The Siloam Springs swim Panthers participated in the Class 5A State Championships at the Russellville Aquatic Center on Feb. 24.
Addison Huebert broke her school record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:12.52. The boys' 400 free relay team of Ben Wenger, Jakin Matchell, Ezekiel Becan and Hayden Shimer broke the school record with a time of 3:33.52. Also, the team of Shimer, Matchell, Tony Wlekinski and Becan broke the 5A-West Confernce record in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:35.66.
"We had two school records from kids that have been part of the program for multiple years and put a lot of time in the pool. It was great to see their hard work pay off, " Coach Brady Blackwell said.
Addison Huebert, Ezekiel Becan, Jakin Matchell, Hayden Shimer, Ben Wenger and Tony Wlekinski earned all-state honors.
Boys earn third place
The Panthers had their best overall performance of the season and garnered a third-place place finish at state. The team earned 250 points to finish behind champion Batesville (369 points) and runner-up Little Rock Christian (294 points). The team had 14 entries and finished with five personal bests and one season-best performance.
Shimer earns 3-peat in 500 free
Junior Hayden Shimer tied for overall high point honors in the boys' division by winning the 200 free and securing gold for the third year in a row in the 500 free.
Senior Ben Wenger finished with silver in the 100 back with a personal best of 1:00.78 and fourth in the 100 free.
Senior Ezekiel Becan finished with a bronze in the 50 free and was a member of all three relay teams.
Junior Tony Wlekinski swam a personal best of 59.89 to finish fourth in the 100 fly and dropped 5 seconds in the 100 back to finish seventh with a time of 1:04.81.
Senior Jakin Matchell finished seventh in the 200 free with a seasonal best time of 2:05.84 and eighth in the 50 free with a personal best of 24.75.
Freshman Cooper Bunker finished 10th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:13.18 and 15th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:35.01.
Senior D'Angelo Celis finished 14th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:17.41.
Relay Results
The medley relay team of Ben Wenger, Cooper Bunker, Tony Wlekinski and Ezekiel Becan finished third.
The 200 free relay team of Shimer, Jakin Matchell, Wlekinski and Becan finished second with a time of 1:35.66 dropping 2.58 seconds and setting a 5A-West Conference record.
The 400 relay team of Wenger, Matchell, Becan and Shimer finished second and broke the school record with a 3:33.52.
Girls show improvement
The girls' team swam to an eighth-place finish.
Junior Addie Huebert earned a silver medal in the 200 free with a time of 2:10.89 and a bronze in the 100 breast with a school record time of 1:12.52.
Freshman Kaylee Villatoro finished 10th in the 200 free with a time of 2:44.90 and 14th in the 500 free with a time of 7:37.21.
Junior Abigail Green finished 16th in the 500 free with a personal best time of 8:21.98.
Relay results
The medley relay team of Crystal Serrano, Autum Gonzales, Abigail Green and Tiana Rodriquez finished 12th with a time of 3:20.14.
The 200 free relay team of Kaylee Villatoro, Abigail Green, Haylee Fox and Addie Huebert finished eighth with a time of 2:16.35.
The 400 free relay team of Villatoro, Fox, Green and Huebert finished eighth with a time of 5:10.13.
"This was a great finish to the season for both teams. This group of student athletes has laid a great foundation for the future of this program. The hard work, dedication and sacrifice was impressive, along with the encouragement they gave each other was inspiring," volunteer Coach Chris Shimer said.