Wando Sweeps Both Titles Again at 2018 SCHSL 5A Championships

South Carolina High School 5A State Swimming Championships

In the final meet of the South Carolina High School 5A State Championships, the girls and boys of Wando High School swept both championship titles for their second year in a row.

Girls’ Meet

Top 5 Teams:

  1. Wando- 511.50
  2. Riverside- 317.50
  3. Fort Mill- 304
  4. Spartanburg- 260.50
  5. Fort Dorchester- 188

The meet started with a fast duel between between Spartanburg and Fort Mill in the 200 medley relay. With Spartanburg leading by a hair on the last exchange, Spartanburg’s Kirsti McEnroe and Fort Mills’ Aubrey Chandler both split impressive 50 times of 23.08 and 22.98 for the mad dash to the wall. In the end, McEnroe held off Chandler to take the title for Spartanburg at 1:46.09. Fort Mill was right behind the winners at 1:46.26.

Chandler, the sophomore from Fort Mills, would not leave the pool disappointed after settling for second in the medley relay. Chandler went on to defend her state title in the 50 free with a time of 23.58. After getting out-touched by McEnroe in the medley relay, Chandler took revenge on McEnroe by dethroning her title and winning the 100 free at a 51.00, dropping almost a full second from her personal best. McEnroe settled for second at 51.77.

Riverside’s Hannah Ownbey also stole the show as another double-winner by winning titles in the 200 IM (2:02.72) and 100 breast (1:03.42). Ownbey’s winning 100 breast time flirted with the state record of 1:03.07, set by Sydney Baker in 2016.

The girls’ 500 free featured a photo-finish between J. L. Mann’s Lauren Murray and Wade Hampton (G)’s Audra McSharry. McSharry held a slight lead on Murray, yet Murray caught up on the last 50 to out-touch McSharry. Murray took the win with a 5:06.24, McSharry took second at 5:06.41.

Despite not winning any individual event victories, the Wando girls had an impressive depth to take the championship title by nearly 200 points.

Event Winners:

  • 200 Medley Relay: Spartanburg (1:46.09)
  • 200 Free: Spartanburg’s Kirsti McEnroe (1:51.75)
  • 200 IM: Riverside’s Hannah Ownbey (2:02.72)
  • 50 Free: Fort Mills’ Aubrey Chandler (23.58)
  • 100 Fly: Riverside’s Emily Horomanski (55.23)
  • 100 Free: Fort Mills’ Aubrey Chandler (51.00)
  • 500 Free: J. L. Mann’s Lauren Murray (5:06.24)
  • 200 Free Relay: Riverside (1:37.01)
  • 100 Back: Fort Mills’ Erynn Black (56.70)
  • 100 Breast: Riverside’s Hannah Ownbey (1:03.42)
  • 400 Free Relay: Spartanburg (3:31.96)

Boys’ Meet

Top 5 Teams:

  1. Wando- 385
  2. Fort Mill- 252
  3. Riverside- 240
  4. JL Mann- 222
  5. Dorman- 174.50

The first event of the meet, the 200 medley relay, had nearly identical splits from the boys of Wando and TL Hanna:

  • Wando: 25.15/27.65/24.15/21.92
  • TL Hanna: 24.84/28.10/24.15/21.91

However, it was Wando who maintained their lead to win the event at 1:38.87. TL Hanna took second at 1:39.10.

Rock Hill’s CJ Davis swept both sprint events, winning the 50 free (21.60) and 100 free (47.44).

The boys of Riverside and Fort Mill battled it out to the wall to take another close relay title. Taking a look at the splits, it could have been anyone’s race:

  • Riverside: 21.82/22.38/22.54/21.74
  • Fort Mill: 23.03/22.62/21.87/21.24

The Riverside boys were victorious and took the title at 1:28.48, Fort Mill settled for second at 1:28.76.

After taking the 200 free title, Riverside’s Michael Juengel went on to defend his state title in the 100 back.Not only was it his second consecutive title, but it was his second year breaking the state record. The Purdue commit won the event at 50.12, breaking his own record of 50.45.

Just like the girls of Wando, the boys of Wando presented an impressive depth to defend their championship title and win by over 100 points.

Event Winners:

  • 200 Medley Relay: Wando (1:38.87)
  • 200 Free: Riverside’s Michael Juengel (1:41.97)
  • 200 IM: Riverside’s Christopher Meier (1:55.25)
  • 50 Free: Rock Hill’s CJ Davis (21.60)
  • 100 Fly: Lexington’s JJ Hardy (50.45)
  • 100 Free: Rock Hill’s CJ Davis (47.44)
  • 500 Free: Wando’s Matthew Gush (4:42.18)
  • 200 Free Relay: Riverside (1:28.48)
  • 100 Back: Riverside’s Michael Juengel (50.12)
  • 100 Breast: J. L. Mann’s Bruce Bannister (58.33)
  • 400 Free Relay: Riverside (3:13.87)

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About Nick Pecoraro

Nick Pecoraro

Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school, immediately falling for breaststroke. Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens, helping foster a short, but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University. While working on his B.A. …

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