State swim meet gets underway

Elkins and Buckhannon-Upshur qualifiers take to the pool today for preliminaries

MORGANTOWN -- The high school state swim meet gets underway today at the Mylan Park Aquatic Center.

The girls take to the pool this morning in the preliminaries, while the boys are scheduled for action in the afternoon.

The finals are set for Friday.

Elkins and Buckhannon-Upshur will both be represented.

The Lady Tigers' Hannah Phillips and Isabella Judy earned berths in individual competition.

Phillips was runner-up in both the 200 freestyle (2:13.63) and 500 freestyle (6:03.02) at the Region III championships, while Judy was third in the 100 butterfly (1:06.03).

For the EHS boys, Luke Anger was the regional runner-up in the 100 butterfly (1:00.64) and Elijah Jones was second in the 500 freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly (1:07.41).

B-U, meanwhile, had a pair of freshman shine during the regional meet.

Cadence Vincent broke two regional records and is one of the favorites to win gold in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100 freestyle.

She turned in a time of 24.58 in the 50 freestyle at regionals, while crossing the line in 52.88 in the 100 freestyle.

Sophomore Cameron Zuliani is also coming off a first-place showing at regionals in the 100 butterfly (1:01.72). She's entered in the 50 freestyle as well after placing third at regionals with an effort of 25.79.

Vincent and Zuliani will compete on two state-bound relay teams.

They will join McKenzie Reynolds and Alayna Whitehair in the 200 freestyle after winning regionals in a time of 1:44.63. The foursome is one of the favorites to win the state title and enter with the top qualifying time.

Vincent, Jenny Williams, Whitehair and Zuliani also bring a regional title to Morgantown in the 400 freestyle relay (3:55.36).

Whitehair is qualified in both the 100 breaststroke (1:06.59) and the 200 IM (2:23.67) and Williams in the 200 IM (2:35.24).

Another freshman, Preston Bennett, leads the B-U boys into states.

Bennett had a record-breaking effort in the 500-yard freestyle, setting a regional mark of 5:07.22, which is the second fastest qualifying time. He will also compete in the 200 freestyle after winning the regional with an effort of 1:53.19.

Junior Sam Squires, meanwhile, will participate in the 100 freestyle (51.76) and 100 breaststroke (1:07.55).

Bennett and Squires will team with Dane Ammons and Reis Leonard in taking part in the 200 medley relay. They were runner-ups in regionals with a time of 1:55.74.

The Parkersburg girls and Bridgeport boys are the defending state champions.