Since 2019, the Bishop Lynch High School women's swim program has not only been crushing records, but they have dominated the pool at the State level. Looking at the numbers, you would almost think there's a typo or two. Not only do the stats look fake, but the fact that they have led the way for the last six years is unbelievable.
 
If you are a numbers person like me, you are going to enjoy going through this article. 
 
At every state championship meet there are 11 events: 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle, 200 IM, 50 Free, 100 Butterfly, 100 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, 200 Free Relay, 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke and 400 Free Relay. 
 
Like the Olympics, there is a gold, silver, and bronze medal for first, second, and third place. If you watch the Olympics, you may be familiar with a medal counter that tracks the total medals and then how many gold, silver, and bronze medals each country has.
 
Over the past six seasons, the medal count for TAPPS women's swim looks like this.
 

Yes, that is correct. The BLHS women's swim program has racked up 60 total medals. That number is impressive all by itself, but the one that really jumps out is that 67% of those medals are GOLD. That is truly incredible when you consider that in six years there are 66 gold medals given out, and the Friars captured 40 of them (61%). It's even crazier because 40 gold medals is more than the total medal count for St. Agnes Academy, who comes in second place in total medals. 

Now that we have your attention about how gnarly this six-year run has been, let's dig more into some more numbers.

There are three relays in each state meet, and relays are worth the most points and the most exciting races. In the 18 relays over the six years, the Friars have won an incredible 14 of the 18. Yes, FOURTEEN. Ursuline Academy is the only other school with more than one, and they have two.

Relay's Won:
Bishop Lynch: 14
Ursuline Academy: 2
St. Agnes: 1
Duchesne Academy: 1
 

Let's talk about how many events the Friars have medaled in and how many they haven't. As we mentioned earlier, there are 11 events in each meet. So, in total that is 66 events over six years. The Friars medaled in 55 (83%) of the 66 events in the past five years. I mean, what? For perspective, St. Agnes has only medaled in 29 (53%) of the 55 events and Ursuline has a medaling percentage of 48%.

Concordia Lutheran, which has been a great swim program and has the fourth most medals over this time frame, has only medaled in 13 of the 55 events. 
 
Now with all these incredible team stats, there were some individual ones that are maybe more incredible. Hadley Beeson, Stella Todd, Amie Perna, and Hanna Whitney had amazing Bishop Lynch swimming careers that led to them competing in the NCAA.
 
Todd had 16 total podiums that included 15 golds and one silver medal. She won TAPPS State Swimmer of the Meet two times and held six school records and one TAPPS record when she graduated. She currently swims at Texas Christian University. 

Beeson had 16 total podiums that included 14 golds and two silver medals. She won TAPPS State Swimmer of the Meet one time and held five school records and two TAPPS records when she graduated. She currently swims at Texas A&M University. 

Perna had 16 total podiums that included 14 golds and two silver medals. She won TAPPS State Swimmer of the Meet twice and currently holds six school records and three TAPPS records.

Whitney had 16 total podiums that included 11 golds, four silver medals, and one bronze medal. She currently holds three school records. 
 
 By themselves, they would each be tied for the fifth-most medals in the last five years with 16 total medals, and they would have more gold medals than every other school. 
 

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After a brief overview of some of these unworldly stats, let's go year by year to see what that dominance looked like in the pool. As you will notice, BL year after year leads TAPPS in total medals and gold medals but doesn't win the state championship. A lot of that has to do with the scoring system TAPPS uses, and the fact that we always have one of the smaller squads.

2019:

1. St. Agnes Academy - 420
2. Ursuline Academy - 230
3. Bishop Lynch - 228

In 2019, the women's swim team had a unique combination of upperclassmen leadership with freshman studs. I don't want you to have to read a whole recap so if you want to learn more about the meet you can go back and read the recap here.
 
The Friars weren't expecting to win a state championship in '19, but they eagerly wanted to finish in the top three. BL went in and lead the meet in total and gold medals which helped them finish in third place.
 
