MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — George Washington girls swim coach Kaycee Wheeler didn’t want her team hiding from the expectations that come with trying to repeat as state champion.
Wheeler, rather, wanted the Patriots to embrace it along their way to pursuing a sixth championship since 2013.
That’s just what GW did, and led by a memorable performance from sophomore Madilyn McGlothen, the Patriots’ girls team followed in the footsteps of what the boys accomplished earlier Tuesday and claimed the title with 201.5 points at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.
“It’s hard to describe. Every time it happens, it’s amazing and exciting,” Wheeler said. “The girls really showed up today. We expected big things out of them, but you’re always nervous and you never know what’s going to happen.”
Morgantown was runner-up with 156.5 points, while Wheeling Park took third with 127.
Standout swimmers showed displayed a superior level of talent in the pool, helping to set new state records in seven of 11 events. McGlothen had a hand in three of them among the four events the Patriots won.
McGlothen’s first state record came in the 200-yard IM as she cruised to a win by nearly 10 seconds finishing in 2:03.26. She also set a new state mark in the 500 freestyle at 4:56.83. Both times are good enough to earn All-American consideration.
“One of my goals was to make All-American consideration time, which I did and I also broke my 500 record from last year,” McGlothen said. “Then I got the 200 IM record, so that was really exciting. I was happy to help my team and meet my goals at the same time.”
In the final event of the meet, McGlothen teamed with Amelia Walko, Olivia Ridenour and Ashlee Wilcher for first place in the 400 freestyle relay, setting a new state record at 3:37.14.
“We’re hard workers, so we just rely on the fact that we know what we’re doing,” McGlothen said. “It’s a group effort.”
George Washington’s fourth first-place finish came in the opening event. Although it wasn’t a state record, McGlothen, Wilcher, MacKenzie Layne and Emma Martin got the Patriots off to their desired start by winning the 200 medley relay in 1:50.46.
“Great performances and two All-Americans out of Madi McGlothen, which is amazing,” Wheeler said. “A couple wins on relays, so we’re very pleased. To do it with both my boys and girls is indescribable.”
Buckhannon-Upshur sophomore Cadence Vincent set two new state marks while winning both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle. Vincent’s time of 23.11 won the 50, while she finished the 100 in 50.39 to edge Wheeling Park’s Abby Turner (50.93).
Turner managed a first-place finish and a new state record in the 200 freestyle at 1:49.41.
The other state record was set by Morgantown’s 200 freestyle relay team of Katelyn Blosser, Lillian Linscheid, Delaney Householder and Caroline Riggs, who finished in 1:39.84 to narrowly edge a Buckhannon team that featured Vincent and registered a finish of 1:40.30 — which also bested the previous state record.
Riggs had an individual first-place finish to provide Morgantown with a win in the 100 butterfly, as her time of 56.08 earned the Mohigans 16 points.
Wheeling Park had a second victory as well, which was provided by Jenna Bopp’s 1:06.35 finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Parkersburg South freshman Jordan Claypoole won the 100 backstroke at 59.27,
With 123 points, Buckhannon-Upshur took fourth, while Bridgeport was fifth with 120.