MORGANTOWN – The 2023 WVSSAC state swim meet concluded on Friday at the Mylan Aquatic Center as teams from all areas of West Virginia returned to the pool with another chance to capture individual and team state titles.
Entering the day, the Morgantown High girls’ team held the sixth overall place in the team standings after failing to earn a championship win on day one. On day two, the girls’ team qualified swimmers in five championship finals, trying to make some distance up in the ranks.
On the boys’ side for MHS, they entered the day in the top spot in the standings and qualified swimmers in three finals from morning preliminaries, looking to attempt to keep a good place in the standings despite missing out on one of the two relay races, which give double the points of individual races.
After a second-place finish on day one in the 200-yard freestyle, MHS senior and Yale commit, Caroline Riggs took to the pool in the 100-yard breaststroke, arguably her best event, looking to secure her first state title of the meet.
Earlier in the day in preliminaries, Riggs set a new state record of 1.03.91. In the championship race, she broke the record she set hours earlier. This time with an All-American potential time of 1.03.36 to take home her first title of the meet.
“The state meet is always such an exciting experience. It’s great to see all the talented swimmers in the state come together and race,” Riggs said after the meet. “I was super pleased with my 100 breaststroke. The high school lineup is tailored to sprinters, and I am by no means a sprinter, so I was contemplating on what to swim until the last minute and luckily I chose the 100 breaststroke.”
The second title for Riggs came along with her teammates Delaney Householder, Lily Linscheid, and Avery Householder in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet swam a dominant race that was started by Riggs earning a decent lead in the first 100 yards. The other three legs followed their teammate with the same effort and grew a 13-second lead at one point.
“That was a surreal experience to be a part of watching my teammates build the lead that large,” Riggs said. “Winning the last two events with my team was honestly the best way to end my high school career. We always have so much fun together on the relays.”
MHS girls’ took second place overall as a team with 138 points.
For the boys, senior Lake Embrey swam the final in the 500-yard freestyle race, earning 5th place in the state with a time of 5.14.51.
He was followed by the duo of Daniel Hammer and Carter Redelman in the 100-yard backstroke event, Hammer in the consolation final, and Redelman in the championship.
Hammer finished second in the first race with a time of 58.84, while Redelman followed his teammate with a third-place finish in the state with a time of 53.94.
Finally, the team of Redelman, Embrey, Daniel Hammer, and Christian Hammer competed in the final race of the state meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The foursome managed a time of 3.24.81, securing themselves 4th overall in the state.
The Mohigan boys’ team finished 4th overall in the final team standings with 119 points overall.
Caroline Riggs was named to the all-tournament team and caps off a decorative career at MHS. Riggs now moves on to Yale University to swim at the next level.
“My time with MHS has been such a great experience, I can’t thank the coaches and the team enough,” she said. “I was able to swim a lot of events during my time here that I otherwise wouldn’t. I can’t wait to see how the team continues to grow and excel going forward.”
Event Winners
Girls
500 Freestyle – Madi McGlothen, George Washington
200 Freestyle Relay – George Washington
100 Backstroke – Victoria Kidney, John Marshall
100 Breastroke – Caroline Riggs, Morgantown
400 Freestyle Relay – Morgantown
Boys
500 Freestyle – Kenneth McGlothen, George Washington
200 Freestyle Relay – Buckhannon-Upshur
100 Backstroke – Bradley Boyd, Hurricane
100 Breaststroke – Matthew Smith, Charleston Catholic
40 Freestyle Relay – Huntington
Team Standings
Girls
1. George Washington – 207
2. Morgantown – 138
3. Buckhannon-Upshur
Boys
1. Parkersburg South – 146.5
2. George Washington – 143
3. Parkersburg – 125
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