The McCallie Swimming and Diving Team set five school records and won four events en route to winning the 2019 Tennessee Boys State Swimming and Diving Championship this past weekend in Nashville.
The title is the eighth for the McCallie program since 1992 and the eighth under Head Coach Stan Corcoran.
The Blue Tornado totaled 271 team points, outscoring second-place Maryville High School by 40 points.
Baylor placed third with 223.5 points.
“I am extremely proud of all of our swimmers,” said Corcoran, who was selected Men’s Coach of the Year by the state’s coaches. “I can’t begin to tell you how great the meet went for us. These boys have worked and worked, and to have it pay off in this way is tremendous and a great testimony to their dedication.”
Earning individual event State Championships for McCallie were senior Jake Marcum in the 200 freestyle, junior Will Jackson in the 500 freestyle, and the freestyle relay teams in the 200 and 400. Swimming the 200 relay for McCallie were seniors Max Ransom and Marcum and juniors Reece Gallagher and Jackson. Marcum, Ransom and Jackson teamed with freshman Sam Powe to win the 400 relay.
Marcum edged out Jackson at the wall by .01 in a thrilling finish in the 200. Marcum’s time of 1:38.13 and Jackson’s time of 1:38.14 were both automatic All-American qualifying times and broke US Olympian Sean Ryan’s McCallie/GPS Aquatics Club record. Powe placed eighth in the 200 in 1:44.33.
Jackson raced to a state title in the 500 with an All-American consideration time of 4:31.63.
Ransom was a fourth-place finisher in the 100 butterfly and placed seventh in the 100 freestyle. His time of 49.83 in the 100 fly was a school record with All-American consideration. His 100 freestyle time was 47.35.
Marcum and Powe placed second and fourth respectively in the 100 backstroke (48.60 and 50.35), and Marcum’s time broke the school record and met the automatic All-American time standard. Powe’s time has All-American consideration and broke the McCallie/GPS Aquatics record for 13- and 14-year-old boys as well as a Southeast Swimming record. Gallagher’s fourth-place time in the 100 breaststroke was a new school record at 57.76.
Both relay teams set school records and earned automatic All-American time standards in winning the 200 and 400. The winning 200 time was 1:24.21, and the 400 team was clocked at 3:04.39.
Other state titles for the Blue Tornado came in succession from 1998 to 2004.