2015 SCS State Championships

MB Riptides’ Heat up at 2015 SC Swimming State Championships
The forecast in Greenville, SC for the 2015 SC Swimming State Championships was cold and dreary.  But the Myrtle Beach Riptides swim team had a different idea… fast swimming to heat things up. 

The 2015 SC Swimming Championships was the largest meet in it’s history with more than 800 swimmers from the Palmetto State aged 18/Under in attendance.  Riptides’ sent it’s largest squad of 17 swimmers.  Riptides’ concluded the 2015 State Championships with 60 personal best times, 12 new team records, 9 new Senior Sectional Championships q-times, 7 new Age-group Sectional Championships q-times and 3 new National Club Swimming Association Junior National Championships q-times.

Chad Bateson swam to 12 personal best times and 6 new Senior Sectional Championship qualifying times.  Bateson achieved the Senior Sectional standards in the 200-, 500- and 1000-yard freestyle events; 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events; and the 400-Individal Medley (IM).  Bateson finished the meet with a new team record in the 1650-free with a time of 16:40.93.

Andi Churchill achieved her personal best in the 1650-free with a time of 18:48.63.

Alyssa Cozart achieved a personal best time in the 200-breaststroke.  This was Cozart’s first State Championship in the 13-14 year old class.

Hannah McDonough achieved a personal best time in the 50-butterfly at 38.64.

Peyton McWhorter achieved 9 personal best times and 3 new Age-group Sectional Championships q-times.  McWhorter bests were in the 50-, 100- and 200-butterfly events; 50-, 100- and 200-backstroke events; 200- and 400-IM events; and 500-freestyle.  McWhorter’s times in the 50-fly and 100- and 200-backstrokes were all new Age-group Sectional q-times.

Jenn Paul swam to three best times, 200- and 400-IM events and 200-butterfly.  Paul’s time in the 200-IM was a new Age-group Sectional q-time.

Chase Teasley, competing in his final short-course State Championship, swam to 4 personal best times in the 100- and 200-butterfly and breaststroke events.  Teasley had time-trialed the 200-butterfly, which was also a new State Championship q-time.

Several Riptides were competing in their first-ever SC Swimming State Championships including Rafael Adi, Anaya Brown, Joe Guthinger, Dan Henington, Ian Morgan, Ireland Rose and Chloe Stampfle.

Rafael Adi swam to personal bests in the 50- and 100-butterfly events and the 50-breaststroke.

Anaya Brown earned a personal best in the 50-free and was part of two Riptides’ 10/Under relays.

Joe Guthinger earned personal bests in the 50- and 100-backstroke events.

Dan Henington swam to personal best times in the 50- and 100-backstroke events and the 50-butterfly.  Henington achieve a team record and his first-ever Age-group Sectional q-time in the 50-backstroke.

Ian Morgan swam to 7 personal best times, 5 team records and 2 new Age-group Sectional q-times.  Morgan’s highlights included new Age-group Sectional q-times in the 100-IM and 200-butterfly and records in the 100- and 400-IM events; 100- and 200-butterfly events; and 200-backstroke.  Morgan dropped the most time, over 55 seconds, in the 1650-freestyle.

Ireland Rose swam the 50- and 100-breaststroke events and was also part of Riptides’ 10/Under relays.

Chloe Stampfle swam to a personal best in the 50-backstroke and was part of the Riptides’ 10/Under relays.

Danielle Flaherty, Jake Flaherty and Hannah McDonough rounded out the Riptides’ squad.  All three swimmers also competed in separate relays for Riptides.

But the break-out swimmer of the meet for Riptides was Eddie Bateson.  Bateson swam to team records in the 50- and 1000-freestyle events; 100- and 200-breaststroke events; and 400-IM.  Bateson earned new Senior Sectional q-times in the 50-free (22.20), 500-free (4:48.05) and 200-IM (1:59.41).  But the true highlight for Bateson was achieving his first-ever National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) Junior National Championships q-times in the 100- (59.47) and 200-breaststroke (2:09.50) events and the 400-IM (4:07.64).

With those times in the breaststroke events and 400-IM, Bateson becomes the fastest swimmer in Grand Strand swimming history.

Bateson joins a very elite group of swimmers to achieve the first level of high-end national championship swimming.  Less than 2% of swimmers in the USA aged 18/Under achieve NCSA standards.  Riptides has now qualified 7 individual swimmers an astounding 15 times in nearly 100 events to the NCSA Junior National Championships… the most in Grand Strand swimming.