Spring Valley’s Lobitz shines at Class 4A state swim meet
Carl Lobitz slammed his hand to the rim of the pool at the USC Natatorium precisely the same time as Fort Dorchester’s Jackson Seith.
Lobitz, who took first place in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles and secured 48 points for the Vikings in Saturday’s 4A state swim meet, teamed up with Ryan Staudt, Matthew Greene and Jonathan Frye in the 200 freestyle relay and tied for first with the Patriots.
“With two teams tying in a relay like that, that’s just amazing,” Lobitz said. “Everyone, everyone, the whole crowd, was getting excited just for that. Individually, I’ve been going at my best times for all my swims. I’m really excited for what’s going on here.”
Lobitz won the 50 with a time of 21.50 seconds and took the 100 with a time of 47.29. Both the Patriots’ and the Vikings’ time in the relay was 1.28.51.
The Vikings crowned the night with a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Lobitz, Alexander Gregg, Green and Frye teamed up to swim a 3:15.11 time. Largely because of Lobitz’ efforts, Spring Valley finished fourth overall, collecting 231 points that placed them behind state champion Riverside (339), Wando (280.5), and Fort Dorchester (280).
“One swimmer can’t do it all, but fourth place was exactly what our goal was,” Spring Valley coach Mike Loser said. “We had a lot of swimmers who moved up in the seedings, finished a little bit higher. The 200 medley relay team was seeded 17th and finished 11th. Those little incremental steps helped to build the overall team points, so we were really happy.”
The River Bluff boys finished 13th with 130 points, Blythewood 14th with 94, and Lexington with 91.
Riverside also won the girls meet with 447 points. The River Bluff girls finished 10th with 142 points, and Spring Valley finished 12th with 106.
The Eastside boys and the Academic Magnet girls won their 3A meets, with Eastside topping the list with 381.5 points and Academic Magnet posting a 436.5 point total.
The A.C. Flora girls finished third with 299 points, coming in just behind second-place Hilton Head, which finished with 304 points. Hannah Robbins took second in the 200 medley, ahead of teammate Darby Porter, who took third in the event and forth in the 100 butterfly. Riley Ammons took fifth in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 100 backstroke.
Chapin finished seventh with 195.8 points.
The Falcons finished seventh in the boys meet with 190 points. Emerson Edwards led the way for the boys with a fourth place finish in the 100 breaststroke and a sixth placing in the 100 butterfly. William Higgins took sixth in the 50 freestyle, behind Gus Collars’ fourth-place finish in that event. The Falcons took fourth in the 400 medley relay and the 200 medley relay, and sixth in the 400 freestyle relay.
Brookland-Cayce’s Nathan Walton won the 100 butterfly relay and took second in the 100 backstroke.
Chapin’s Catherine Benziewicz won both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle events.
Class 4A
BOYS
1. Riverside 339; 2. Wando 280.5; 3. Fort Dorchester 280; 4. Spring Valley231; 5. Nation Ford 181; 6. Fort Mill 181; 7. Mauldin 172; 8. Bluffton 155; 9. Spartanburg 143; 10. J.L. Mann 140; 11. Clover 136; 12. Boiling Springs 130; 13. River Bluff 130; 14. Blythewood 94; 15. Lexington 91; 16. Summerville 89; 17. Dutch Fork 84; 18. Socastee 84; 19. West Ashley 68; 20. Easley 40; 21. Westside 39; 22. South Aiken 35; 23. Irmo 31; 24. James Island 22; 25. Stratford 21; 26. Goose Creek 14; 27. Carolina Forest 14; 28. Northwestern 12.5; 29. T.L. Hanna 9; 30. Wade Hampton 8; 31. West Florence 6; 32.Ashley Ridge 4; 33. Byrnes 2.
GIRLS
1. Riverside 447; 2. Fort Mill 293; 3. South Aiken 219; 4. Dorman 212.5; 5. Wando 209; 6. J.L. Mann 208; 7. James Island 207; 8. Mauldin 174; 9. T.L. Hanna 157; 10. River Bluff 142; 11. Wade Hampton 119; 12. Spring Valley 106; 13. Clover 101; 14. Spartanburg 95; 15. Summerville 80; 16. North Augusta 70; 17. Lexington 62; 18. Bluffton 54; 19. West Florence 44.5; 20. Gaffney 39; 21. Nation Ford 38, 22. York Comprehensive 35; 23. Rock Hill 34; 24. Sumter 32; 25. Ashley Ridge 32; 26. Greenville 14; 27. Socastee 14; 28. Byrnes 7; 29. Blythewood 5; 30. Carolina Forest 4; 31. Woodmont 4; 32. Irmo 2.
