GHSA 1-3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
- McAuley Aquatic Center
- Feb. 6-7, 2024
- SCY (25 yards)
- PDF results
- GHSA 4-5A recap
Girls Team Scores
- Wesleyan – 333.5
- Saint Vincents – 256
- Mount Vernon Presbyterian – 228
- Mount Pisgah Christian – 189
- Mary Persons High School – 187
Wesleyan junior Hattie Wasmuth defended her 200 IM crown to lead her squad to a second straight GHSA 1-3A title earlier this week at the McAuley Aquatic Center. 1-3A divisions are reserved for the smallest high schools in Georgia.
Wasmuth’s winning time of 2:06.45 was slightly slower than last year’s victory (2:06.33), which helped the Wesleyan girls capture their first-ever state championship. She switched up her event lineup this year with the 100 back instead of the 500 free, which she won a state title in last year (5:10.93).
In the 100 back, Wasmuth placed 2nd with a personal-best 57.14 behind defending champion Katie Ward of Pike. Ward blasted a personal-best 56.52 to shave exactly half a second off her previous-best 57.12 from last year’s state title as a freshman.
Wasmuth also contributed a personal-best 24.55 leadoff on Wesleyan’s triumphant 200 free relay (1:41.70) and a 52.34 anchor on the winning 400 free relay (3:44.44). Ward added a runner-up finish in the 100 fly (57.32) behind Tallulah Falls junior Madison Dampier (54.99). It was one of two individual victories for Dampier, who also placed 1st in the 200 free (1:52.54). Both were best times for Dampier.
Eastern Michigan commit Riess Estep dominated the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.02, winning by almost five seconds. The Whitefield Academy senior knocked more than a second off her previous-best 1:06.20 from last year’s state title. Estep added a runner-up finish in the 200 IM (2:11.05) behind Wasmuth.
Mary Persons High School junior Maela McKallip swept the 50 free (23.29) and 100 free (50.88), slightly off her best times of 23.00 and 50.67 from December. Mary Persons boasted another individual champion in junior Campbell Atkinson, who dropped almost four seconds in the 500 free to earn the victory in a personal-best 5:27.58.
On the boards, Wesleyan sophomore Abbey Suits took home the 1-meter diving title with 545.60 points after placing 2nd last year (584 points) as a freshman.
Boys Recap
Boys Team Scores
- Wesleyan – 308
- Whitefield Academy – 263
- Paideia – 200
- Mount Paran Christian – 200
- Galloway – 149
Wesleyan junior Max Perry put up an impressive sprint freestyle performance to power his team to a second consecutive state crown — the second sweep in a row of the boys and girls titles for Wesleyan, which now boasts six state championships in total between both programs..
After placing 2nd in the 50 free last year (21.40) behind current University of Chicago freshman Rylan Kruep (20.54), Perry won this year’s title in a personal-best 21.03. He also placed 2nd in the 100 free with a personal-best 46.83 behind Paideia senior Liam McCarthy (46.06). McCarthy showed off his versatility by capturing another individual title in the 100 breast (59.50).
Perry also anchored both of Wesleyan’s winning freestyle relays with a 20.67 split on the 200 free relay (1:28.13) and a 46.54 split on the 400 free relay (3:17.15).
Whitefield Academy senior Jackson Brooks was also a double winner in the distance freestyle events, finishing 1st in the 200 free (1:43.52) and 500 free (4:44.22). The latter time marked a new personal best, shaving a few tenths off his previous-best 4:44.53 from December.
Hebron Christian Academy sophomore Matthew Gasper had a huge drop in the 100 butterfly to claim the crown after placing 4th last year as a freshman. His winning time of 51.41 was more than a second and a half faster than his previous-best 53.04 from last year’s meet.
A pair of freshmen topped the podium in the 200 IM and 100 back. Saint Francis School freshman Asher Maurice dropped more than six seconds in the 200 IM (1:56.04) en route to the victory while adding a 3rd-place effort in the 100 breast (personal-best 1:00.75). In the 100 back, Davidson Fine Arts Academy freshman James Pattillo brought home the title in 51.63, more than a second and a half faster than his previous-best 53.31 from December. Pattillo also placed 4th in the 200 IM (2:00.47), marking a new lifetime best by more than two seconds.
On the boards, Social Circle junior Aidan Crutchfield took the 1-meter diving title with a score of 443.05 after placing 2nd in the event last year (412.75).