Swimming

2024 Texas UIL State Championship Preview: Williamson Headlines 6A Boys

February 15, 2024

2024 UIL Swimming & Diving State Championships

The famed Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center will play host to the Texas UIL (University Interscholastic League) State Swimming & Diving Championships over the next two weeks, with the 4A meet slated for Feb. 15-16 and 5 and 6A Feb. 23-24.

4A PREVIEW

The Great Hearts Monte Vista girls and Andrews High School boys come into the 4A championships as the title holders, having stormed to victories last year in what was the first rendition of the 4A meet since Texas reorganized its classifications in 2013.

Girls

On the girls’ side, Great Hearts has a great chance to defend the title thanks to the emergence of sophomores Jaylee Hager and Averie Hager, who hold a combined four top seeds after standout performances at the Region 4 championships.

Averie was named Swimmer of the Meet after picking up wins in the 500 free (5:02.09) and 100 fly (56.89), the latter marking a new best time.

Jaylee topped the 200 free (1:51.37) and 100 back (57.73), setting a new PB in the latter as well.

The other name to watch is Frisco Panther Creek sophomore Avery Whorton, who is the top seed in the 200 IM and sits 2nd in the 100 fly after winning both events at Region 2. As a freshman, Whorton won the 200 and 500 free.

Boys

Andrews has lost a lot of their firepower from last year to graduation, most notably double event winner Brenden Ferguson, making things somewhat wide open.

Two names to watch for are Sawyer Stolarczyk and Hudson Bawduniak.

Stolarczyk, a sophomore from Great Hearts, swept the 100 free (46.49) and 200 free (1:40.76) at the Region 4 meet in personal best fashion, landing him the top seed in both races.

A junior out of Bosqueville High School, Bawduniak was also in action at Region 4, setting lifetime bests in the 100 breast (56.49) and 200 IM (1:56.25) en route to wins and top seeds at states.

Bawduniak set a 4A record of 58.24 in the 100 breast final last year, so he should have no problem obliterating that this week.

5A PREVIEW

Cedar Park won the girls’ 5A title last year after placing a distant 9th in 2022, while Georgetown claimed the boys’ title for the first time since 2019.

Girls

This year, Cedar Park is missing several key names, making the women’s title up for grabs.

One key name to watch for is KK LeBlanc, a Friendswood High School junior who swept the 100 free (49.64) and 200 free (1:47.53) at the Region 5 meet. LeBlanc won the 100 free last season and owns a PB of 49.33 from Winter Juniors in December, while her 200 free swim at Regions marked a new lifetime best.

Lamar Fulshear senior Kailey Kennedy, a Texas A&M commit, comes in as the top seed in the 50 free (23.21) and 100 fly (55.24) after two wins of her own at the Region 5 meet, with best times sitting at 22.85 and 55.00, respectively.

Texas commit Campbell Chase is another swimmer to watch, coming in as the defending champion in the 200 IM and the top returner in the 100 breast after placing 2nd last year. Boerne Champion freshman Kate Canales, however, is the top seed in the 100 breast after clocking 1:03.63 in Region 7, and she’s been even faster at 1:02.59 from November 2023.

Boys

Jeremy Kelly, who led Georgetown to the boys’ title last year, comes in as the biggest name to watch once again as he aims for a successful title defense in the 100 free as the top seed. Rather than go for the sprint double again, the Texas commit has opted to race the 100 breast instead of the 50 free, seeded 2nd in 57.51 behind Lubbock junior Gunnar Hansen (56.63).

Two other double winners from last year will be back, as seniors Jones Lambert (Lubbock) and Anthony Laurito (Friensdwood) are in the hunt for repeat wins. Lambert eyes another double in the 200 and 500 free, while Laurito aims to do so in the 100 back and 200 IM.

Last year, Kelly (100 free), Lambert (200/500 free) and Laurito (200 IM) all set 5A records.

6A Preview

The Woodlands girls and Keller boys come in as the defending 6A state champions, with Woodlands having reclaimed the title from Southlake Carroll and Keller having won the crown for the first time in 2023.

Girls

The lone returning swimmer with two individual titles to defend for the girls is Mansfield senior Elise Clift, who won the 200 and 500 free last season. The Florida commit swept the 200 free (1:48.75) and 500 free (4:51.80) at the Region 3 meet, but doesn’t hold the top seed in either race for the state meet as Churchill senior Carli Cronk and Woodlands senior Zoe Nordmann hold that distinction.

Cronk, the Notre Dame commit and deaf world record holder, leads the 200 free after firing off a best time of 1:46.36 at the Region 6 meet. She also won the 100 back with a PB of 55.16 there, earning her the #3 seed in that race, with Kingwood senior Lizzie Watson (53.86) ranked 1st.

Nordmann, the younger sister of Lucie and Lillie, won the 200 (1:48.87) and 500 free (4:49.30) at the Region 4 meet, ranking her 1st coming in in the 500 and 4th in the 200.

Clements senior Kayla Fu is the swimmer to beat in the 50 free and 100 fly, having logged respective times of 22.79 and 52.92 at Region 5. Fu won the 50 free in 2022 and then took 3rd last year while finishing as the runner-up in the 100 free. The Penn commit holds best times of 22.56 and 52.86 in the 50 free and 100 fly.

Boys

One name towers over the field for the 6A boys, and that’s World Junior champion Maximus Williamson.

Williamson, a Keller junior, led the team to its first title last season with wins in the 100 back and 200 IM, and is entered in both events once again this year. At the Region 1 meet, he topped the field to earn the top state seed with times of 47.22 and 1:46.61, respectively.

Cooper Lucas, Williamson’s teammate and fellow junior, won the 200 and 500 free last season and will aim for a repeat of his own, though he trails on the psych sheets with Round Rock’s Oliver Rowe and Southlake Carroll’s Max Hatcher holding the top times.

Rowe, a Princeton commit, clocked 1:37.45 in the 200 free at the Region 7 meet to pace the field heading into the state championships, while Hatcher went 4:25.08 in the 500 free at Region 1 to lead a tightly bunched field.

Lucas was 1:38.16 and 4:25.24 in the two events at Region 1, seeding him 3rd. His best times stand at 1:35.29 and 4:14.53 in the 200 and 500 free.

Another Keller swimmer, River Paulk, is one to watch after he was a valuable relay contributor last season and finished 4th in the 100 free. Paulk comes in seeded 1st in the 100 free (45.11) and 4th in the 50 free (20.61).

Woodlands senior Tyler Tannenberger, who was 3rd in the 100 breast last year, is the top seed after he clocked a PB of 54.33 at the Region 4 meet, while Prosper senior Jacoby Wimberly is another name to watch as the top seed in the 100 fly (47.50). Last year, Wimberly broke the 5A record in the 100 fly prelims (46.99) before placing 2nd in the final to Hayden Bellotti, who has graduated and now attends UVA.

SwimSwam: 2024 Texas UIL State Championship Preview: Williamson Headlines 6A Boys