U-High girls win fourth straight state swimming title

• By RODRICK ANDERSON
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Nov 20, 2009

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SULPHUR — University High’s girls helped lead the list of four state champions crowned Thursday at the State Farm/Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Swim Meet.

The Cubs won their fourth straight Division IV-Classes 2A and below state title during the morning session at the Sulphur Parks and Recreation Aquatic Center. St. Charles Catholic of LaPlace won the Division IV boys title, unseating three-time defending champion U-High, which finished as the runner-up. Episcopal finished as the girls runner-up, completing a local sweep. EHS also finished third in the boys division.

Holy Cross of New Orleans (boys) and Thibodaux’s E.D. White Catholic (girls) won the team titles in the Division III-Class 3A competition in the afternoon. Another local team, Parkview Baptist, swept the runner-up finishes. PBS tied for second with Sacred Heart in the girls division.

The four-day meet continues today with preliminary competition for Division II-Class 4A at 9:30 a.m. and Division I-Class 5A at 3:30 p.m.

“Our girls are outstanding,” University coach Jason Lewis said, lauding the Cubs’ team effort. “They put together some fantastic individual swims but they did it as a team.

“My seniors came through. Ayuko Morikawa, Laura Furr put the best swims of their life together. We also had three girls go one, two, three in the IM. We really swam together as a team. On my guys side, we had lifetime best swims. We had the quality but they had the quantity and they won the meet.”

Helping lead the U-High girls to their sixth state title in seven years was freshman Kathryn “Smacker” Miles. For the third consecutive year, Miles won two individual events and was part of two relays. Miles was part of the first three events — 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley.

Miles was one of five local swimmers who won individual events during the two sessions. Two local swimmers, Austin Butler of Division IV Episcopal and John Michael Moore of Division III Parkview, set meet records. Jarrod Brown of Division III Redemptorist was another double winner.

UHS’ Miles and Laura Furr (100 backstroke and 100 freestyle) were double winners for the Cubs’ girls squad, which finished with 327 points, ahead of Episcopal at 249. Morikawa had second-place finishes in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.

Butler of Episcopal and Clay Furr of University each won two Division IV boys events.

St. Charles won just one event — the 200-yard freestyle relay — but rolled up 397 points to win the boys title. It was the first state title for the Comets since 2003. University (291) and Episcopal (235) were next.

Furr won the 200 and 500 freestyles for the UHS boys. Butler posted two All-American consideration times and set a Division IV record in the 50-yard freestyle (21.29 seconds). He also had an CAA time in 46.63 in the 100 freestyle.

“We knew coming in that U-High was strong,” Episcopal coach Kate Cramer said. “It is not so much the quantity but they have quality swimmers, plus the numbers. We knew it would be hard beating them. We have a good quality team just like U-High but they have a few more numbers on us.”