The Tigersharks left Feb. 18 to attend the State 5A swim and dive championships in Austin, Texas.

Seniors Luke Calhoon and Dylan Gray competed in individual events this past weekend, Calhoon placed 16th in the 200 meter individual medley, while Gray placed 13th in the 100 meter breaststroke.

“I didn’t do as good as I thought I would at state,” Gray said. “My time was 1:00.91 and the pool record is a 58.69. I wish I would’ve gotten the record, but I didn’t work as hard as I should have. This season went better than the any other out of the three years, between my lung collapses the past two years and back problems, this is my best year overall.”

In the boys’ medley relay, Calhoon, seniors Conor Diggs and Jacob Shaw and junior Reid Porter, placed 12th. The girls’ medley relay of  juniors Ohemaa Barnes and Linley Murdock, senior Kristin McCasland and sophomore Kristen Clayton placed 15th..

“Although there was a lot of confusion about the medley relay team, we seemed to pull together and place 15th,” Murdock said. “We dropped time the first day. I think that was related to the pressure associated with swimming at state. I was blessed to be apart of that team and everything seemed to work out.”

Clayton competed in the individual 100 meter breaststroke placing 15th timing 1:11.26.

“I dropped time from state last year, which I was happy with,” Clayton said. “I Just wish I had gone my personal best.”

In the boys’ 200 meter freestyle relay, seniors Zack Wolf, Tyler Snell and Shaw and sophomore Casey Williams placed 14th.

“I was very happy with how well everyone swam at the state meet,” Williams said. “Even though we didn’t place very high, we had people beat their best times, and it was great to see everyone trying their best and having fun together as a team.”

Sophomore Kaylee Norton, junior Cathryn Payne, McCasland and Barnes placed 16th in the girls’ 400 meter freestyle relay.

“I got two personal best times on the relays so I was really happy,” McCasland said. “It’s sad [being done with swimming], but at the same time I’m happy it’s over and that I did the best that I could during my four years but I will definitely miss it.”

For the divers, Junior Hunter Burt placed 9th and freshman Dylan Rosser placed 11th, while the for the girls junior Lauren Potter placed 15th and sophomore Courtney Lourens placed 13th.

“Diving at state was a great experience, I placed 9th out of 16 for my first time,” Burt said. “It really showed me where I exceeded and where my flaws were in my in my dives. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, I just took it like it was any other dive meet and had fun with it.”

Overall, the boys’ team placed 19th out of 54 teams and the girls ranked 37th out of 56.

“After the state meet, I was lost knowing that I wouldn’t be able to experience the adrenaline and excitement of swimming again. I have been doing it for 10 years so it has been a huge part of my life,” Snell said. “But while I am sad to leave my swim family, I am glad to have had four awesome years and will cherish each and every memory that I have, from winning races to brutal practices to our cookouts.”