The Park Hill South Panthers’ swim and dive team climbed to a fourth-place finish at the 85th annual Missouri Class 2 State Championships on Saturday, Nov. 13, at St. Peters Rec-Plex much in part to a historic effort by one of its seniors.
Senior Alec Enyeart concluded his high school career by winning two state titles and setting a new state record in the 500-freestyle event twice. Enyeart’s winning 500 time of 4:22.63 beat the previous record of 4:23.56 that he set in the preliminary round in Friday’s preliminary round.
After touching the wall, Enyeart turned around to the crowd and flexed his left arm muscle before turning back around and noticing teammate Derek Long had finished second with a time of 4:36.15. South Head Coach Tim Busenhart told the Platte County Citizen it was a great way to cap off the day.
Park Hill South senior Alec Enyeart won two state titles and set a new state record in the 500-freestyle event twice at the Class 2 State Championship. The Panthers finished in fourth place as a team at state.
“It was special to see Alec get that 200 freestyle in a tight race with everybody there,” Busenhart said. “Then it was even more special to see him and Derek in the 500 go one-two.”
Enyeart also was crowned champion in the 200-freestyle event with a time of 1:38.11, which was 0.38 seconds faster than his qualifying time. Busenhart said Enyeart is the best four-year swimmer he’s coached at Park Hill South and the best since Riccardo “Ricky” Maestri who participated as a foreign exchange student from Italy and went on to swim for the Italian national team in the 2012 Olympics.
“He’s broken three or four of his records,” Busenhart said about Enyeart compared to Maestri. “When it comes down to it to see how much he has grown heightwise, and to see him go in as a freshman with a 5:05 in the 500 and to be down to a 4:22, is a testament to his work ethic and maturity throughout the years.”
Enyeart also swam on two of South’s relay teams that claimed medals. The 200-yard medley relay team of Enyeart, sophomore Jack Francis-Cummins, sophomore Alex Briggs and senior Luke Brown finished fourth with a time of 1:36.96 which was more than a half-second faster than the preliminary time.
In the last event of the night, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Panthers finished third with a time of 3:14.39, which was more than a full second faster than the qualifying time. That team included sophomore Roman Lewis, junior Henry Snider, Long and Enyeart.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Brown, Briggs, Lewis and Snider also finished fourth with a time of 1:29.32. Busenhart said his relay teams exceeded expectations.
“We graduated five seniors who were all medal winners last year and to be able to come back here this year and still get a fourth-place trophy is a great accomplishment,” Busenhart said.
Also claiming medals for the Panthers included Briggs in the 200-yard individual medley (IM) with an eighth-place finish and a time of 1:58.05. Briggs’ final time was 0.44 seconds faster than his qualifying time. Brown finished eighth in the 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 22.43.
South also had some swimmers score team points by placing in the consolation round. That group included Briggs and senior Jacob Knittel in the 100-yard butterfly event. Briggs finished ninth with a time of 52.74 and Knittel finished 14th with a time of 55.89. Long placed ninth in the 200-yard freestyle event with a time of 1:43.93 while Lewis finished 15th with a time of 1:48.11. Snider scored with a 14th place finish in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:02 which was 0.23 seconds faster than his preliminary time. Francis-Cummins finished 10th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.01 which was 0.30 seconds faster than his qualifying time. Busenhart said those kids’ efforts helped the team move up.
“I think we did an excellent job,” Busenhart said. “We had kids step up who weren’t seeded and then moved into consoles which helped us with some points.”
Park Hill freshman Jack Stanley found success in his first trip to the state championships. Stanley finished 12th in the 200-yard IM race with a time of 2:01.45. Stanley also finished 14th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.98.
Three Park Hill relay teams also finished in the consolation round. The 400-yard freestyle team of senior Eli Stammler, Stanley, junior Jamie Franco and senior Chris Appel finished 13th with a time of 3:20.86. The Trojans’ 200-yard medley team of Stanley, Appel, Stammler and Franco finished 12th with a time of 1:41.58. The 200-yard freestyle team of Appel, Stammler, Franco and sophomore Raphael Realina finished 15th with a time of 1:32.14.