Myrtle Beach sweeps league titles; Carolina Forest boys win region

Myrtle Beach made sure to take advantage of the stage Saturday.

Hosting the Region VII-4A meet for the first time at Pepper Geddings Recreation Center, the Seahawks swam away with a pair of title as both the boys and girls won.

The boys were victorious by a margin of 74 points, while the girls held off North Myrtle Beach by nine points.

“The boys did very, very well. From start to finish, they all did their job. They swam well,” Myrtle Beach coach Michael Angwin said. “The girls team, on the other hand … we had a few hiccups today. To me, it was more like a boxing match.”

Indeed it was as the Chiefs pushed the Seahawks all meet. Nonetheless, Myrtle Beach (104 points) was able to hold off North Myrtle Beach (94).

“North Myrtle Beach came to battle today. They came to battle our girls. … It was just close throughout the match,” Angwin said. “A nine-point win might seem like a lot, but it probably 3 or 4 points both ways throughout the meet and we just pulled away a little bit at the end.”

Carolina Forest’s boys team dominated the VI-5A meet, also held at Pepper Geddings on Saturday, winning by 38 points. The Panthers’ girls squad finished 21 points behind West Florence as runner-up.

“They exceeded expectations today,” Carolina Forest coach Michelle Ruthenberg said. “We had numerous personal career bests. Our seniors really outperformed themselves today.”

The Myrtle Beach boys team took home the most event wins, taking first place in nine events.

Justin Roberts (200-yard freestyle, 1:59.92), Ian Morgan (200-yard individual medley, 2:09.58; 500-yard freestyle, 5:01.86) and Sean McGonigal (50-yard freestyle, 23.67) and Isaiah Ivey (100-yard freestyle, 49.12; 100-yard backstroke, 57.46) brought home individual wins. The Seahawks’ 200-yard medley – Ivey, Yianni Paraschos, Roberts and Nestor Llanot (1:49.91), 200-yard freestyle – Morgan, Llanot, Tyler Byrne and McGonigal (1:37.85) and 400-yard freestyle – Isaiah Ivey, Ian Morgan, Justin Roberts and Sean McGonigal (3:30.36) relay teams also won.

“Those boys really swam well today,” Angwin said. “They were stellar.”

The Seahawks’ girls team reeled off six event wins.

Mackenzie Angwin (200-yard freestyle, 2:09.70), Kennedy Drew (100-yard butterfly, 1:02.57; 100-yard freestyle, 56.79) and Olivia McGonigal (100-yard backstroke, 1:01.79) posted individual victories. Myrtle Beach’s 200-yard medley – McGonigal, Danielle Flaherty, Drew and Catherine Miller (1:57.89) and 200-yard freestyle – Kennedy Drew, Danielle Flaherty, Catherine Miller and Olivia McGonigal (1:46.28) relay teams also won.

It was just enough to hold off North Myrtle Beach, which won five events.

Brynne Hardman (200-yard individual medley, 2:18.19; 500-yard freestyle, 5:31.49), Sydney Hardman (50-yard freestyle, 26.02) and Rivers Chandler (100-yard backstroke, 1:15.98) were individual winners, while the Chiefs’ 400-yard freestyle relay team – Summer Ratley, Faith Unger, Rivers Chandler and Shea Hardman – won 4:14.48).

“North Myrtle Beach was hanging around, things were real close and then our girls pulled away at the end,” Angwin said. “It was a tough meet for them. But they stuck it out; they swam well.”

Carolina Forest’s boys team posted six event wins.

David Zevgolis (200-yard individual medley, 2:28.06; 100-yard butterfly, 1:06.97), Christoph Tatgenhorst (100-yard freestyle, 58.73) and Ethan Nechemia (500-yard freestyle, 5:21.25; 100-yard backstroke, 1:03.96) won individual events, while the Panthers’ 200-yard medley relay team – Ethan Nechemia, David Zevgolis, Joshua Norman and Cristoph Tatgenhorst – won (2:00.78).

“We had an awesome day. Our boys really dominated today,” Ruthenberg said. “It was great to see.”

Carolina Forest’s girls squad came away with three individual event wins. Peyton McWhorter (200-yard freestyle, 2:03.23; 500-yard freestyle, 5:34.94) and Taylor Steele (200-yard individual medley, 2:16.87) won titles.

Overall, Ruthenberg believes her athletes are peaking at the right time as the state championship meet looms next weekend in Columbia.

“We did a little bit of tinkering for this meet so that the majority of our athletes peaked this week and then we do have several girls that will be competing next weekend at the state meet,” she said.

Myrtle Beach appears to be in postseason form as well.

“They are peaking at the right time,” Angwin said. “We’re looking forward to a good week of practice and hopefully get some podium swims next week.”

Angwin said that just a few years ago the Myrtle Beach swim program was hurting in numbers of participants. That’s no longer the case, as the amount of swimmers has doubled, he said. It’s bringing excitement – and success – to the program.

“The kids are obviously excited to win the region on both sides,” Angwin said. “The athletes and the coaches are all proud of what we have accomplished in two or three years.”

St. James’ Casey Mitchell (100-yard breaststroke, 1:07.84) and North Myrtle Beach’s Ty Costello (100-yard butterfly, 59.43) also posted individual wins in the boys competition.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 11:31 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach sweeps league titles; Carolina Forest boys win region."