The Lawton Public Schools district swim team made waves on Jan. 25 at the Southwest Area Championships when student-athletes from both MacArthur High School (MHS) and Eisenhower High School (EHS) had strong performances with multiple podium finishes and individual accomplishments.
Both MHS and EHS finished strong as teams. The Highlander girls had the best finish, coming in third place in the standings while the Highlander boys finished fourth. The Eisenhower boys placed fifth as a team while the Eagle girls finished in seventh.
MacArthur’s girls had four reach the podium during the Area Championships. The lone individual was sophomore Mikaya Norton, who finished second in the 100 breaststroke and second in the 400 freestyle. The Highlanders had two relay teams make the podium. In the 200 medley relay, Norton, senior Lili Boothe, and juniors Madalyn Strickland and Natalie Buchko finished this and then followed that up with a third place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Additionally, Strickland finished fourth in both the 400 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, while Boothe placed seventh in the 100 backstroke and Buchko finished eighth in the 100 freestyle.
Junior Rohan Mariano led the way for the Highlander boys. He set a new Area Championship record and finished first in both the 200 and 400 freestyle. Sophomore Evan Raynor also earned points as an individual for MHS, finishing seventh in the 100 freestyle, while the Highlander relay team of junior Joe Martinez, sophomore Alex Martinez, Raynor, and Mariano finished fifth in both the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle.
The Eagle boys were paced by senior Brayden Ratliff, who shined in the 200 individual medley, placing first, and then finished second in the 100 backstroke. Junior Charles Hinton also placed fourth in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 breaststroke. The EHS boys relay team of Hinton, B. Ratliff, junior Lucas Holstein and freshman Jackson Ratliff also finished fourth in the 200 freestyle.
On the girls side, Eisenhower had junior Hope Cho finish in sixth place in the 100 freestyle.
Next up for the LPS swimmers will be Regionals on Feb. 8 in Edmond and then the OSSAA State Championship Meet will be Feb. 21-22 at the Jenks Public Schools Aquatic Center.