Carthage Junior Braden Cole placed third in the 100-yard Breaststroke at the MSHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships, breaking the school record he set just two weeks ago with another personal best of 58.64 seconds.
Cole was one of eight boys from the Carthage Tigers swim team competing at the State Championships in St. Peter’s Nov. 8-10.
“It feels amazing to cap off the season with a PR,” Cole said. “Finals race was very competitive and I’m very happy to have dropped a second from Southwest Missouri Championships. I look forward to next year when I can turn third into first!”
The top 32 swimmers for each event were eligible to compete at the state level, which allowed 292 swimmers from 51 schools to compete.
The Tigers finished 31st in the state in the competition.
The boys were sent off Thursday morning with students from the high school lining the halls to wish them luck as they left.
Carthage sent three of their senior swimmers to compete at the state level with Ben Prince competing on three relay teams and Ben Darrow and Spencer Dolon attending as alternates.
“I’m glad I got to swim at state as a senior,” Prince said. “It feels like I’m making the most out of my senior year.”
“Ezekiel Ramierez is a promising young swimmer who I expect to see competing at the state level in the next few years,” Coach McBride said. “It was a great opportunity for him to see how things are done at an event of this magnitude.” Ramierez, a freshman, also attended as an alternate for the relay teams.
Junior Alex Dahl competed in the 50-yard freestyle. Dahl set a new personal best of 22.88 seconds with an 18th place finish overall.
The 400-yard Freestyle relay team made up of Cole, Dahl, Prince, and Junior Cole Smith swam a 3:35.07 and finished in 24th place.
The 200-yard Freestyle relay team of Dahl, Prince, Smith, and Junior Colby Cox set a new personal record of 1:38.73 with their 31st place finish.
The 200-yard Medley relay team with Dahl, Cole, Cox, and Prince. They placed 23rd with a new personal record of 1:47.47.
“We had six swimmers with four personal bests, which was a great experience for our boys. The majority of them are coming back to the team next year. For them to see what that event is like will just benefit them next year.”
