Academic Magnet High School's boys swimming team edged Bishop England by two points to claim the SCHSL Class AAA state championship on Oct. 10 in Columbia.
The Raptors finished with 411 points to Bishop England's 409 in the team standings at the University of South Carolina, according to Charleston County School District. CCSD called it one of the closest finishes ever at a state meet. The win gives Academic Magnet back-to-back AAA titles and its fourth state championship as a program.
Logan Patterson led the Raptors with his second consecutive individual state title in the 100-yard backstroke. Patterson clocked 50.71 seconds, more than a second and a half faster than his winning time last year. He also finished second in the 200-yard freestyle.
Finley Connors, a senior team captain, added two third-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly.
Academic Magnet's relay squads collected three podium finishes. The 400-yard freestyle team of Noah Pomerantz, Iaroslav Abramov, Keith Aikman and Patterson placed third and set a school record at 3:17.47. The 200-yard freestyle relay of Gabriel Kuprel, Yidong Ye, Connors and Pomerantz also took third. The 200-yard medley relay of Patterson, Aikman, Connors and Abramov earned a podium finish as well.
Bishop England head coach Rose Van Metre told The Daniel Island News that her boys' squad posted personal bests across the board despite the narrow loss. "Only brought 10 boys, and they swam really well. Lost by two points to [Academic] Magnet, who had 17 swimmers," Van Metre said.
The Raptors sent 17 swimmers to the state meet, including Patterson, Connors, Kuprel, Ye, Pomerantz, Abramov, Aikman and nine others listed on the CCSD roster.
The Post and Courier reported that the SCHSL finals were held in Columbia while the SCISA held its championship meet in North Charleston the same weekend.
Academic Magnet won its 2025 boys title by a much wider margin, topping St. Joseph's Catholic School by 86.4 points, according to the AMHS school newspaper. The 400-yard freestyle relay's school-record time of 3:17.47 now stands as a new school record.
