COLUMBIA – The Fort Mill girls swim team, which once struggled to win a state title with nine runner-up finishes, completed a rare three-peat at the USC Natatorium for their third consecutive state championship.
Fort Mill scored 483 points and Eastside finished second with 409 points. Nation Ford was fifth with 290.5 points and Catawba Ridge was eighth with 151.5 points.
“I’m impressed and proud of them,” said Fort Mill head coach Cindy Van Buskirk, who won her fourth state championship with the swim program as head coach. “We knew it was going to be tough. We knew if we won it would be by double digits and not triple digits. I’m proud of them.”
Ironically, the Jackets didn’t have any individual winners, but brought 20 swimmers to the competition.
“It is just the depth that we had,” Van Buskirk said. “I knew if the girls brought it, we could do it.”
Van Buskirk, who won state boy’s swim coach of the year earlier in the week, also won state girl’s swim coach of the year during the Saturday meet.
The state title was the 36th state team championship for Fort Mill High School and puts Van Buskirk one behind retired boys’ tennis coach Willie Ware for most state championships at the school as Ware has five. The state title was the eighth (five boys, three girls) in the swim program for Fort Mill. Girls’ swimming is only the second program in Fort Mill High history to win three state titles in a row behind the boys’ tennis program which won five state titles from 1995-1999.
Coming into the meet, the Jackets’ biggest challengers were Eastside, who won the Division II boys state title on Thursday, and Lucy Beckham.
While Fort Mill didn’t have any event winners, they had high finishes like Lila Hadley, who was third in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:08, and Bella Corbi, who was fourth in 2:09 in the same event. Bella Corbi had four top five finishes in the state meet.
Ava Corbi was third in the 50-yard freestyle in 24.30 for the Jackets.
After four events, Fort Mill trailed Eastside by 11 points, but it was a deficit that would be easily overcame.
After a short break, Nation Ford’s Bella Kolatis finished second in the 100-yard butterfly in leading the Lady Falcons. Avery Martin also finished second in the 500-yard freestyle for Nation Ford in 5:07. Kolatis had four top five finishes during the meet.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Fort Mill was strong placing three in the top 10 led by a fifth-place finish by Ava Corbi in 53.58. She had four top five finishes in the meet.
Fort Mill finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay by 0.49 seconds to Lucy Beckham, but it was enough to help widen their lead over Eastside. Nation Ford was third in the event.
After eight events, Fort Mill led Eastside by 22 points with three events left. The Jackets got a big boost from a second-place finish from Hadley in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04, just 0.39 out of first place. Hadley had four top five finishes Saturday.
That put Fort Mill ahead by 70 points with one event left clinching a third consecutive state title for girls swimming.
Catawba Ridge’s Amelia Meehan led the Copperheads finishing second in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.22, to go with three other top 10 finishes in the meet. It was the first time a Catawba Ridge swimmer had made the podium at the state meet.
Copperheads head coach Claire Stein said the adjustment for Catawba Ridge was a little hard in their first year in 5A.
“I think we did well,” she said. “The girls gave it all their all. It is a huge jump. I am proud of how they hung in there.”
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
