WELLSBURG – Records were broken, trophies were raised high and tickets to the state swim meet were punched during Saturday’s Region 1 Championship Swim Meet at Brooke High School.
On the girls’ side, John Marshall placed first as a team with 101.5 points, Morgantown took second with 88, and Parkersburg placed third with 83. It was another feather in the Monarchs’ cap this season, as John Marshall has thrust themselves into the limelight with another championship trophy after taking the OVAC Championship earlier in the year.
“Every single swimmer that I brought here today showed up,” John Marshall head coach Timmi Snyder said. “They exceeded all expectations today, everybody swam either where they were seeded, very close to it, or surpassed their seed time. We had a ton of PR’s, super proud of Maitlyn [Miller], took her 50 free and 100 free very easily, my girls 200 free relay remained undefeated, my 200 medley won, we had just a great day.”
The girls 200 freestyle relay team of Ella Finley, Adah Aubrey, Zoe Zervos and Maitlyn Miller broke their school record with a 1:45.36 on their way to a first-place, state-qualifying finish.
“I’m super proud, and I feel like John Marshall really has a swim team now,” Snyder said. “In the past, we’ve had really good swimmers, but now we have the depth that we need to actually compete and we’re competing. Across the board, I had girls in the top 10 in almost all the events. That’s just amazing to see from a team that, in years past, I could hardly fill the events. I brought 24 today and they all showed up, they did great. I’m so proud.”
For the boys, Parkersburg took home the gold with a team score of 121 points, followed in second by Wheeling Park with 90, and Parkersburg South with 82.
Parkersburg’s boys placed third in last year’s Region 1 Meet.
“The team did absolutely phenomenal, we are just picking up momentum every single meet,” Parkersburg head coach Emily Martin said. “We have had a really strong season, only a couple of losses. I think the only W.Va. team we’ve lost to this year is Bridgeport, who are probably the favorites for the state championship. We’re really looking forward to taking on states with this building momentum. My kids are swimming way faster than they should be given the amount of rest I’m giving them, they really have not rested that much and they’re still putting up lifetime bests which is absolutely insane. It’s so exciting to see them building themselves up heading into the state meet.”
The Big Reds’ Levi Morr broke the region and school record in the men’s 500 freestyle with a time of 4:41.38. Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass also broke the team record for the women’s 500 freestyle with a time of 5:10.53.
With their first-place team efforts, John Marshall and Parkersburg headline the crop of swimmers from the region who received an automatic bid to the state meet, set for Feb. 20 and 21 at the Peak Health Aquatic Center in Morgantown.
In order to receive an automatic bid for the state tournament in an event, an athlete or relay team had to place in the top three in their event. The remaining spots will be filled with the best remaining times across all regions, which will soon be published by the WVSSAC.
Among relay teams qualifying for the state meet, the 200-yard medley relay team qualifiers were John Marshall’s team of Adah Aubrey, Sarah Hess, Zoe Zervos and Savannah Potts, Parkersburg South’s team of Paige Johnson, Marie Silvis, Camryn McLain, and Vada Hafer, and Morgantown’s team of Elise Perella, Maya Nalcakan, Avery Householder and Natalia Sabolsky.
In the men’s 200-yard medley relay, Wheeling Park’s team of Levi Parker, Brady Beihl, Brady Bowie and Malachi Smith, Parkersburg’s team of Levi Morr, Andrew Shafer, William Crichton and Braden Williams, and Parkersburg South’s team of Quade Harris, Connor Roberts, Noah Dulaney and Remington Blair qualified.
In the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay, John Marshall’s aforementioned team, Parkersburg’s team of Lily Jones, Lillian Farinash, Delaney Snodgrass and Adelaide Vann, and Brooke’s team of Kiersten Harvath, Lindsey Kettler, Lyla Horvath and Faith Farrell qualified.
In the men’s event, Morgantown’s team of Charles Alugbuo, James McGinnis, Owen Gregory and Christian Hammer, Parkersburg’s team of Cooper Morris, Noah Brown, Daniel Martin and William Crichton, and University’s team of Samuel Denne, Tyler Zundell, Nikolas Mccray and Nathaniel LIndsay qualified.
In the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, Morgantown’s team of Maya Nalcakan, Avery Householder, Audrey Kurilchick-Green and Elise Perella, Brooke’s team of Kiersten Harvath, Lindsey Kettler, Lyla Horvath and Faith Farrell, and Parkersburg’s team of Jaelyn Kalika, Lillian Farinash, Adelaide Vann and Delaney Snodgrass received automatic bids.
In the men’s event, Parkersburg South’s team of Quade Harris, Jantzen Karcher, Connor Roberts and Remington Blair, Wheeling Park’s team of Levi Parker, Jacob Walters, Brady Bowie and Malachi Smith, and Parkersburg’s team of Daniel Martin, Noah Brown, Braden Williams and Levi Morr.
In the individual events, the top three spots in the women’s 200 freestyle went to Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass, Morgantown’s Elise Perella, and University’s Monica Fisher. For the men, Wheeling Park’s Levi Parker, Parkersburg’s Braden Williams and Wheeling Central’s Alex Mihalovich finished one-two-three.
The women’s 200 IM saw Parkersburg South’s Camryn McLain, Morgantown’s Maya Nalcakan and Morgantown’s Natalia Sabolsky qualify. On the men’s side it was Parkersburg’s Levi Morr, Weir’s Ryan Owen and John Marshall’s Dalton Brown receiving automatic bids.
Receiving automatic bids in the 50 freestyle were John Marshall’s Maitlyn Miller, Brooke’s Faith Farrell and Parkersburg’s Adelaide Vann on the girls side, and University’s Nathaniel Lindsay, Wheeling Park’s Malachi Smith and John Marshall’s Wyatt Jefferson on the boys side.
In the girls 100 butterfly, Parkersburg South’s Lily Jones, Wheeling Park’s Molly George and John Marshall’s Zoe Zervos qualified, and in the boys’ 100 butterfly, Parkersburg South’s Quade Harris, Morgantown’s Christian Hammer and University’s Nathaniel Lindsay qualified.
In the 100 freestyle, the top three girls were John Marshall’s Maitlyn Miller, Brooke’s Faith Farrell and Parkersburg’s Adelaide Vann, and the top three boys were Wheeling Park’s Malachi Smith, Parkersburg’s Remington Blair and Morgantown’s Gregory Owen.
Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass, Morgantown’s Elise Perella and Morgantown’s Avery Householder qualified for the women’s 500 freestyle, and Parkersburg’s Levi Morr, Morgantown’s Christian Hammer and Wheeling Central’s Alex Mihalovich qualified for the men’s 500 freestyle.
In the 100 backstroke, the girls’ top three were Wheeling Park’s Molly George, Brooke’s Kiersten Harvath and Parkersburg South’s Paige Johnson, and the boys’ top three were Parkersburg South’s Quade Harris, Wheeling Park’s Levi Parker and Morgantown’s Gregory Owen.
In the 100 breaststroke, the girls’ top three were Parkersburg South’s Camryn McLain, Parkersburg South’s Vivian Grimm and Morgantown’s Maya Nalcakan, and the boys’ top three were John Marshall’s Wyatt Jefferson, Parkersburg South’s Connor Roberts and Wheeling Park’s Brady Beihl.
— Story by Nick Henthorn
