Training with Bungee Cords After Tornado Wrecked Pool, Shawnee Girls Win Okla. 5A Title

2024 OSSAA 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Feb. 15-16, 2024
• Jenks Aquatic Center
  • Jenks, Oklahoma
• SCY (25 yards)
• PDF results
• 6A recap

Girls Team Scores

1. Shawnee – 248
2. Altus – 226
3. Bishop Kelley – 219
4. Carl Albert – 196
5. Edison Prep – 161

The Shawnee girls’ path to a third consecutive Oklahoma 5A crown was riddled with obstacles.

Last April, the state’s deadliest tornado in a decade tore through Shawnee, destroying the local YMCA pool used by the Shawnee High School swim program. With no other options for indoor training this winter, the school turned to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a native tribe in the area, who generously offered its 10-yard by 10-yard pool as a temporary replacement.

With no lane lines, backstroke flags, or blocks in the small facility, Shawnee coaches got creative and hooked their swimmers to bungee cords during practice to maximize their space. After four months of unconventional training, the team faced its ultimate test at the state championship meet last month in Jenks, Oklahoma — this time without star swimmer Piper McNeil, now a freshman at Missouri.

The Shawnee girls didn’t put any individual champions atop the podium, but they swept the freestyle relays to fuel their three-peat with 248 points, beating out Altus (226) and Bishop Kelley (219) for the 5A state title.

The meet came down to the final race, the 400 free relay, where Shawnee junior Gracyn Simpson (57.26 leadoff), junior Ashley McDonald (1:00.44 split), senior Clara Timmons (1:00.24 split), and freshman Kimberly Albers (1:00.14 split) combined for a 3:58.08 to clinch the victory. That same quartet also lifted Shawnee to the 200 free relay win (1:47.91), with Simpson leading off in 25.66, McDonald splitting 27.28, Timmons splitting 27.78, and Albers anchoring in 27.19.

Simpson was a blink away from winning the individual 50 free final (personal-best 25.21), touching just .04 seconds behind Bishop Kelley sophomore Ella Lundt (25.17). Lundt shaved almost half a second off her previous-best 25.65 from January. She also split 28.46 swimming butterfly on Bishop Kelley’s triumphant 200 medley relay (1:57.54) and led off the runner-up 400 free relay with a personal-best 55.75, taking more than a second off her previous-best 57.33 from January.

Lundt’s Bishop Kelley teammate, senior Alex Lane, also brought home an individual victory in the 500 free (5:25.32). The Oklahoma Christian commit was four seconds faster in prelims (5:21.17), but still a few seconds shy of her personal-best 5:19.46 from 2021. Lane also placed 2nd in the 100 back (1:02.54) more than six seconds behind Edison Prep sophomore Mylie Bradley (56.34), who was within a second of McNeil’s 5A record (55.39) in the event. Bradley dropped a couple tenths off her lifetime best from last October (56.54) on her way to the win.

The only double winner among the 5A girls was Cascia Hall junior Samantha Crane, who dominated the 100 free (53.12) and 200 free (1:55.58). She defended her title in the 200 free with a faster time than last year (1:55.71 in 2023). Crane was slightly off her best times in both events (52.56 and 1:54.66 from last March), but two weeks later at the OKS Senior Championships, she lowered her lifetime best in the 200 free to 1:53.48.

Crane’s teammate, Cascia Hall senior Ella Newhouse, also secured an individual title in the 200 IM (2:16.28), four-tenths off her best time from last March. Despite three individual wins, Cascia Hall finished just 11th in the team standings with 75 points.

Casady senior Maddy Lu captured the 100 breast title in 1:04.02, within a couple tenths of her best time from last March (1:03.85). The Emory commit also knocked almost three seconds off her lifetime best in the 200 IM from 2022 (2:23.91) with her runner-up finish in 2:21.02.

Inola junior Taylor Cook was slower in the 100 fly than she was last year en route to 3rd place, but it was enough to claim the crown in 1:02.03 — just a tenth ahead of MacArthur freshman Addison Luper (1:02.13). Cook was faster in prelims (1:01.66), but still slightly off her personal-best 1:01.25 from last March.

Boys Recap

Team Scores

1. Carl Albert – 419.5
2. Altus – 270.5
3. Casady – 202
4. Oologah-Talala – 132
5. Bishop McGuiness – 119

After losing last year’s 5A title by only one point, Carl Albert High School cruised to its first-ever team championship this year with 419.5 points ahead of Altus (270.5) and Casady (202). Carl Albert relied on its depth without any individual champions, placing seven swimmers in the top five and winning the 200 free relay (1:31.50) thanks to Ben Sutterfield (23.20), Jackson Bales (22.96), Owen Ramirez (22.43), and Andrew Campbell (22.91).

Holland Hall senior Will Schenk showed off his versatility with victories in the 100 free (47.16) and 500 free (4:47.96). The Valparaiso commit was the only boy under 50 seconds in the 100 free, narrowly missing his personal-best 47.04 from December. In the 500 free, Schenk dropped more than two seconds off his best time from last March (4:50.15).

Weslyan Christian junior Sam Conrad defended his titles in the 200 IM (1:55.94) and 100 breast (59.68), both in lifetime bests. He sliced almost two seconds off his previous-best 1:57.77 from last year’s 200 IM win and shaved almost a tenth off his previous-best 59.77 100 breast from last March. Conrad went on to lower his best 100 breast time to 59.62 a couple weeks later.

One of meet’s best showdowns came in the 200 free, where Bishop McGuiness sophomore John Nguyen (1:47.47) eked past Mount St. Mary senior Keegan Lassiter (1:47.53) by just .06 seconds for the win. It was a redemption of sorts for Nguyen, who dropped almost two seconds off his previous-best 1:49.60 that placed him 2nd behind Lassiter in this race last year.

Lassiter ended up topping the podium in the 100 fly (54.08), almost a second slower than his runner-up finish from last year (personal-best 53.26) but still enough for the victory. Newcastle sophomore Connor Leader was even faster during prelims with a personal-best 53.72, but he couldn’t replicate that speed in the final with a 2nd-place showing in 54.43.

Leader got an individual victory in the 100 back (55.44), where he was also faster in prelims with a personal-best 54.98. His best time before the meet stood at 57.51 from November.

In the 50 free, Casady senior Thomas Rudnicki (22.88) held off Altus junior Teagan Herron (22.94) by a blink for the win. Rudnicki also placed 2nd in the 100 free (50.50) behind Schenk, taking more than a second off his previous-best 51.76 from December.