Recap the 2022 AHSAA Swimming & Diving Championships

UMS-Wright, Bob Jones, Boaz and Huntsville Claim AHSAA Girls’ and Boys’ Swimming Titles  

Auburn, AL – UMS-Wright and Bob Jones swimming teams captured girls’ state swimming championships Saturday, Boaz and Huntsville captured  boys’ state titles – and a number of relay records were set as the AHSAA 2022 State Swimming and Diving Championships concluded at James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the campus of Auburn University.

UMS-Wright, coached by Vicky Bedsole, accumulated 308 points to win the Class 1A-5A girls’ state championship over runner-up Whitesburg Christian, which had 196. Madison Academy (155) was  third, Gulf Shores (108) came in fourth, and Bayside Academy (100) round out the top five.

Bob Jones came out on top of Auburn by 105 points to claim the Class 6A-7A state crown. Coach Wade Thaxton’s Patriots racked up 321 points to the Tigers, 216. St. Paul’s Episcopal (203) finished third, Grissom (197.5) was fourth and defending state camp Huntsville (192) came in fifth.

In the boys’ competition, Boaz, coached by Dustin Thomas, won its second Class 1A-5A state championship with 304 points, and Gulf Shores was second with 269. UMS-Wright (168), LAMP of Montgomery (162) and Whitesburg Christian (157) captured the top five spots.

Coach Arthur Fortin’s Huntsville Crimson Panthers continued their domination in Class 6A-7A winning their seventh consecutive boys’ state championship. Hoover was second with 196 points, followed by Vestavia Hills (194), Auburn (185) and Bob Jones (180.50).

Seven boys’ records also fell at the 63rd AHSAA State Swimming Championships Saturday as 51 girls’ high school teams and 52 boys’ squads had swimmers competing in this year’s state championships.

In the Class 6A-7A boys’ division, Huntsville’s 200-yard medley relay team swam the distance in 1:31.35 seconds and the Panthers’ 200 and 400-yard free-style relay squads established new 6A-7A division records. The 200 relay team won with a 1:25.60 time, and the 400 relay team clocked 3:06.54.

Samantha Chan of Bob Jones sparks Patriots to Girls’ 6A-7A State Title with win in the 100 butterfly. (Marvin Gentry)

The 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay times also set new records for all divisions. The 200 medley relay team included sophomore Luke Bedsole, junior Cole Winthrow, junior Bradford Johnson, and senior Myles Kimball. Sophomore Juan Pace,  Bedsole, Johnson and senior Samuel Hardy made up the record-setting 400 relay squad for Fortin’s Panthers. The 200 freestyle relay team was comprised of Johnson, Pace, Withrow and Kimball.

Bedsole also posted individual wins in the 200-yard freestyle race (39.78) and the 100-yard backstroke (49.01).

The Gulf Shores boys’ relay team comprised of freshman Murray Reed, senior Patrick Conley, and juniors Liam Bickham and Canyon Moyers, set new Class 1A-5A state meet records in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay with winning times of 1:37.15 and 1:28.09, respectively.

LAMP of Montgomery swimmers Alex Jeong, Dongkyu Lee, Hyunjun Choi and Alex Park established a new record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a winning time of 3:22.30. Jeong, Choi, and Park are sophomores, and Lee is an eighth grader.

Indian Spring swimmer Mark Underwood also established an individual state record winning the 100-yard breaststroke with a 1A-5A record time of 55.49 seconds in the prelims and won the finals with a time of 55.67.

In the girls’ competition, Tallassee junior Macey Stewart set a new 1A-5A record winning the 100-yard backstroke in 55.31 seconds. She also won the 100-yard freestyle race with a 51.15 time in the finals. Her prelim time of 50.79 was also the fastest time of the 1A-5A prelims.

UMS-Wright’s Clark Doyle led the Lady Bulldogs to the 1A-5A title with wins in the 500-yard  freestyle (5:08.38) and 200 freestyle (1:55.51).

In Class 6A-7A, Bob Jones junior Samantha Chan won the 200-yard individual medley with a 2:05.87 time, and also captured  the 100-yard butterfly with a winning time of 54.81 seconds. Her sister Abby Chan finished second at 56.38.

Huntsville swimmer Cole Withrow helps the Crimson Panthers set a new record in the 200 Medley Relay. (Marvin Gentry)

BOYS’ DIVING

John Carroll Catholic junior Michael Helton won the Class 1A-5A boys’ 1-meter diving competition with a 328.05 score in the finals on Friday. He advanced from the semifinals with the top score in 1A-5A at 232.45.   Finishing second was Harrigan Weston, a junior at UMS-Wright, with a 323.55 total. Rounding out the top five were Isaac Whetstone of St. John Paul II Catholic (310.90), Matthew Johnston of Whitesburg Christian (275.25), and seventh grader Andrew Dukes of Boaz (171.70).

Huntsville’s Daniel Coffman won the 6A-7A diving title with a 407.15 score in the finals. Fairhope sophomore Cooper Brechman was second, scoring 360.90. Hoover junior Owen Fuller (355.50) was third, followed by Grissom’s Casey Sapp (308.40) and Bob Jones senior Parker Magonigal (306.05) to round out the top five. Coffman also posted the top semifinal score (284.05) and prelim score (179.40).

GIRLS’ DIVING

UMS-Wright sophomore Mae Elliott posted the top semifinal total (237.35) and finals score (332.35) to claim the Class 1A-5A girls’ state diving championship. Teammates Laura Beth Montgomery and Jillian Ngando finished 2-3 with total of 306.75 and 257.15, respectively, as the Bulldogs picked up 53 points toward the team championship. Finishing fourth was Caroline Cofield of Boaz (202.45).

In the Class 6A-7A division, eighth grader Taylor Ralph of Huntsville posted a 350.25 total in the finals to win the 1-meter diving competition. St. Paul’s Episcopal junior Reagan Costella was second scoring 308.75. Rounding out the Top 5 were Lucy Benoit of Hoover (296.75), Shayla Holloway of Davidson (293.55), and Peyton Lambert of Grissom (292.80).