VSA swimmers shine at Mississippi State Championship

Published 1:45 pm Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Swimmers from the Vicksburg Swim Association made a splash at the Mississippi Swimming Short Course State Championship in Tupelo last weekend.

Jack Stanley won the boys’ 10U championship in the 50- and 100-yard backstroke, and posted four other top-10 finishes in his age group. Addison Billings also had top-five finishes in the girls’ 10U 50 and 200 freestyle, and six total top-10 results.

Billings finished third in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 200 in the meet held Feb. 16-19.

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The VSA swimmers qualified for the finals in eight events, and 12 of them combined for a total of 48 top-16 performances.

Elle Larson finished seventh in the girls’ 12U 100-yard backstroke and eighth in the 100-yard individual medley, and had four top-10 swims overall.

Ashtin Wallace was seventh in both the 15-and-over 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

Luke Larson was sixth in the 200 butterfly and seventh in the 100 back, among his three top-10 swims.

Noah Jones placed eighth in both the 13-14-year-olds’ boys’ 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Mateo Byrd brought home an eighth-place in the 15-and-over boys’ 100 backstroke.

Kara Rowe (13-14-year-olds) and Chloe Barnard (15-and-over) both placed in the top 16 in the 100 backstroke and two relays.

Emily Cook finished ninth in the 15-and-over 50 freestyle and 11th in the 100 freestyle.

James McKenna placed in the top 16 in two relays, and competed in both the 50 and 100 freestyle events.

Alex Rowe placed 13th in the 15-and-over 500 freestyle.

The VSA squad increased its number of state qualifying swimmers by 33 percent from last year, and 66 percent of its swimmers in the Mississippi State Championship finished in the top 16 in at least one event.

For more information on the VSA, visit the team website or email coach Alex Billings at VSAcoachalex@gmail.com