SOUTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE (SCHL) STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (5A)
- October 14 & 16, 2023
- Columbia, South Carolina
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results: Team and individual
The 2023 South Carolina High School League (SCHL) State Championships took place earlier this month in Columbia, South Carolina. The Fort Mill girls successfully defended their title, while the boys beat defending champions Wando by over 50 points.
Girls’ Recap
The Fort Mill girls topped the team standings for the second year in a row with a total of 368.5 points. Their victory was largely fueled by depth, as their only wins came from the opening and closing relays.
Top 5 Teams:
- Fort Mill – 368.5
- Chapin – 282
- JL Mann – 268
- Nation Ford/Wando – 237
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Kicking things off for Fort Mill was the team of Ava Corbi, Lila Hadley, Josie Chandler, and Olivia Corbi, who posted a time of 1:48.08 to decisively win the the 200 medley relay. The team’s second win came at the end of the meet, as Chandler swapped out with senior Mia Pogorzelski to post a combined time of 3:34.17, winning the event by a second.
Fort Mill’s top individual performer was Olivia Corbi. The senior was the runner-up finisher in both the 200 and 500 freestyle, where she hit personal best times of 1:51.68 and 5:00.89, respectively.
Winning the middle distance freestyle events was JL Mann junior and Auburn commit Lilly Gault Abdella. She clocked times of 1:50.21 and 4:56.39, both well off her personal bests (1:48.94/4:47.93) from the NCSA Championships last spring
Dutch Fork senior Emily McMahan was another double event winner. McMahan dominated the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.64, then took 1st in the 100 free with a 52.15. Both swims marked personal bests, while her 200 IM time was over ten seconds faster than she was at this meet a year ago.
Rounding out the multi-event winners was River Bluff’s Maecy Wells. Wells secured victories in the 100 fly (55.99) and 100 back (56.50), with her performance in the 100 fly marking her 2nd straight title in the event.
Other Event Winners:
- 50 freestyle – Courtney Tedesco (Ashley Ridge), 23.74
- 200 freestyle relay – Dutch Fork, 1:39.21
- 100 breast – Caroline Byers (Spartanburg), 1:04.41
Boys’ Recap
The Fort Mill boys decisively took over the state title from Wando with a total of 349.5 points overall. As with their girls’ team, the boys won the meet primarily because of their depth and tallied only one event win.
Top 5 Teams:
- Fort Mill – 349.50
- Wando – 298
- JL Mann – 265.50
- Spring Valley – 199
- Ashley Ridge – 196.50
Fort Mill’s lone event win came at the very end of the meet, as the 400 freestyle relay team of Jack Dollyhigh, Owen Fey, Dominic Impens, and Turner Wiand turned in a time of 3:11.73 to clear the field by nearly three seconds.
Dollyhigh was the team’s top individual performer with a runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle. He stopped the clock at 21.69, just a few tenths shy of Ashley Ridge’s Jack Jonas who took 1st (21.46).
Wando senior Charlie Green swept the middle-distance freestyle races. The Kenyon commit got his hand on the wall 1st in the 200 freestyle at 1:40.75, while in the 500 he successfully defended his title with a time of 4:35.19, putting him over ten seconds ahead of the field.
Dorman senior Brett Bailey was the other swimmer to capture two individual victories, winning the same two events he did in 2022. He narrowly missed the state record of 49.41 in the 100 fly (49.50), then recorded a 57.27 in the 100 breast to out-touch Spring Valley’s JoJo Frye in 2nd (47.38).
Other Event Winners:
- 200 medley relay – Dorman, 1:35.85
- 200 IM – Luke Green (Wando), 1:52.99
- 100 free – Noah Blashka (Lexington), 46.73
- 100 back – Patrick Quirk (Spring Valley), 51.10
Give them prelims finals