 10 Scores:
- Holy Cross Tigers — 333
- Ruston High School — 225
- St. Thomas More — 200
- The Willow School-HS — 186
- Benjamin Franklin High School — 169
- Haynes Academy Advanced Studies — 160
- Arch Rummel High – Division II — 146
- Caddo Magnet High School — 135
- David Thibodeaux Stem Magnet Academy — 114
- Sam Houston high School — 95
