Porter-Gaud Repeats as Girls and Boys SCISA Division I State Champions

2023 SCISA High School State Championships – Division 1

• October 14, 2023 
• North Charleston, South Carolina 
• North Charleston Aquatic Center 
• SCY (25 yards)
• Full results available via Meet Mobile 
• 2022 Girls Champion: Porter-Gaud
• 2022 Boys Champion: Porter-Gaud

The 2023 South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) held their annual State Championships on October 14th at the North Charleston Aquatic Center. Porter-Gaud claimed their ninth straight State Championship for both the girls and boys. Porter-Gaud was reclassified from Division II to Division I in the spring of 2022, but continued their winning streak in their new division the past two years. 

The SCISA meet is independent of the SCHSL (South Carolina High School League) state meet, as private institutions compete separately. 

Girls’ Recap

The Porter-Gaud girls opened up the meet with a decisive win in the 200 medley relay. Anne Hyde (29.77), Cecilia Ford (31.30), Blakeney Kelley (26.59), and Harriet Kelley (26.57) combined for a 1:54.23 in the 200 Medley Relay, clearing the field by just over 3 seconds. They defended their title from a year ago, with Ford and Kelley returning from last year’s quartet. 

Ford, 16, has been an important staple for Porter-Gaud on this medley relay throughout the past four years. Ford anchored the relay in 2020 with a 24.96 freestyle split, and switched to breaststroke for the past three years with consistent splits of 31.43, 31.54, and 31.30. She won the 100 freestyle later in the meet with a 54.84, a season best. 

Blakeney Kelley would go on to win the 200 freestyle shortly after the medley relay, stopping the clock at 1:56.17. Kelley would go on to place 2nd in the 100 butterfly later in the meet (59.72). Both times represented season bests for the 16-year old. 

Stella Schuch was a two-time winner on the day for Hammond School. She took the 200 IM (2:14.05) and 100 Breaststroke (1:06.58), narrowly missing her best times in both events. Schuch defended her 100 breaststroke title from a year ago, and improved nearly 3 seconds from the winning effort she produced last year. 

Georgia Crisp of Ben Lippen School had a very successful day, claiming a massive personal best to win the 100 butterfly (59.60) and a season best to take the 100 backstroke (1:00.56). Crisp, only a sophomore, made massive strides from last year where she placed 4th in the 100 freestyle (56.62) and 2nd in the 100 backstroke (1:04.48). 

Boys’ Recap

The Porter-Gaud boys’ clocked a time of 1:40.75 to take the medley relay by just under 8 seconds. The quartet of Derek Pierce (27.50), Jackson Naylor (28.67), Matthew Fortson (22.60), and Andrew Winterfield (21.98) combined for a strong opening effort for Porter-Gaud. 

Naylor was a two-time winner on the day for Porter-Gaud, as he won the 200 IM in 2:09.14 and the 100 Breaststroke in 1:04.85. Both of those outings represented personal best times for Naylor. 

Winterfield and Fortson were also double event winners for Porter-Gaud. Winterfield took the 50 freestyle in a personal best of 21.80, then later won the 100 freestyle in a season best effort of 48.17. 

Fortson claimed victories in both the 200 freestyle (1:42.38) and 100 butterfly (50.21). Those were both personal best times for Fortson, a common theme among the Porter-Gaud squad at this meet. 

Other Highlights & Winners

• Meredith Pace produced a 27.37 winning time in the 50 freestyle for Trinity Collegiate School. 
• Reese Paison touched in 5:12.67 to take the 500 freestyle win for Trinity Collegiate School. That represents a personal best for her, in addition to her 1:58.08 200 freestyle personal best earlier in the day. 
• The Porter-Gaud girls’ completed their relay sweep with wins in the 200 (1:42.60) and 400 (4:00.52) freestyle relays. Cecilia Ford (25.13), Anne Hyde (26.15), Mallory Kowalski (26.30), and Blakeney Kelley (25.02) combined for the win in the 200 free relay, while Harriet Kelley (1:00.19), Sloan Pittard (1:03.45), Sullivan Dutton (1:00.29), and Mallory Kowalski (56.59) teamed up for the 400 relay win. 
• Heath Schuch of Hammond School took the 500 freestyle in a personal best time of 5:13.30. 
• Alex Magargle of Hammond touched 1st in the 100 backstroke with a personal best of 58.91. 
• The Porter-Gaud boys’ would claim their second relay victory in the 200 freestyle relay. Jack Bergen (23.09), Jackson Naylor (23.25), Andrew Winterfield (22.70), and Matthew Fortson (21.31) combined for a 1:30.35, while Pinewood Prep (1:36.64) and Ben Lippen School (1:40.68) placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 
• Hammond School put up a time of 3:35.99 to win the 400 freestyle relay over Ben Lippen School (3:44.70) and Cardinal Newman (3:45.03). Hammond’s winning quartet consisted of Heath Schuch (53.98), Ewan Bristol (58.24), Alex Magargle (52.47), and Kirby Johns (51.30). 

Division I Girls’ Scores

1. Porter-Gaud – 256 points 
2. Cardinal Newman – 121 points 
3. Hammond School – 120 points 
4. Ashley Hall School – 99 points 
5. Ben Lippen School – 91 points 

Division I Boys’ Scores

1. Porter-Gaud – 226 points
2. Hammond School – 136 points
3. Wilson Hall – 122 points 
4. Pinewood Prep – 121 points 
5. Ben Lippen School – 104 points