TOP MIDLANDS FINISHERS
DUTCH FORK
Boys: Wyatt Boyer (5th, 200 freestyle).
LEXINGTON
Boys: Jackson Hardy (4th 100 freestyle). Girls: Margaret Halloran (6th, 500 freestyle).
RIVER BLUFF
Boys: Brian Loos (5th 100 breaststroke), 6th, 200 Yard Medley Relay.
SPRING VALLEY
Boys: Carl Lobitz (1st 50 freestyle, 1st 100 freestyle); Jonathan Frye (4th 100 breaststroke; 6th 200 medley); Alexander Gregg (6th, 100 freestyle); 1st 200 freestyle relay; 1st 400 freestyle relay.
Girls: Tori Agostini (4th, 100 backstroke).
Class 3A
BOYS
1. Eastside 381.5; 2. Academic Magnet 333.5; 3. Hilton Head 298; 4. Christ Church Episcopal School 220; 5. Waccamaw 208; 6. Aiken 196; 7. A.C. Flora 190; 8. Bishop England 171.5; 9. South Pointe 145; 10. Myrtle Beach 139; 11. Southside Christian 112; 12. Lancaster 101; 13. North Myrtle Beach 83.5; 14.Brookland-Cayce 83; 15. Chapin 81; 16. Newberry 76; 17. St. James 54; 18. Palmetto 48; 19. Mid-Carolina 44; 20. Governor’s School 37; 21. Daniel 37; 22. Greer Middle College Charter 34; 23. Greenville Tech Charter 30; 24. Dreher 29; 25. St. Joseph’s Catholic School 29; 26. Georgetown 28, 27. Berkeley 23; 28. Brashier Middle College 18; 29. Richland Northeast 6; 30. Emerald 6; 31. Hartsville 5; 32. Fox Creek 1.
GIRLS
1. Academic Magnet 436.5; 2. Hilton Head 304; 3. A.C. Flora 299; 4. Bishop England 246; 5. Christ Church Episcopal School 219; 6. Myrtle Beach 217; 7. Chapin 195; 8. Eastside 178; 9. Lancaster 153.5; 10. Dreher 146; 11. St. James 131; 12. Greenville Tech Charter 105; 13. Aiken 80; 14. St. Joseph’s Catholic School 70; 15. North Myrtle Beach 68; 16. Waccamaw 66; 17. Greer Middle College Charter 65; 18. Daniel 53; 19. Brashier Middle College 52; 20. Brookland-Cayce 51; 21. Southe Pointe 43; 22. Governors School 37; 23. Beaufort 16; 24. Southside Christian 9.
TOP MIDLANDS FINISHERS
A.C. FLORA
Boys: Emerson Edwards (4th 100 breaststroke; 6th 100 butterfly); William Higgins (6th 50 freestyle); Gus Collars (4th 100 freestyle); 400 medley relay (4th); 200 medley relay (4th); 400 freestyle relay (6th).
Girls: Hannah Robins (2nd 200 medley); Darby Porter(3rd 200 medley; 4th 100 butterfly); Riley Ammons(5th 100 butterfly; 6th 100 backstroke); 400 freestyle relay (3rd); 200 medley relay (5th); 200 freestyle relay (5th).
BROOKLAND-CAYCE
Boys: Nathan Walton (1st 100 butterfly; 2nd 100 backstroke).
Girls: McKenna Cassella (6th 100 breaststroke).
CHAPIN
Girls: Catherine Bendziewicz (1st 50 freestyle; 1st 100 freestyle); Brianna Broussard (6th 500 freestyle); 200 medley relay (6th).
DREHER
Girls: Hayley Mason (4th 500 freestyle; 5th 200 freestyle); Vinez Lyde (5th 50 freestyle); 200 freestyle relay (4th).
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Boys: Casey Mitchell (5th 500 freestyle; 5th 100 backstroke).
Girls: Ana Wolff (4th 50 freestyle).
This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Spring Valley’s Lobitz shines at Class 4A state swim meet."