The Parkersburg 400 freestyle relay placed runner-up to give the Big Reds a second-place finish in the Division I girls team standings during Friday’s final session of the West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. Members of the Big Reds relay included Lily Jones (far left) and on the right, front to back, Lily Farinash, Adelaide Vann and Delaney Snodgrass. (Photo provided)

PARKERSBURG – So close, but so fantastic.

The Parkersburg High School girls swim team made a slam dunk on Day 2 of the West Virginia High School State Swim Meet, Friday in Morgantown, and climbed its way into runner-up team hardware.

George Washington won the team championship with 58 points followed by PHS with 57. As the finals played out, PHS was projected to tie Morgantown. But in the final event of the night — the 400 freestyle style — third-seeded PHS bumped up one slot to second place and left the Mohigans in third place at 55 points.

“We knew we had a chance for a state champion or state runner-up, but we didn’t know how close,” PHS coach Emily Martin said. “The girls had no idea. We didn’t talk about it during lunch in the afternoon. There was one slight reference made, but we kept the focus on the team and having a blast — and using this week as a celebration of all our accomplishments.

“The psych sheets from regional times did not tell the full story. We were seeded fairly low and not scheduled to score any points in tonight’s two relays. It was a little easy for teams to overlook us as not much of a threat. We stacked the 200 and free relays which gave us the potential for winning them.”

Parkesburg sophomore Delaney Snodgrass competes in the prelims of the 500 freestyle for Division I during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. Snodgrass later won in the finals – giving her two individual golds for the meet. (Photo courtesy of the WVSSAC)

After the evening session on Day 1, the Big Reds settled into sixth place then made their move with entries in three finals on Friday.

Beginning with Delaney’s second straight championship in the 500 freestyle (4:59.48), the Big Reds’ 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay came from nowhere after being seeded out of medal contention entering the state meet.

“Delaney is now 4-for-4 at the state meet in her individual events,” Martin said. “She just demolished the 500 free. It was not just that she won, but it was such a gap.”

The two relays jumped into the conversation after dropping their regional times by double digits and eventually placing third in both races. In the finals of the 200 freestyle (1:46.03), the foursome of Snodgrass, Lily Jones, Lily Farinash and Adelaide Vann placed third.

The same four girls teamed up in the 400 freestyle (3:52.74) and their second place effort sent the Big Reds faithful into a frenzy

Doddridge County’s Addy Robey competes in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke for Division II during Friday’s West Virginia High School State Swim Meet in Morgantown. (Photo courtesy of the WVSSAC)

“After the race in the 400 free, I ran behind the blocks to tell the girls we got second,” Martin said. “They said they knew they were second in the race. I told them we got second in the state. All four started crying — there were hugs and tears everywhere.”

Each of the four girls had their own story to tell. Farinash’s effort resonated the strongest after swimming four events on the same day.

“Lily swam 750 yards in the morning prelims and another 150 yards in the finals — to do four events on the same day is unimaginable,” Martin said. “When I told Lily it would not guarantee a state champ but put us on the path to either state champ or runner-up she looked at me and told me she doesn’t want to walk away wondering what could have happened — rather, give everything she had and get the maximum number of points.

“She said, ‘If no hardware then we can walk away and be proud of our effort.'”

On the boys side, PHS stayed in celebration mode as sophomore Levi Morr successfully defended his title in the 500 freestyle by setting a state record time of 4:36.36. He entered the finals with a seed time 19 seconds faster between him and his nearest competitor.

Parkersburg sophomore Delaney Snodgrass, third from right, was selected to the Division I All-State Girls Team. (Photo provided)

“In the morning, Levi wasn’t feeling his best — he wasn’t in a groove,” Martin said. “He was putting a lot of pressure on himself. I talked him through it. I told him, ‘You are Levi and this is one of your favorite events.’

“This is what he does and a race he loves. I told him to be confident. He broke a state record that stood for almost 20 years. Breaking a record in an event that is difficult to do shows the grit he has and the ability to bounce back from a challenge.

“He destroyed that race.”

Morr joined Brayden Lotton, Elliot Lambert and Noah Brown in the finals of the 400 freestyle relay and finished fifth (3:29.49). In the prelims, this same foursome entered the meet the 10th fastest time then knocked nine seconds off its regional seed time

Morr did not disappoint in the finals and captured his second individual gold of the meet and joined his teammate, Snodgrass, as members of their respective All-State Teams.

Parkersburg sophomore Levi Morr, third from right, was selected to the Division I All-State Boys Team. (Photo provided)

The impressive journey for Parkersburg South junior Camryn McLain continued in the 100 breaststroke. McLain, who underwent surgery for a broken kneecap suffered during the fall soccer season, sliced three seconds off her regional seed time in the prelims and moved up three places for Friday night’s finals.

McLain led the field in the finals for the first 75 before taking third overall in a time of 1:11.17.

“I’m definitely happy and excited to swim because I thought I might not even swim at all this whole season,” McLain said. “I was so lucky and blessed that Jesus restored me. The season has been up and down obviously, but the knee feels great. My physical therapist helped me a whole lot and says I am almost fully recovered. I’m hoping to stay that way for the entire soccer season.”

Vivian Grimm also competed in the 100 breast and placed eighth (1:16.24). The lone senior on the girls side for the Patriots, Paige Johnson, moved one notch forward from her seed time and took seventh in the 100 backstroke (1:06.2).

The 200 freestyle of Grimm, McLain, Isabella Scarberry and Johnson finished fifth (1:47.70).

On the boys side, South’s 200 freestyle relay of Ben Marks, Shawn Thornhill, Brent Freels and Remington Blair opened many eyes within the program after closing out the season placing fifth (1:47.70).

In the prelims, the foursome clipped three seconds off their regional seed time and recorded the third fastest time in the field going into the finals.

“Honestly, they came out of nowhere,” South coach Ryan Radcliff said. “We didn’t expect that to happen. At the start of the season, Remington was the only one going under 25 seconds. Now all of them are going 22 and 23 — that’s an insane drop.”

Blair is the only other senior South is graduating from a swim program which placed eighth in the girls standings with 34 points and eighth in the boys field with 26 points.

“If there is any headline for us, it’s that this was a rebuild year and now we are back — we accomplished that,” Radcliffe said. “We have had a higher percentage of time drops than we’ve had in my seven years as coach. We hate losing Paige and Remington — next year will be very much a next-man up mentality. The passion and motivation is high. Our kids blew their times out of the water.”

In the newly structured Division II format, the two female representatives for Doddridge County at the state level — Isabella McGrady and Addy Robey — scored enough points (23) over the two-day event to give the Bulldogs sixth place in the team standings.

In the finals of the 100 breaststroke, Robey set a PR at 1:19.83 and made the podium with her fourth-place finish.

“When I hit the wall, I always look at the board immediately — I don’t know how I did it and didn’t know how to feel at the moment,” Robey said. “I definitely did a double-take to make sure I had the right time. I definitely gave it my all and swam fast, that’s for sure.

“This week definitely shows all the work I put in and earned it,” said Robey, who attended last year’s state meet as an alternate. “At the state meet, there is all these emotions. It’s overwhelming. There is so much energy in the room with the crowd screaming and your teammates on the side screaming. It’s a kind of energy which is hard to describe.

“Just as soon as I step on the block, I tune everything out. It’s just me and my race.”

A third member of the DCHS program, Colton Key, clipped a second off his regional seed time in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke and took third place in the finals (1:04.3).