BHS Boys Swim Team Cruises to Region III Championship; Girls Finish Second Behind Elkins
By Chris Johnson on February 09, 2025
The Bridgeport High School boys swim team cruised to the Region III championship on Saturday at the Citynet Center at The Bridge Sports Complex.
The boys won with 199 points, while Robert C. Byrd was the runner-up with 86.
The BHS girls were the regional runner-up finishing in second place with 97 points behind Elkins with 124.
Along the way, several Indians earned a spot in the state meet set for Feb. 20-21 in Morgantown.
The top three finishers in each event earn an automatic spot in the state meet. Also, the next 12 best times, regardless of region, qualify for the state meet, and Region III figures to have a good share of those at-large spots.
“The boys really took care of business and I thought the girls did really well too,” BHS coach Jan Grisso said.
Bridgeport’s Owen Guthrie set a new regional record in the 100 freestyle, finishing with a 46.98 to break Buckhannon-Upshur’s Tim Squires’ mark of 47.26 set in 2009. He was also part of two record-setting relay teams.
Guthrie swam the anchor leg for the 200 free relay team that set a new regional record of 1:31.02, surpassing the mark of 1:33.61 set by Robert C. Byrd in 2023. Joining him were James Hadjis, Nate Dodson and Carter Zuliani.
Guthrie teamed with Dodson, Hadjis and Oren Sutphin to break the 400 free relay record. They finished with a time of 3:22.64, eclipsing the 2013 mark set by Bridgeport in 2013 at 3:25.10.
Guthrie also won the 50 free with a time of 21.26.
Jacob Keener also won a pair of individual events, taking the regional title in the 200 IM at 2:07.93 and the 500 free at 5:08.21.
Keener was also part of the first-place 200 medley relay team along with Cole Parsons, Anderson Mitchell and Zuliani. They punched their ticket to states with a time of 1:45.53.
Other state meet automatic qualifiers for the BHS boys were: Oren Sutphin, second in the 200 free at 1:56.93; Parsons second in the 200 IM at 2:10.37; Zuliani third in the 50 free at 23:47; Mitchell second in the 100 butterfly at 58.59; Hajis second in the 100 free at 49.42; Dodson third in the 100 free at 51.71; Oren Sutphin third in the 500 free at 5:23.65; Patrick Hammond second in the 100 backstroke at 1:00.71; Zach Nicholson third in the 100 backstroke at 1:01.41; Hadjis second in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.40 and Dodson third in the 100 breaststroke at 1:04.41.
For the BHS girls, Emma Ahmed and Amelia Romano went 1-2 in the 200 free with respective times of 1:59.55 and 2:01.61.
They were also part of the second-place 200 medley relay team along with Kennedy Marsh and Kira Gazal. They swam a time of 1:56.34.
Ahmed was also the runner-up in the 100 free with a time of 54.34, Marsh was second in the 199 backstroke at 1:05.02 and Romano was second in the 500 at 5:28.59.
Ahmed, Gazal, Gretchen Lang and Romano had a runner-up time of 3:55.37 in the 400 free relay.
Marsh, Lang and Gazal teamed with Kaitlyn Wagner for a third-place finish in the 200 free relay at 1:54.76.
Other regional champions were:
Elkins’ girls 200 medley relay team of Aleah Irons, Emma Ujvagi, Lilly Irons and Lilly Anger with a time of 1:54.85.
Robert C. Byrd’s Armondo Montero in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.92.
Elkins’ Ujvagi in the girls 200 IM at 2:20.34
Elkins’ Lilly Anger in the girls 50 free at 25.33
Robert C. Byrd’s Liza Saas in the girls 100 butterfly at 58.17 and a record-setting time of 1:07.94 in the 100 breaststroke.
Elkins’ Andres Masten in the boys 100 butterfly at 57.29 and in the boys 100 backstroke at 59.64.
Elkins’ Lilly Irons in the girls 100 free at 54.26.
Herbert Hoover’s Ashton Walker in the girls 500 free at 5:22.63.
Elkins’ girls 200 free relay team of Ujvagi, Leah Ours, Aleah Irons and Lilly Anger at 1:44.51.
Charleston Catholic’s Izzy Paulson in the girls 100 backstroke at 1:04.94.
Elkins’ Isaac Anger with a record time of 59.09 in the boys 100 breaststroke.
Elkins’ team of Lilly Irons, Sophia Rhodes, Leah Ours and Lilly Anger in the 400 free relay at 3:50.38.
Story will be updated when all the at-large qualifiers are finalized and released.
