MarkAnne Hobart didn’t win any gold medals at the Mississippi High School Activities Association State swim meet Saturday, but that didn’t keep a smile from creeping across her face.
“I was really so proud of everybody,” the Starkville High School junior said of her teammates. “We had eight swimmers make All-State and really came together through a lot of hard work.”
Hobart, who earned All-State honors with seven of her teammates by finishing first, second, or third in one of the events, knows a little bit about that hard work. She has suffered through a torn ligament in her shoulder so she could compete this season.
Today, Hobart is scheduled to have shoulder surgery.
“I’m not going to lie, this year has been really hard,” Hobart said. “I’m real tough, but I cried. My shoulder has been killing me, but I just didn’t want to give up on my team.”
Hobart will be out of the water for three months as she goes through rehabilitation, but she plans to return for her senior season.
“I’m am definitely going to give it a try,” she said.
While Starkville High teammates Kristen Lacy, Laken Vickers, Adina Harri, Cheng Ye, Andy Bond, Adam Bond, and David McKell joined Hobart on the All-State team, two Columbus High swimmers also had big meets at the Delta State Aquatic Center in Cleveland.
Corey Persons finished second in the 50-yard backstroke, barely being out-touched at the wall, while eighth-grader Ladd Chain finished third in the 100 butterfly.
“He dropped two seconds on his time,” Columbus coach Chris Chain said of his son, Ladd. “The top two guys were 17-year-olds and he’s just 13.”
Chain, who also coaches the Swim Columbus club team, said Saturday’s performance was a good start for the Falcons.
“I was very pleased that in our first year we take two kids and we get on the (awards) stand,” he said. “We hope to be able to continue to grow this and just get more competitive each year.”
A pair of Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science swimmers fared well in the Class I (Class 1A-4A) portion of the meet.
Aaron Ng posted a time of 55.87 seconds to take the gold medal in the 100 fly, while Wilhelm Liano was second in the 100 back and fifth in the 50 freestyle.
The Starkville High boys and girls each finished fourth in Class II (5A and 6A). Eighth-grader Laken Vickers won gold in the 100 yard breaststroke.
“Laken practices really hard, most days twice a day,” Starkville coach Angela Hobart said. “She’s very dedicated and very consistent and willing to do what it takes to keep getting better.”
Hobart said she was really pleased with her boys and girls relay teams that made the finals in all six events.
The boys took second in the 200 medley, sixth in the 400 free, and eighth in the 200 free. The Lady Yellow Jackets were third in the 200 medley and 400 free and sixth in the 200 free.
Andy Bond won silver in the 200 individual medley, while Ye was third in the 100 breast and seventh in the 200 IM. Adam Bond was fifth in the 100 fly and sixth in the 100 backstroke, while McKell was sixth in the 200 free and 500 free.
On the girls side, Harri was fifth in the 200 IM and 100 free, while Hobart was sixth in the 100 fly, Walker Mattox was sixth in the 100 free, and Lacy was sixth in the 100 back.
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