AAA Boys and Girls 4A-1A Swimming & Diving Championships
- March 1, 2021
- Texas Aquatic Center, Texarkana, AR
- Short Course Yards (25y)
- Results
Girls 4A-1A
- Magnolia — 415
- Clarksville — 395
- Pulaski Academy — 303
- Valley View — 130
- Central Arkansas Christian — 117
The Arkansas 4A-1A Swimming & Diving Championship took place on Monday March 1. The 4A-1A meet which is for the smallest schools in Arkansas shared a theme with both the 5A and 6A meets. First, the same school won both the girls and boys state titles; at the 4A-1A meet the Magnolia girls won their second title in a row while the boys won their first title since 2019. Similar to the 5A meet, the Magnolia girls used superior depth to win the team title by 20 points, despite winning only one event.
Magnolia’s lone win would come in the meet’s first event, the 200 medley relay. Talynn Watson, (31.73), Olivia Ferguson, (33.50), Cecily Sanchez, (27.99), and Elizabeth Wilson (26.97) teamed-up to finish ahead of the field in 2:00.19.
Magnolia’s biggest competition came from Clarksville, who won four events at the meet, including two relays.
Chloe Weathers took home Clarksville’s first win as she captured the 200 IM. Weathers, who was the runner-up the past two years, used a strong first half of the race to win in 2:23.05.
Clarksville won both freestyle relays as the team of Hannah Melton (27.09), Ashley Laster (28.49), Macy Weathers (25.96), and Erin Laster (25.97) led the field with a time of 1:47.51 in the 200 free relay. Emma Dunsworth (1:04.24) teamed with Laster (1:01.51), Macy Weathers (59.31), and Chloe Weathers (59.05) to win the 400 free relay in 4:04.11.
Clarksville’s final event win would come in 1-meter diving as Raquel Webb scored 328.53 points to repeat as champion.
Central Arkansas Christian had three swimmers bring home five state titles. Kristina Games was a double-event winner, taking home the 50 free in 23.88 and winning the 100 breaststroke for the second year in a row in 1:07.75.
Tori Johnston was Central Arkansas Christian’s second double-event winner at the meet. Johnston’s first win was the 100 free as she won in 54.46. Her second victory came shortly after as she won the 500 free in 5:15.14. There were Johnston’s first career state titles as she finished second last year in the 500 free.
Claire Hyatt of Central Arkansas Christian would win the 100 backstroke for the third year in a row, finishing in 1:00.70.
Alyssa Bloser of Estem won two events, raising her career total to three individual state titles. At the 2020 meet, Bloser won the 100 freestyle and was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle. This year Bloser changed her event focus and this decision paid off. In her first swim, she distanced herself from the field, winning the 200 freestyle by over 13 seconds in 1:55.69. Her second event win came in the 100 butterfly where she was the only swimmer to break 1:00, finishing in 59.70
Magnolia showed their depth versus Clarksville, outscoring them by 46 points in the 200 free, 26 in the 50 free, 19 in diving, and 27 in the 500 free.
Boys 4A-1A
- Magnolia — 385
- Pulaski Academy — 173
- Arkadelphia — 164
- Clarksville — 162
- Subiaco Academy — 152
The boys meet was more dominant as Magnolia won four events, including all three relays, to win their second title in three years by over 200 points.
The Magnolia 200 medley relay of Logan Riley (29.39), Harrison McWilliams (28.53), Isaiah Williams (27.06), and Riley McCook (23.15) started off by winning in 1:48.13, more than 16 seconds ahead of the next fastest team. Their team of Hunter Manuel (25.17), Carson Waters 25.61), Riley (25.96), and Drew Mickey (25.24) won the 200 free relay in 1:41.98. Williams (54.85), Mickey (55.65), McCook (51.77), and McWilliams (52.41) would team up to win the 400 free relay by nearly 30 seconds in 3:34.68.
Magnolia would also win the 1-meter diving as Tanner Edwards finished in first with a score of 315.72 points.
Reese Graham of Valley View, who won both the 200 free and 100 butterfly in 2019 and 2020 would three-peat in each event. Graham took home the 200 free in 1:44.89, nearly 10 seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer and faster than his 1:45.50 from 2020. Graham would set a new 4A-1A state record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 51.67, under a second faster than his swim of 52.86 from 2020.
William Little would be Valley View’s second double-event winner of the meet as he took home state titles in the 500 free and 100 breaststroke. Little had a dominant win in the 500 free as he won by over 40 seconds with a time of 4:47.93. Little would repeat as champion in the 100 breaststroke in 1:00.39. Adding in last year’s title in the 200 IM, this raises Little’s career state titles to four.
Aiden Moore of Brookland would win his first state titles as he swept the sprint freestyle events. Moore touched-first in the 50 free in 23.15 and won the 100 free in 50.13.
Ethan Spillers of Subiaco Academy won his first state title as he took home the 200 IM in 2:05.69.