Oklahoma high school swimming: Carl Albert boys, Shawnee girls win Class 5A West Regional
EDMOND — Carl Albert first-year head coach Josh Norman had a good feeling about his team’s chances at the Class 5A West Regional.
The Titans have had some challenges this season but overcame them and thrived, and Norman was expecting to win the regional by about 60 points.
They finished even better than that Saturday at Edmond Public Schools Aquatic Center.
Powered by a quality team effort, Carl Albert claimed the championship as it finished with 412½ points and 90 ahead of Altus.
Kaleb Vaughn was the Titans’ top swimmer and left with titles in the 100-yard butterfly (53.48 seconds) and 100 backstroke (57.82).
Along with that, Vaughn, Dylan Garcia, Brian Lam and Jackson Bales won the 200 medley relay (1:44.13). Vaughn, Lam, Bales and Eli Steele won the 200 freestyle relay (1:34.49).
“Our kids went and found extra points,” Norman said. “They went and leap frogged some positions and caused some two-point and four-point swings. We made some relay adjustments that allowed us to take two relays.”
Carl Albert has had its share of obstacles and didn’t have a place to swim for 10 weeks this season.
The Titans were practicing at Rose State College before its pool closed in September.
“After that, we moved to strictly weight training only, and we did all kinds of weight training,” Norman said. “And I consulted some of my college coaches and kind of put together a plan for that, and we lifted for eight full weeks before we had water again.”
The Titans are now practicing at the Midwest City YMCA. Their resilience has paid off, and they’ll attempt to claim the school’s first boys swimming state title later this month.
With regionals in the books, here’s a look at some other takeaways from Friday and Saturday.
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Shawnee girls top field in Class 5A West Regional
The Shawnee girls won their second straight regional title Saturday in Edmond as they finished ahead of Carl Albert, 361-279.
Missouri signee Piper McNeil, one of the top swimmers in state history, won titles in the 100 freestyle (52.04) and 100 backstroke (56.26), while fellow senior Natalie Selman won the 100 breaststroke (1:12.85) and 200 freestyle (2:06.07).
Shawnee also had two relay victories as McNeil, Selman, Gracyn Simpson and Ashley McDonald finished the 200 medley relay in 1:52.85 and the 400 freestyle relay in 3:47.50.
“We knew if they would swim like they’ve been swimming, we knew they’d succeed,” Shawnee coach Valarie Colburn said.
McNeil holds the state record in the 100 backstroke (55.41) and the Class 5A state record in the 200 freestyle (1:51.13).
She’ll try to set new marks at the state meet.
“She’s on track time wise for everything she wants to hit,” said Shawnee assistant coach and Piper’s dad, Bob.
Piper was proud of the whole team's performance Saturday.
"I think our relays and everything and everyone's individual events went super-duper good," she said. "And I just think it's a really good indicator going into state of where we're at and just our team as a whole."
McNeil's goals for the state meet, which will be held on Feb. 17-18 in Edmond for Class 5A, are pretty straightforward.
"Probably just kind of doing what we did last year," she said. "I think we definitely surprised a lot of people last year. ... I think everyone is so much stronger than where we were last year, so I think that's really good.
"But personally, I kind of want to do what I did last year. I feel like it's pretty hard to top two state records in one meet, but I think I can do it this year. It's definitely doable."
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Edmond North dominates Class 6A West Regional
The Edmond North swimming program continued its dominance Friday as the boys and girls claimed Class 6A West Regional titles in Edmond.
The boys and girls both placed ahead of Edmond Memorial for the championship.
Edmond North senior and Michigan signee Ryan Healy had a stellar day, winning the 200 individual medley (1:59.80) and 500 freestyle (4:47.82).
He was also a part of two other victories as Healy, Collin Ho, Dylan Eden and Jackson Thomas won the 200 medley relay (1:40.84). Healy, Jack Starrett, Riley Conway and Garrett Levendofsky won the 400 freestyle relay (3:20.01).
On the girls side, Edmond North sophomore Laney Jones had impressive performances as she claimed championships in the 50 freestyle (24.43) and 100 freestyle (54.98).
She was also on a pair of championship relay teams.
Jones, Caroline Glover, Sarah Kingrey and Anna Young won the 200 freestyle relay (1:43.02), while Jones, Glover, Anna Young and Kelsey Healy placed first in the 400 freestyle relay (3:47.13).
The Edmond North girls are the defending champions in Class 6A, while the boys earned a runner-up finish last year.
Edmond North site coach Jared Prince expects a close battle with the four-time defending champion Jenks boys at the state meet in Edmond on Feb. 16-17.
“I’ve been coaching high school since 2009, and this will be one of the most highly contested state meets that we’ve been a part of,” Prince said. “It’s going to be super close.”
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Other standout performances
● Norman had a pair of freshmen claim two titles at the Class 6A West Regional. Kaida Bradley won the 200 freestyle (1:57.95) and 500 freestyle (5:16.03), while JD Thumann won the 100 butterfly (51.11) and 200 freestyle (1:43.82). Norman North senior Jadie Brister won the 100 butterfly (58.24) and 200 individual medley (2:11.31) at the same meet.
● The Jenks boys and girls won the Class 6A East Regional at their home pool. Bartlesville was the runner-up and Stillwater placed third in both divisions.
● Stillwater junior Avery Littlefield won the 50 freestyle (23.68) and 100 freestyle (51.66) at the Class 6A East Regional.
● Shawnee’s Thurman Lee won titles in the 50 freestyle (22.75) and 100 freestyle (50.10) at the Class 5A West Regional. He also helped Shawnee win the 400 freestyle relay (3:28.84).
● McGuinness had a few girls claim championships at the Class 5A West Regional. Texas A&M commit Macy Lewis won the 100 butterfly (57.13) and 500 freestyle (5:11.81), Allie Lewis won the 50 freestyle (25.21) and Victoria Whitbeck won the 200 individual medley (2:13.89).
● Newcastle freshman Connor Leader captured Class 5A West Regional crowns in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.86) and 200 individual medley (2:02.22).
● The Tulsa Kelley boys and girls won the Class 5A East Regional. Fort Gibson was the runner-up in both divisions.
Reporter Nick Sardis covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nick_sardis. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe or by using the link at the top of this page.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma HS swimming: Carl Albert boys, Shawnee girls win at regionals
