Baylor Wins 2021 TISCA State Swimming And Diving

Monday, April 26, 2021

The Baylor boy's swimming and diving team recently won the 2021 TISCA State Championships.
photo by Contributed

On Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25 the Baylor School won the combined, boys, and girls 2021 TISCA State Swimming & Diving Championships. This is the sixteenth year in a row that the Baylor School has won the combined team title, while the girls claimed their third state title in a row with a victory over Maryville. The Baylor School boys won their second state title in a row in a tough battle over McCallie.

This year due to the COVD-19 pandemic the competition was held at four separate locations. The Baylor School was one of four sites to host the 2021 TISCA Swimming & Diving Championships. Other regional sites for this meet include the Kingsport Aquatics Center in Kingsport, TN, Ensworth School Natatorium in Nashville, TN, and the Tupelo Aquatics Center in Tupelo, MS. The diving competition was held on April 17th at the Ensworth School Natatorium in Nashville, TN.

Leading the way for the Baylor School were two state championship performances from senior Ellie Waldrep.

Waldrep claimed first in the 200-yard IM and 100-yard backstroke. Her times of 1:58.73 in the 200 IM and 51.75 in the 100 backstroke are all NISCA Automatic All-American times. The girls’ 200-yard Medley relay of Ellie Waldrep, Bre Belcher, Lydia Bohannon, and Callie West got Baylor off to a hot start with a first-place finish in a NISCA Automatic All-American time. Their time of 1:42.49 is the fastest time in the country in the event. Senior, Logan Watson-Brown also claimed a TISCA state title in the 200-yard freestyle. Her time of 1:49.72 was a NISCA All-American consideration time. She also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle in an automatic All-American time of 49.48.

On Saturday, freshman Drew Hitchcock got the Baylor School boys off to a great start. Hitchcock took state titles in both the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard butterfly. His times of 1:49.49 in the 200 IM and 48.84 in the 100-yard butterfly earned him NISCA Automatic All-American recognition. The 200 IM was a big event for the Baylor School as teammates Sam Flack finished third and Charlie Han placed eighth overall.

On Sunday the Baylor School boys continued their great momentum. The boys 400-yard freestyle relay team of Daniel Snyder, Drew Hitchcock, Sam Flack, and Josean Massucco claimed the TISCA State title in an All-American time of 3:04.56. Both Sam Flack and Charlie Han captured individual TISCA State titles. Flack swam to a first-place finish and an automatic All-American time of 4:26.88 in the 500-yard freestyle, while Charlie Han blasted 55.69 in the 100-yard breaststroke to take the title. Finally, the boy’s 200-yard freestyle relay of Owen Seymour, Will Taylor, Sam Flack, and Aidan Sims swam their way to an automatic All-American time and a second-place finish in the event.

Senior Bre Belcher came away with the 2021 TISCA State championship in the girls 100-yard breaststroke swimming it in an automatic All-American time of 1:02.44. Teammate Lillie Boggs claimed the State Championship in the girl’s 500-yard freestyle swimming a time of 4:56.88. On Sunday the Baylor School girls 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays came away with NISCA Automatic All-American swims. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Ellie Waldrep, Logan Watson-Brown, Bre Belcher, and Lydia Bohannon placed second, while the 400-yard freestyle relay of Logan Watson-Brown, Callie West, Lillie Boggs, and Genevieve O’Neil claimed third overall in the event.

Team Scores

Combined Team Scores	Girls Team Scores	Boys Team Scores
1. Baylor School 662	1. Baylor School 324	1. Baylor School 338
2. Maryville High School 403	2. Maryville High School 255	1. McCallie School 270
3. Ensworth School 323	3. Harpeth Hall 212	3. Montgomery Bell 172
4. Science Hill High School 197	4. Ensworth School 182	4. Maryville High School 148
5. Ravenwood High School 173	5. Girls Preparatory School 149	5. Ensworth School 141