Gold: 

1. 200 Medley Relay - Ailish Tierney '19, Hadley Beeson '22, Stella Todd '22, Lindsay Hudspeth '20
2. Hadley Beeson '22 - 200 Free
3. Stella Todd '22 - 200 IM
4. Stella Todd '22 - 100 Butterfly
5. Hadley Beeson '22 - 500 Free
6. 400 Free Relay - Hadley Beeson '22, Ailish Tierney '19, Lindsay Hudspeth '20, Stella Todd '22

Silver: None

Bronze:

1. Ailish Tierney '19 - 100 Free
2. Ailish Tierney '19 - 100 Backstroke

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2020

1. St. Agnes Academy - 455
2. Bishop Lynch - 213
3. Duchesne Academy - 198

After splashing onto the scene in 2019, the young team of BL wanted to improve on their third-place finish. In 2020, the team did just that by finishing in second place and once again winning the most gold medals and tying for most medals in the meet.
 
Read the meet recap here.
 
Gold: 

1. Hadley Beeson '22 - 200 Free
2. Stella Todd '22 - 200 IM
3. Stella Todd '22 - 500 Free
4. 400 Free Relay - Hadley Beeson '22, Sophia Robertson '21, Lindsay Hudspeth '20, Stella Todd '22

Silver:

1. 200 Medley Relay - Lindsay Hudspeth '20, Hadley Beeson, '22, Stella Todd '22, Sophie Robertson '21
2. Hadley Beeson '22 - 100 Butterfly

Bronze:

1. Lindsay Hudspeth '20 - 200 IM

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2021 *Ursuline Academy did not compete*

1. St. Agnes Academy - 403
2. Bishop Lynch - 326
3. Loretto Academy - 199

2021 was the first year the team truly believed they had a shot at the state championship. Because of COVID, everything was a little different and then the day before the meet, the entire Ursuline team could not attend the meet which hurt the Friars' chances. Despite winning 8 of the 11 events, including finishing 1-2 in three events, they finished second once again to St. Agnes.

Read the meet recap here.
 
Gold: 

1. 200 Medley Relay - Amie Perna '24, Hanna Whitney '24, Stella Todd '22, Sophie Robertson '21
2. Hadley Beeson '22 - 200 Free
3. Amie Perna '24 - 200 IM
4. Stella Todd '22 - 100 Butterfly
5. Hadley Beeson '22 - 100 Free
6. Stella Todd '22 - 500 Free
7. 200 Free Relay - Abby Beeson '24, Hanna Whitney '24, Emily Zajick '23, Hadley Beeson '24
8. 400 Free Relay - Amie Perna '24, Abby Beeson '24, Stella Todd '22, Hadley Beeson '22

Silver:

1. Abby Beeson '24 - 200 Free
2. Hanna Whitney '24 - 200 IM
3. Amie Perna '24 - 100 Backstroke

Bronze:

1. Hanna Whitney '24 - 100 Breaststroke

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2022:

1. Bishop Lynch - 349.50
2. Ursuline Academy - 298.50
3. St. Agnes Academy - 293

The buildup to the 2022 swim meet was like nothing else. Bishop Lynch was currently sitting on 99 state championships and the Friars were poised to finally take that next step to win a title. The women won an incredible 10 of the 11 events on their way to BLHS's 100th state championship and the program's first.
 
 "Each of my four years with BL swimming were all very different teams, but I think that they were all similar in the fact of wanting to eventually win state, even in my earlier years I knew that the older girls were swimming for the future of the swim program, not necessarily to win in 2019. However, each year we accomplished something different and exceptional until eventually becoming All-Americans and winning state in 2022" Hadley Beeson said when reflecting on her career at BL.
 
 Read the meet recap here.
 
Gold: 

1. 200 Medley Relay - Amie Perna '24 , Hanna Whitney '24, Lily Roe '24 and Stella Todd '22
2. Stella Todd '22 - 200 Free
3. Amie Perna '24 - 200 IM
4. Hadley Beeson '22 - 50 Free
5. Stella Todd '23 - 100 Butterfly
6. Hadley Beeson '22 - 100 Free
7. 200 Free Relay - Amie Perna '24, Ella Nichols '25, Abby Beeson '24 and Hadley Beeson '24
8. Amie Perna '24 - 100 Backstroke
9. Hanna Whitney '24 - 100 Breaststroke
10. 400 Free Relay - Abby Beeson '24, Hanna Whitney '24, Stella Todd '22 and Hadley Beeson '22

Silver:

1. Hanna Whitney '24 - 200 IM
2. Abby Beeson '24 - 50 Free
3. Abby Beeson '24 - 100 Free

Bronze: None
 

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2023:

1. Ursuline Academy - 372
2. Bishop Lynch - 313
3. St. Agnes Academy - 266

Winning is hard, but defending your championship may be even harder. In 2023, the team had to replace Stella Todd and Hadley Beeson. With no seniors on the team, the Class of 2024 represented well on their way to a second-place finish - winning another 10 medals with five golds. 
 
