Fort Mill High School placed second at the South Carolina High School League Boys 5A State Swimming Championship on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the University of South Carolina, two days after the Fort Mill girls won the 5A state title in the same pool.
The Fort Mill boys scored 270 points, finishing 13.5 points ahead of Ashley Ridge (256.5) for second place. Eastside won the team title with 672 points. J.L. Mann was fourth with 229, and Mauldin was fifth with 223.
Northwestern High School of Rock Hill placed 13th in the 26 team field with 75 points.
Eastside wins nine of 11 events
Eastside controlled the meet, winning all three relays and six of the eight individual events. Spartanburg’s William Lancaster won the other two, taking the 100 breaststroke in 55.22 and the 200 individual medley in 1:51.64.
Hightower reaches the podium for Fort Mill
Parker Hightower earned Fort Mill’s only top three finish, placing third in the 100 butterfly in 52.77, 0.49 seconds behind the winning time of 52.03 by Eastside’s Collin Brickner. He also finished fourth in the 200 individual medley in 1:58.24.
Tyler Smith placed fourth in the 100 backstroke in 53.26. Wyatt Matz finished fifth in the 500 freestyle in 4:50.03 and seventh in the 200 individual medley.
Fort Mill’s depth carried the team past Ashley Ridge. The Fort Mill boys scored in seven of the eight individual events, with four scorers in the 500 freestyle, where Grayden Leonardo, Ashton Medlin and Carter Leaver finished 10th, 12th and 14th behind Matz. Jack Blackwell placed 10th in the 200 freestyle, and Shlok Maheshwari placed 12th.
Fort Mill earned 104 of its 270 points in the relays. The 400 freestyle relay of Hightower, Maheshwari, Matz and David Halligan finished fourth in 3:20.06. The 200 medley relay placed sixth in 1:39.56, with Smith leading off on backstroke, and the 200 freestyle relay finished seventh in 1:32.63.
Northwestern places 13th
Northwestern did not have a top three finish. Benjamin Pach posted the team’s best individual result, placing ninth in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.46, and added a 15th place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Lukas Hoerschgens Ham finished 15th in the 100 freestyle and 16th in the 100 backstroke.
Northwestern’s 200 medley relay of Hayes Henderson, Pach, Hoerschgens Ham and Preston Buchanan placed 10th in 1:44.86, the team’s top relay finish. The 200 freestyle relay finished 15th, and the 400 freestyle relay placed 18th.
Complete meet results are posted on MeetDirector.Online.
Fort Mill Results
100 freestyle: 13. Shlok Maheshwari 49.95; 21. David Halligan 50.56
200 freestyle: 10. Jack Blackwell 1:49.61; 12. Shlok Maheshwari 1:50.51; 16. Ashton Medlin 1:52.66; 21. Carter Leaver 1:54.30
500 freestyle: 5. Wyatt Matz 4:50.03; 10. Grayden Leonardo 4:58.48; 12. Ashton Medlin 4:59.64; 14. Carter Leaver 5:05.95
100 backstroke: 4. Tyler Smith 53.26; 20. Louden Palmer 58.22
100 breaststroke: 22. David Halligan 1:05.58 (tie)
100 butterfly: 3. Parker Hightower 52.77; 16. Louden Palmer 55.38; 17. Jack Blackwell 55.39
200 individual medley: 4. Parker Hightower 1:58.24; 7. Wyatt Matz 1:59.99; 22. Grayden Leonardo 2:08.36
200 medley relay: 6. Fort Mill 1:39.56 (Tyler Smith, Parker Hightower, Jack Blackwell, David Halligan)
200 freestyle relay: 7. Fort Mill 1:32.63 (Shlok Maheshwari, Tyler Smith, Louden Palmer, Wyatt Matz)
400 freestyle relay: 4. Fort Mill 3:20.06 (Parker Hightower, Shlok Maheshwari, Wyatt Matz, David Halligan)
Northwestern Results
100 freestyle: 15. Lukas Hoerschgens Ham 49.99
200 freestyle: 9. Benjamin Pach 1:48.46
100 backstroke: 16. Lukas Hoerschgens Ham 57.21; 30. Hayes Henderson 1:02.07
100 breaststroke: 15. Benjamin Pach 1:02.88
200 medley relay: 10. Northwestern 1:44.86 (Hayes Henderson, Benjamin Pach, Lukas Hoerschgens Ham, Preston Buchanan)
200 freestyle relay: 15. Northwestern 1:35.65 (Benjamin Pach, Preston Buchanan, Iain Colquhoun Jr., Lukas Hoerschgens Ham)
400 freestyle relay: 18. Northwestern 3:51.07 (Brayden Thew, Joseph Sconyers, Hayes Henderson, Iain Colquhoun Jr.)
Boys 5A Top 10 Team Scores
- Eastside 672; 2. Fort Mill 270; 3. Ashley Ridge 256.5; 4. J.L. Mann 229; 5. Mauldin 223; 6. Woodmont 187.5; 7. Wando 167; 8. Spartanburg 142; 9. West Ashley 140.5; 10. River Bluff 138. Northwestern placed 13th with 75.
Source: Official results, 2026 SCHSL Boys 5A State Championships
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
