Georgia Clark is considered a favorite for a state championships based on times heading into the MSHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships this week.

The Park Hill South senior and Iowa signee has the fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley. Her chance for a state championship starts on Thursday, Feb. 14 in day 1 of the event at the St. Peter Rec Plex in St. Peters.

Clark took third in the event last year and this year her seed time of 2 minutes, 8.37 seconds is just ahead of Kirkwood’s Ella Pearl’s 2:08.55.

Emma Clark, Sydney Staebell and Natalie Maris also qualified in that race for the Panthers, while Park Hill’s Emma Will and Arielle Janssens is also in the race. Emma Clark took 15th at state last year in the event.

Georgia Clark is seeded third in the 100 backstroke, an event she finished as the state runner-up last year, after she was seeded first after prelims.

That race will also feature Emma Willa of Park Hill, as well as Park Hill South’s Emma Clark and Kaitlyn Morris.

Both Park Hill and Park Hill South qualified all three relays in the Class 2 competition. Park Hill South is seeded sixth in the 200 medley relay and third in the 200 freestyle. The Panthers reached the finals in both last year, taking third and fifth, respectively.

Park Hill is 11th in the 400 freestyle relay and 12th in the 200 freestyle, giving the Trojans a chance to advance to day two of the competition.

Park Hill’s Abigail Culp qualified in two individual events, her highest seed is 12th in the 200 freestyle and 13th in the 500 freestyle. In a unique twist, those two events are the only ones of the 13 events where Park Hill South doesn’t have at least one qualifier.

Park Hill’s Brooklyn Pierce will compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly. She is seeded ninth in the 50, just ahead of a quarter of Panthers seeded 13th through 16th. In the 100 butterfly, she is the sixth seed.

Park Hill’s Jaden Galang and Park Hill South’s Taylor Young will compete in the diving portion of the championships.

Class 1

Platte County will have all three relays and two swimmers competing in individual events in the Class 1 meet, which will open on Friday, Feb. 15 and conclude on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Sophomore Shannon Banark will compete in the 100 butterfly and the 50 freestyle, where she is seeded sixth in both. That would put her in the ‘A’ final, a year after she won the ‘B’ final in the 200 IM.

In the 50 freestyle last year, Banark took 28th place.

Fellow sophomore Maddie Klippenstein is seeded high in the 100 breaststroke, checking in at ninth. Last year, she finished 15th in the event.

The 200 medley relay is the highest seeded of the three to advance, checking in at 16th.