MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The flu bug bit Morgantown High freshman Caroline Riggs at the wrong time.
Heading into the state swim meet, Riggs knew she wasn’t feeling well, and sure enough, it was the virus that has plagued many this winter. Fortunately, she was able to qualify for the state meet with a great run at the Region I meet Feb. 8 at Brooke High.
Because she missed time in the pool trying to get better before states, her preliminary time in the 200-yard freestyle suffered Thursday, at least to Riggs’ standards. She finished at 1:58.52, one second behind Parkersburg senior Grace Cox.
But on Friday at the Mylan Park Aquatic Center, Riggs was back to feeling like her normal self and her performance in the pool was proof. She shaved five seconds off her prelim time in the finals, and her 1:53.89 was good enough to win the state championship in the 200 free.
“I had the flu earlier this week, so I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Riggs said. “I’m really happy, though. I was just trying to get into the finals, so I went really hard in the 200-free but I didn’t get what I hoped. I’m thrilled with the finals time, though.”
Riggs had another impressive run in the 500 free, finishing second with a time of 5:06.15, a 12-second improvement over her prelim time Thursday. She was just under five seconds behind first-place Madilyn McGlothen, of George Washington. McGlothen’s mark of 5:01.40 broke a 21-year-old state record.
Because of her performance, Riggs was named an all-state swimmer after the meet.
The MHS 200 free relay team of Riggs, McKenna Moore, Irina Stanescu and Katelyn Blosser nearly — and that doesn’t describe how close — captured the state title, but was 0.11 seconds behind winner Buckhannon-Upshur.
“That was a competitive and exciting race, and that’s what everyone is here to see,” MHS assistant coach J.C. Pettit said.
“These young people bring out the best in each other. They’re competing against people they know from all over the state, not just from high school but club teams. There’s no animosity and they’re all happy for everyone, regardless of what they do.”
Moore finished fifth in the girls’ 200-individual medley with a time of 2:15.91, and sixth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:03.49.
Other championship heat performances for the Mohigans include the girls 400 freestyle relay team of Riggs, Moore, Stanescu and Blosser, who finished third with a time of 3:45.04. The boys 400 free relay team of Lake Embrey, Preston Householder, Spencer Redelman and Carson Gresak finished sixth with a time of 3:36.47.
University makes most of 2020 season
Championship Friday wasn’t too eventful for University — the Hawks competed in just one event, and it was the last girls’ event of the day in the 400 freestyle relay consolation.
That doesn’t mean coach Joanna White wasn’t thrilled with her team’s resilience on the day and throughout the year.
The relay team of Mia Rice, Victoria Maumbe, Jordan Funke and Rebecca Chmiel, finished 12th at 4:11.93, but knocked four seconds off its prelim time, which finishing high enough to race in the consolation to begin with was a step in a positive direction.
On Thursday, “these girls knocked nine seconds off to even make it,” White said. “They announced 12th place for us and it was like we won the Olympics. Overall, I’m just so proud of those girls and they’re walking away with their best times for us this season.”
UHS went through a major transition this season, losing several key members who decided to pursue different sports or join club teams. Numbers were down, especially on the boys’ side, but White was thrilled with those who did decide to stick around and the improvement they showed.
Local individual Results
Boys 200-yard medley relay
7th — Morgantown: 1:49.69
Girls 200-yard freestyle
1st — Caroline Riggs, Morgantown: 1:53.89
Boys 200-yard medley
DQ — Lake Embrey, Morgantown
Girls 200-yard Individual Medley
5th — McKenna Moore, Morgantown: 2:15.91
Boys 200-yard Individual medley
7th — Preston Householder, Morgantown: 2:11.49
Girls 50-yard freestyle
8th — Irina Stanescu, Morgantown: 25.92
Boys 50-yard freestyle
8th — Carson Gresak, Morgantown: 23.00
Girls 100-yard butterfly
10th — Katelyn Blosser, Morgantown: 1:07.88
Boys 100-yard freestyle
9th — Carson Gresak, Morgantown: 52.33
Girls 500-yard freestyle
2nd — Caroline Riggs, Morgantown: 5:06.15
7th — Katelyn Blosser, Morgantown: 5:50.09
Boys 500-yard freestyle
8th — Preston Householder, Morgantown: 5:16.03
Girls 200-yard freestyle relay
2nd — Morgantown, 1:42.50
Girls 100-yard backstroke
6th — McKenna Moore, Morgantown: 1:03.49
Boys 100-yard backstroke
9th — Spencer Redelman, Morgantown: 1:00.65
Girls 400-yard freestyle relay
12th — University: 4:11.93
3rd — Morgantown: 3:45.04
Boys 400-yard freestyle relay
6th — Morgantown: 3:36.47
Team results
Girls
- George Washington, 206
- Parkersburg, 166
- Wheeling Park, 134
- Buckhannon-Upshur, 127
- Morgantown, 113
- Bridgeport, 104
- Fairmont Senior, 76
- Hurricane, 73
- Jefferson, 48
- John Marshall, 41
Boys
- George Washington, 180
- Bridgeport, 172
- Hurricane, 120
- Wheeling Park, 101
- Huntington, 100
- Jefferson, 74
- Robert C. Byrd, 68
- Morgantown, 61
- Brooke, 55
- Spring Mills, 54
Tweet @SeanManning_DP
