The Panther Creek High School swimming and diving team made its first appearance at the UIL state meet a memorable one. The girls team from Frisco ISD’s 12th high school, which opened this year and doesn’t yet have a senior class, finished as the Class 4A state runner-up Friday at the Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio.
“We made school history,” Panther Creek coach Megan Conner told The Dallas Morning News.
Panther Creek did make school history in a very big way, with the girls team piling up 241 points to finish second behind only San Antonio Great Hearts Monte Vista (295). The Panther Creek girls team was led by Avery Whorton, who won the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Eden Addison, who won the 200 individual medley and was second in the 500 freestyle.
Whorton and Addison were also part of the 200 free relay team that finished second, joined by Cora Eckard and Dana Chau. The 200 medley relay team –- featuring Addison, Cora Eckard, Cuba Eckard and Loren Green, also finished second. The 400 relay team also had an impressive finish, shaving six seconds off its time in Thursday’s preliminaries to finish fourth on Friday. The 400 relay team members were Whorton, Chau, Green and Cuba Eckard. In the one-meter diving competition, Panther Creek’s Arielle Ngero finished sixth.
Panther Creek's Aiden Eckard earned a state championship in the boys 100 backstroke and finished second in the 200 individual medley, part of an exciting day for the Eckard family (his sisters are Cora and Cuba). Cora Eckard finished fifth in the 500 free and the 100 back.
As coach Megan Conner said, Panther Creek made history. And there’s certainly a lot of great moments to come, with no seniors on this year's team.
Full UIL State Meet Results.