Phineas Theall wins two state titles, brings butterfly record back to Cape Central

A fraction of a second.

That is the amount of improvement Cape Central senior Phineas Theall was looking to make in his season-long quest for a second straight state championship in the 100-yard butterfly.

He secured the state title with a time of 48.99 in the MSHSAA Class 1 state swim championships on Saturday, Nov. 16, in St. Peters. It was 0.09 seconds slower than the time of his first title last year.

However, it was his 48.34 time in the prelims on Friday that made history, as it broke the Class 1 state record set by Matthew Judkins of Chaminade in 2022 at 48.76. It was an important record for Theall to break the record because it was Cape Central alum Brogan Davis' record that was broken by Judkins.

"It means a lot," Theall said. "I've been chasing this record for a while and we finally have it back at Cape. Two years ago it was broken by someone who is not from Cape. Not it's back."

Theall won his second state championship of 2024 with a first-place finish (20.57) in the 50-yard freestyle.

Theall also anchored the Tigers' 400-yard relay to a 13th-place finish and All-State honorable mention. Powered by Theall, the Tigers finished 15th out of 40 teams in the team standings.

Notre Dame sent an army to the Class 1 championships and finished seventh overall. The Bulldogs placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay and fifth in the 200-yard medley relay.

Notre Dame sophomore Hudson Dennis earned All-State honors in two events, with a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (46.22) and a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (21.30).

Notre Dame sophomore Kaiden Cracraft earned All-State honors in the 500-yard freestyle with an eighth-place finish (4:54.75). He also won the consolation final heat in the 200-yard IM for ninth place overall (1:58.03) and an All-State honorable mention.

Notre Dame senior Thomas Hasz (1:52.56) placed 16th in the 200-yard freestyle for an All-State honorable mention.