2021 GEORGIA HS 1-3A STATE CHAMPS
- February 4, 2021
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Short Course Yards (SCY)
- Live Results on Meet Mobile: ‘2021 GHSA 1-3A State Swimming & Diving Meet’
After the Westminster girls throttled the competition this afternoon in the girls’ meet, the Westminster boys sailed to the 1-3A state title this evening with another dominating performance.
TOP TEAM FINISHES
- Westminster – 462
- Greater Atlanta Christian – 260.5
- Mount Vernon – 220
- Oconee – 211
- Pace – 177.5
Saavan Shah was the key swimmer for Westminster, putting up a state title in the 100 breast, two big relay swims and a runner-up finish in the 200 IM. The junior defeated George Walton Academy senior and defending champion Charlie Stout in the 100 breast, 54.79 to 55.45, as both hit lifetime bests.
Shah was 57.74 going into the pandemic in this event, then dropped a 55.53 two weeks ago before arriving at his new best of 54.79, which shoots him up the rankings in the high school class of 2022. Shah now ranks seventh in the entire 2022 class in this event. Stout, meanwhile, took almost a full second off of his old best.
Westminster lost narrowly in the first event, the 200 medley, to Mount Vernon. Getting a 25.78 breast leg from Samuel Whiting and a 21.19 fly leg from senior John Beamon, Mount Vernon clocked a 1:33.53 to out-touch Westminster (1:33.71). Beamon’s split was huge; prior to this meet, his lifetime best in the 100 fly was just 50.42 from December 2020, and he was only 22.37 on this split last year.
Meanwhile, Shah blasted a 24.89 on Westminster’s breast leg.
In the 50 free, Beamon unearthed a big lifetime best with a barrier-breaking swim, posting a 19.93 for the win and a .50 drop, erasing his old best of 20.43. His 19.93 comes just .3 off of Paul Powers state record of 19.63 from 2014.
A sub-20 sprinter is a boon for any NCAA program, though Beamon doesn’t appear to be publicly committed to any college yet.
In the 200 free relay, Westminster avenged their 200 medley loss to Mount Vernon, posting a 1:24.43 to beat Mount Vernon’s 1:25.18. Shah was 20.90 leading off for Westminster, dropping from his old best of 21.49, while Beamon split 19.93 on the end of Mount Vernon’s relay.
Mitchell Norton was the other star of the meet, successfully going undefeated in the 200 free all four years of high school. The Mt. Paran Christian senior and incoming UGA freshman was 1:37.48 to win the 200, coming just over a second off of his lifetime best. He also defended his 2020 100 free title, going 44.66 and just missing a best.
In the 400 free relay, Westminster close out the meet with a 3:12.02 to win by over three seconds.
OTHER WINNERS
- In the 200 IM, George Walton Academy’s Charlie Stout, a UGA commit, posted a winning time of 1:51.46 to edge Westminster’s Shah (1:53.99). Stout took two seconds off of his old best, while Shah chopped nearly five.
- Oconee County senior and UGA commit Ryan Wylie broke through 4:30 for the first time to win the 500 free in 4:28.10, ahead of Greater Atlanta Christian junior Trey Carter (4:34.34).
- While he did go a best, Beamon was beaten in the 100 fly, settling for second at 49.28 for his first sub-50 performance ever. The title went to Americus Sumter senior Antony Demott in 49.08, a best by about 1.5 seconds for him.
- Aaron Seymour of the Savannah Arts Academy won the 100 back in 50.89, defending his 2020 title.
- Two divers put up dizzyingly high scores in the 1-meter, as Thomasville senior Nolan Lewis scored 732.40 and came within 40 points of the state record. Allen Mann of Oconee County was 683.15 for second.
Beamonesque!
This John (Hayes) Beamon kid sure is quick, but also a heck of a H2O polo player. Lots of raw talent there. It has been fun watching him get faster each year. Keep it up Hayes!
I had a flashback… Bob Beamon, 8.90m, long jump, Mexico City, 1968. Sad thing, I do even remember that jump, I am that old. Congrats to young man here.
Perhaps he will be playing water polo instead.
As it turns out swimming is a great training sport for WP! 🤽🏻♂️🤽🏻♂️🤽🏻♂️