Area swimmers shine in Grand Strand’s biggest annual meet

In essence, there is only one way to describe the Ripley’s Invitational swim meet.

“It’s like the Super Bowl of high school swimming in South Carolina,” said Carolina Forest swim coach Michelle Barnhill. “It’s the biggest event of the year, and it comes at the very beginning.”

Approximately 420 high school swimmers from more than 20 schools throughout the Palmetto State took to the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center pool Saturday, taking a dip into the deep end as part of the annual meet. The seventh installment was hosted by Carolina Forest High School.

Starting at 9 a.m., swimmers took part in qualifying heats, and later in final races to determine the winner in 22 events.

“This is the one time you get all of these different swimming programs in one place,” said Myrtle Beach swim coach Michael Angwin. “There are teams from all points of the state, and many of them are really good. It provides a chance for everyone to get their competitive juices flowing and get the season started.”

A number of local swimmers certainly did their part to make a good first impression.

Waccamaw’s Patrick Sullivan won two events – the 50- and 200-yard freestyle. His teammate John Grey Crosby also came away with top honors, claiming the 100-yard freestyle title.

With a time of 5:03, Myrtle Beach’s Ian Morgan earned the 500-yard freestyle crown, finishing a full second ahead of St. James’ Casey Mitchell. Fellow Seahawk Isaiah Ivey also claimed a singles title, winning the 100-yard backstroke in 57.31 seconds.

The Waccamaw relay team of Sullivan, John Grey Crosby, Jonah Crosby and Sean King double-dipped in terms of claiming top honors at the event, winning both the 200- and 400-yard relays.

On the girls’ side, Carolina Forest’s Peyton McWhorter brought home an invitational title for the host Panthers. She claimed the 100-yard freestyle event with a time of 1:03. Myrtle Beach’s Olivia McGonical wound up with top honors, doing so in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing just ahead of St. James’ Kater Wolff.

Waccamaw posted the best overall finish for a local team on the boys’ side, coming in second with 84 points, three behind Bishop England. Carolina Forest was the best local squad among girls teams from the Grand Strand, finishing fifth.

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Area swimmers shine in Grand Strand’s biggest annual meet."