In a High-Stakes Duel with the Catholic Bears, Jesuit Swimmers Miss 1st Place by a Mere 34 Points

The 2016 Blue Jay Swim Team earned the runner-up spot at the Allstate – LHSAA Championship Swim Meet, held November 18-19, at the SPAR Aquatic Center in Sulphur, LA. It was the fourth consecutive second place finish for the Jays at the state tournament. Jesuit swimmers compiled 450 points in 11 events, but could not catch their Baton Rouge rivals, the Catholic High Bears, who won the meet with 483 points. Jesuit’s two coaches are seated in the top row: assistant coach Trey Roux ’86 is on the left; head coach Bret Hanemann ’85 is on the right. (Photo by Rick Hickman/American Press)

View the Photo Gallery of the Blue Jays at the State Swim Meet

It was just another Saturday afternoon (November 19) at the indoor swimming pool, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone lounging around inside the SPAR Aquatic Center in Sulphur, LA, where the finals unfolded at Allstate – LHSAA Championship Swim Meet.

Noah Wilkins celebrates after winning the 50-yard freestyle event. (Photo by Rick Hickman/American Press)

A pair of dominant teams in the Blue Jays and the Bears of Catholic High left their competition treading water and battled each other down to the wire in a frenzied, lump-in-your-throat, anxiety-laden, heart-pounding four hours of racing for the Division 1 championship.

The Jays on the 2016 Jesuit swim team will remember the number 34 for a long time! It’s the number of points that separated the runners-up Blue Jays from surpassing the Catholic High Bears, who finished first with 483 points. Jesuit scored 450 points to earn the runner-up spot for a fourth straight year. St. Paul’s of Covington was a distant third with 112 points. Rummel was 7th with 90 points and Brother Martin was 11th with 67 points.

Jack Jackson stirs up the water enroute to a first place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. (Photo by Rick Hickman/American Press)

In the 65 years that prep swimming has thrived in Louisiana, Jesuit swim teams have garnered an unprecedented 37 state championships and finished in second place 19 times.

“It was our best meet in a long time,” said Jesuit swimming guru Bret Hanemann ’85, who has served as head coach at Carrollton and Banks for 21 years. “We swam great and we gave it our best shot. It just happened that Catholic’s swimmers were a little bit faster. I can’t be prouder of my team because they really swam their hearts out.”

Of the 11 events, Jesuit won two of the three relay races and placed second in the third relay. Blue Jay swimmers finished in one of the top three spots in seven of the eight individual events.

Jonathan Vegh (far left), co-captain Josh Armond (center) and Michael Foley (far right) cheer for their teammates in the 200-yard medley relay. The Jays placed second in the event, 20/100th of a second behind the Catholic High team. (Photo by Rick Hickman/American Press)

Senior Noah Wilkins placed first in the 50-yard freestyle and senior Jack Jackson was first in the 100-yard butterfly.

Jesuit placed first in the 200-yard freestyle relay with the team of Connor Schwartz, Noah Wilkins, Jack Jackson, and Jack Baudouin finishing almost a full second ahead of the Catholic High team.

The Jays also won the final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the team of seniors Jack Jackson and Josh Armond, sophomore Connor Schwartz, and freshman Michael Foley touching the wall in 3:09.66 and beating the Catholic High team by 45/100th of a second.

The Jesuit team of sophomores Charles Korndorffer and Davis Edwards, freshman Michael Foley, and senior Noah Wilkins placed second in the 200-yard medley relay, losing to the Catholic High team by a scant 20/100th of a second.

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