COLUMBIA – The Eastside Eagles edged Fort Mill by just 28.5 points in the 5A Division II girls state swim championship at the USC Natatorium.
Eastside finished with 524 points, with Fort Mill finishing with 495.5 points. Nation Ford was third with 289 points and Catawba Ridge was fifth with 262 points.
“They swam beautifully,” said Fort Mill head coach Cindy Van Buskirk. “We only graduate one swimmer, so our future looks bright. We swam our hearts out. We are young this year. I knew it was going to be a dog fight.”
Fort Mill was going for their fourth consecutive state title for the girls’ team. Fort Mill started off strong winning the 200-yard medley relay. The relay team was made up of Haruka Ono, Bella Corbi, Lila Hadley, and Cadyn Henson and won with a time of 1:48.27.
From there, the Jackets started putting together top five finishes. In the 200-yard individual medley, Lila Hadley finished second in 2:07.80 and Bella Corbi finished third in 2:09.71.
Hadley won the 100-yard breaststroke towards the end of the meet in 1:04.17 aiding Fort Mill in their efforts.
“My mindset was to trust all the training I did,” Hadley said. “I did all the training I needed to do.”
Hadley participated in multiple events, with the breaststroke being towards the end, didn’t falter.
“I feel like I am used to doing a lot,” she said.
Catawba Ridge freshman Amelia Meehan won the school’s first individual swimming state championship winning the 100-yard backstroke in 56.81.
“I was praying to God,” Meehan said. “I wasn’t feeling too good. I was hungry and my head was pounding. I just tried to push through. I was a little scared. I haven’t ever won anything before. I was kind of nervous.”
Meehan also finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.91 for the Copperheads.
Avery Martin for Nation Ford finished second in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:09.88 and Brittany Fink finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 57.83 for their two highest finishers.
The 5A Division II boys meet will be held back in Columbia at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
