John Marshall's Wyatt Jefferson performs during the boys 200 yard IM event on Saturday in Bridgeport.

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — A week after swimmers from West Virginia’s new North Division — made up of the state’s larger schools — were sidelined by snow while the rest of the state competed, they finally took to the water Saturday at The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport to determine who would advance to Thursday and Friday’s state swim championships in Morgantown.

The extra wait proved worthwhile, as the North Region meet produced several record-setting performances and a host of state qualifiers among local schools.

However, given the short turn-around time for swimmers from the North Division — four recovery days until states compared to 11 for those from the South Division — it will be interesting to see how that factors in with finishes.

John Marshall’s Seanna Leyland performs during the girls 100 yard butterfly event on Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport.

This marks the first year West Virginia swimming has been divided into big-school and small-school classifications, similar to the format used in track and field.

In previous years, the top 12 finishers in each individual event, along with the next 12 fastest times statewide, qualified for the state meet. Under the new format, the state is split into North and South divisions within each classification. The top four finishers in each division automatically qualify, followed by the next eight fastest times overall. The change provides greater opportunity for smaller schools to send swimmers to the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission State Swimming Championships.

Wheeling Park’s Ella Landini performs during the girls 100 yard butterfly event on Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport.

On Saturday, homestanding Bridgeport High School captured the boys’ North Region title while Washington High School from Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle captured the girls. Morgantown High School finished runners-up in both the boys and girls competition.

Locally, John Marshall’s girls finished fifth, Brooke High’s girls sixth, and Wheeling Park, seventh. For the boys, John Marshall was fourth and Wheeling Park, seventh.

Wheeling Park’s Elliana McCabe performs during the girls 200 yard IM event on Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport.

Girls

For John Marshall, the Monarch girls — the defending big school state champions — once again showed their depth Saturday as they head to the state meet with plenty of momentum. The JMHS girls’ 200 freestyle relay team of Ella Finley, Seanna Leyland, Savannah Potts and Zoe Zervos placed second in 1:48.51, continuing a run of strong sprint relays. Zervos also earned an individual third-place finish in the 100 freestyle (58.09) and was second in the 50 freestyle (26.09), while the 200 medley relay (2:01.02) squad of Adah Aubrey, Sarah Hess, Seanna Leyland and Zoe Zervos combined for the podium performance.

Wheeling Park’s girls were led by senior Molly George, who turned in two runner-up swims — second in the 100 freestyle (56.52) and second in the 100 backstroke (59.28). Park also saw all three of its relays finish top six to move on to the state meet.

John Marshall’s Gabryel Buscko performs during the boys 50 yard freestyle event on Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport.

Brooke High School saw both strong individual performances and strong relays Saturday. Lindsey Kettler placed second in the 200 freestyle (2:04.61) and second in the 100 butterfly (1:04.55). Kiersten Harvath added a third-place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:43.68). The Bruins closed strong in the 400 freestyle relay, where Kettler, Ivy Myers, Harvath and Faith Farrell earned a runner-up finish in 3:59.18 .

Boys

John Marshall’s boys also delivered in the relays. The 200 medley relay team of Evan Harrison, Wyatt Jefferson, Dalton Brown and Brodie Baker finished second in 1:43.75. In the 200 freestyle relay, Harrison, Baker, Brown and Jefferson returned to capture third in 1:34.28.

Wheeling Park’s Bryton Alig performs during the boys 200 yard IM event on Saturday in Bridgeport.

Individually, Jefferson dominated the 100 breaststroke, winning the event in 1:00.89. He also placed third in the 200 individual medley (2:07.96), while Brown added a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (55.65) and a strong fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:13.19).

Wheeling Park will send all three of its relays to the state meet along with a host of individual event qualifiers.

State Qualifiers

Girls

Molly George

Luana Fernandez

Leah Lief

El Green

Ella Landini

Elliana McCabe

Lucrezia Santini

Boys

Brady Bowie

Brady Biehl

Jacob Walters

Ben Henderson

Zander Kalcum

Ronan Maxwell

Conner Kiziminski

John Marshall High School

Girls

Adah Aubrey

Avery Etzel

Ella Finley

Sarah Hess

Seanna Leyland

Savannah Potts

Zoe Zervos

Boys

Brodie Baker

Dalton Brown

Garvin Hadden

Evan Harrison

Wyatt Jefferson

Braxten Ullom

Brooke High School

Girls

Faith Farrell

Kiersten Harvath

Gwen Hill

Lindsey Kettler

Ivy Myers

Boys

Ryan Kettler

Aiden Stock

Colin Winters

Gunner Yost