Parkersburg’s Levi Morr reacts to his win in the 500 freestyle during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

MORGANTOWN – A pair of individual state champions helped parlay a set of Top 4 finishes in Class AAA for the Parkersburg girls and boys on the final day of the West Virginia High School State Swim Meet, Friday in Morgantown.

Competing with just six girls over the course of two days at Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park, the Big Reds received an individual win from freshman Delaney Snodgrass for the second straight day.

After Snodgrass turned in a first-place time of 5:10.30 in the 500 freestyle, teammate Levi Morr followed suit with a winning time of 4:38.95 in the same event.

Snodgrass, one of six girls selected to the All-Tournament Team, showed disappointment in the prelims after going five seconds slower. She pulled herself together in the evening session for the ‘A’ finals thanks to pre-game encouragement from her coaches.

“My coaches told me to go out and do the best you can – they told me I could do it,” said Snodgrass, who won the 200 free on Thursday. “At the beginning of the season I really thought I could do something like this.”

Parkersburg’s Levi Morr sports the hockey jerseys worn by the Big Reds swim team at the West Virginia High School State Swim Team in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Her closest competition came from Herbert Hoover’s Ashton Walker, who placed runner-up in a time of 5:19.57.

Morr, meanwhile, was beyond pumped after he hit the wall in the finals and missed by a mere two seconds of breaking the state record as a freshman. He set a lifetime best of 4:38.95 – more than 7 ½ seconds faster than runner-up Christian Hammer of George Washington.

“(Thursday), I was a little bummed out finishing third in the 200 individual medley, but that didn’t distract me and I was looking forward to the 500,” said Morr, who was also a member of an All-Tournament team from the boys side. “It’s my best event and my favorite event. I was not expecting a negative time.

“In the finals, I tried something new. I tried reaching my left arm out a little further and trying to pull more water, And it worked.”

Morr envisioned this moment since eighth grade when he was turning in close to state winning times. He was quick to mention his parents, Esther and Dana Morr, for their support.

Doddridge County’s Isabella McGrady (green cap) and Parkersburg’s South Camryn McLain (blue cap) compete in adjacent lanes during the prelims of the 100 breaststroke during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet at Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Last year, I realized my times would have gotten me second place at state. That’s when I realized, man, if I progress enough I could win it all.”

It was a banner weekend for a pair of first-year high school swimmers who created a ‘wow’ factor for PHS coach Emily Martin.

“Before we left for Friday’s finals, we got together and gave out our team awards for the kids – and Delaney’s award was for making the old school record look like a joke,” Martin said. ”

City rival Parkersburg South competed just as impressively while turning in a pair of Top 6 finishes from in the team standings. The girls, behind a fifth-place finish from Camryn McLain in the 100 breaststroke, finished in ninth place with 92 points.

Elkins won the newly-created Class AA/A division with 180 points, while Bridgeport and John Marshall tied shared the Class AAA championship with 115 points.

Parkersburg South’s Quade Harris, right, congratulates George Washington’s Kenneth McGlothen who won the 100 backstroke during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. Harris placed second in the event. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

On the boys side, Quade Harris completed his decorated career at Parkersburg South with a second place in the 100 backstroke, breaking his own school record with a time of 51.04. Kenneth McGlothen from George Washington won in a time of 50.64.

“I have two school records and I was going for three, but I didn’t quite there with (Thursday’s 100 butterfly)” Harris said. “In the first 50 of the backstroke I was trying to go all out and trying to get that quick lead. I knew I could get him in that first leg, and I did.

“But my legs just gave out on me on the last 25.”

Quade also competed on the 400 free relay which destroyed the oldest relay record still standing at South. The team of Harris, Jantzen Karcher, Connor Roberts and Remington Blair placed third overall after finishing in 3:20.75.

A total of six individuals from the area advanced to the ‘A’ finals and medaled. Joining Snodgrass and McLain on the girls side was Doddridge County sophomore Isabella McGrady placing third in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.53).

Parkersburg South’s 4x400 relay placed third during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. Pictured are Quade Harris (lower left), Jantzen Karcher (lower right), Connor Roberts (upper left) and Remington Blair (upper right) (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

She placed 11th in the same event a year ago.

McGrady entered the state meet ranked four in the 100 breaststroke and slipped to fourth following prelims then amped it up for the finals.

“I really worked on my technique and my endurance this season,” said McGrady, who placed second in the 100 butterfly on Thursday. “I’ve definitely enjoyed these two days at state. They’ve been stressful as much as exciting. This year definitely gives me a lot of motivation for next season.”

On the boys side, joining Harris and Morr was Parkersburg’s Andrew Shafer, who qualified for the state meet as the 15th fastest swimmer in the 100 breaststroke. One of seven seniors on the team, Shafer swam a spectacular prelim race and dropped four seconds off his time at regionals.

His leap-frog over a host of state qualifiers left him with the fourth fastest time heading into the finals. And that’s exactly where he capped off his high school career – with a fourth-place medal (1:03.26).

Parkersburg South’s Camryn McLain prepares for the start of the 100 breaststroke preliminary heat during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

I’ve been putting in a lot of really hard work all year – I didn’t have a very good regional and today I just felt rested and confident,” Shafer said. “I was trusting the process. I knew I could go faster. I knew I had a lot more in me because (coach Martin) had us racing tired.

“All that hard work paid off.”

Of the two relays scheduled for the final day, Parkersburg’s girls took seventh in the 200 free relay and sixth in the 400 free relay.

Despite being on the low-end in terms of available numbers on the girls side this season, the Big Reds managed to place second at the Mountain State Athletic Conference meet, finish third at regionals and complete the road with a fourth-place showing at state after scoring 104 points.

“Even though there were only seven of us girls total, having such a small number has allowed us to become so close,” said Lily Farinash, one of two juniors who competed on the 400 free relay. Her older sister, Katherine Farinash, is an assistant coach for the Big Reds.

“Katherine is one of the sweetest people. She always makes sure everyone is so comfortable, and I’m very blessed to have her with me on the team.”

Adelaide Vann, is the only other junior on a team which returns all six state qualifiers. The program could receive two additions from the middle school level in the offseason to provide extra depth.

“I’m very excited for what’s ahead next season – for what we can accomplish as a team and what I can accomplish personally,” Vann said. “This shows how hard our coaches push us and how much they prioritize our hard work, and how invested they are in us — making sure we can be the best we can be.”

The Big Red boys, meanwhile, took seventh in the 200 free relay and fifth in the 400 free relay. Martin did her best to fight back the tears when describing the contributions from her boys in the senior class.

“For the girls, we scored more points than we were projected,” Martin said. “It wasn’t quite enough to get any hardware, but we were there until the last event.”

Between the girls and boys field, South graduates 11 seniors. A majority of the losses occur on the boys side.

“The girls are young and I like their potential,” South coach Ryan Radcliff said. “As for the guys, they exceeded every expectation we had for them.

“On the boys side, Blair Remington and Noah Dulaney went above and beyond this week. Remington gets to come back next season – he has a lot of potential to have a great future.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Doddridge County’s Isabella McGrady prepares for the start of the 100 breaststroke preliminary heat during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Parkersburg’s Delaney Snodgrass stands atop the podium after winning the 500 freestyle during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Parkersburg South’s Quade Harris arrives on the pool deck for the start of the 100 backstroke during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Parkersburg swim coach Emily Martin, middle, encourages her swimmers in the pool with the help of assistant coach Katherine Farinash, left, and team member Delaney Snodgrass during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)