"Coming in as a freshman it was nerve-wracking not knowing very many people and I think that took a lot of confidence out of me and my swimming. Watching Hadley and Stella compete in the water was inspiring to the team but especially to me. I got excited seeing what they could do and felt motivated to dominate the water as they did. Hadley and Stella taught me how to get up on the blocks and perform a great race which brought back my confidence. With them now graduated I'm determined to continue this mindset with the swimmers currently on the team and the new girls coming in. Building confidence will help our team reach new levels and hopefully win state again.," said rising senior Amie Perna who won the swimmer of the meet at the '23 state meet. 

Read the meet recap here.
 
Gold: 

1. Hanna Whitney '24 - 200 IM
2. 200 Free Relay - Hanna Whitney '24, Ella Nichols '25, Abby Beeson '24, Amie Perna '24
3. Amie Perna '24 - 100 Backstroke
4. Hanna Whitney - 100 Breaststroke
5. 400 Free Relay - Phoebe Johnson '24, Ella Nichols '25, Lily Roe '24, Amie Perna '24

Silver:

1. 200 Medley Relay - Lily Roe '24, Hanna Whitney '24, Phoebe Johnson '24, Abby Beeson '24
2. Amie Perna '24 - 200 Free
3. Phoebe Johnson '24 - 100 Butterfly
4. Phoebe Johnson '24 - 500 Free

Bronze: 

1. Abby Beeson - 50 Free

 

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2024:

1. Bishop Lynch - 365
2. Ursuline Academy - 306
3. St. Agnes Academy - 245

When Phoebe Johnson touched the wall to finish first in the women's 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, the Bishop Lynch women's swim team could officially celebrate having captured their second title in three years by winning the TAPPS Division 1 State Championship. The Friars beat out Ursuline Academy (306) and St. Agnes (245) as they finished with 365 points - the most points in team history.

The team finished with seven golds and three silvers in the 11 events. Amie Perna finished out her Friar career with four golds in the meet, along with three TAPPS records, on her way to being crowned the Bruce Collins Swimmer of the Meet.

Read the meet recap here.
 
Gold: 

1. 200 Medley Relay - Amie Perna '24, Hanna Whitney '24, Ella Whitney '27, Abby Beeson '24
2. Amie Perna '24 - 200 Free
3. Amie Perna '24 - 100 Free
4. 200 Free Relay - Hanna Whitney '24, Carolina Girard '27, Phoebe Johnson '24, Amie Perna '24
5. Abby Beeson '24 - 100 Backstroke
6. Hanna Whitney '24 - 100 Breaststroke
7. 400 Free Relay - Abby Beeson '24, Carolina Girard '27, Ella Whitney '27, Phoebe Johnson '24

Silver:

1. Hanna Whitney '24 - 200 IM
2. Phoebe Johnson '24 - 100 Butterfly
3. Phoebe Johnson '24 - 500 Free

 

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Student-athletes to win a medal over the past six seasons:
 
Stella Todd '22 - 16 medals: 15 gold / 1 silver
Hadley Beeson '22 - 16 medals: 14 gold / 2 silver
Amie Perna '24 - 16 medals: 14 gold / 2 silver
Hanna Whitney '24 - 16 medals: 11 gold / 4 silver / 1 bronze
Abby Beeson '24 - 13 medals: 8 gold / 4 silver/ 1 bronze
Lindsey Hudspeth '20 - 5 medals: 3 gold / 1 silver / 1 bronze
Ailish Tierney '19 - 4 medals: 2 gold / 2 bronze
Phoebe Johnson '24 - 8 medals: 2 gold / 5 silver
Lily Roe ' 24 - 3 medals: 2 gold / 1 silver
Ella Nichols '25 - 3 medals: 3 gold
Sophia Robertson '21 - 3 medals: 2 gold / 1 silver
Carolina Girard '27 - 2 medals: 2 gold
Ella Whitney '27 - 2 medals: 2 gold
Emily Zajick '23 - 1 medal: 1 gold
 

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