Swimming | 8/27/2026 2:30:00 PM
Mt. Pleasant, SC – The Oceanside Collegiate Academy swim team is off to a fast start for the 2026 season after competing in a pair of events during the first week of the year.
The squad opened the year last Saturday in a tri-meet against West Ashley High and Porter-Gaud.
"Our goal for each meet is to improve our times and most are striving for personal goals of obtaining state consideration or automatic times this season," OCA coach
Courtney Beauch said. "There were a few changes in some schools in the division they are swimming in so there is a lot of really great local competition in the lowcountry."
The OCA girls roster includes a trio of seniors –
Kate Baldwin,
Elli Kate Littleton and
Livy White – along with juniors
Alex Ballenger,
Eryn Lee,
Dakota Reilly and
Vander Wallman. The squad also has a pair of sophomores in
Reese Holland and
Greta Hughey. There are no freshmen on the girls' squad.
"We only have two new girls on the team, so everyone returning knows what they need to do to get their times where they want," Beauch said. "We have a few swimmers this year who want to try some new events for the first time, so I'm excited for the fact they are doing research and seeing what events look like and where they feel they could contribute best to the team."
The OCA boys swim squad is totally opposite from the girls' team, with just two veterans and five freshmen.
"We have some really great freshman boys who are showing out since the first meet," Beauch said. "They seem to have a diverse range of events where they will perform well so their main events are to be determined, which is a great problem to have."
Seniors
Cash Hoffman and Conrade Stabene will lead the group of five freshmen on the boys' team. That group includes
Ethan Goxhaj,
Jack Kramer,
Michael Rosa-Lebron,
Elliot Rutland and
Landon Taylor.
"We haven't had a strong group of boys in a few years so it's exciting to see that happening so early in the season," Beauch said.
In the opening event hosted by Porter-Gaud, the team had some strong performances.
- Boys finished second in the 200-meter medley relay (1:54.07).
- Ethan Goxhaj finished first (2:17.38) in the 200 IM and Michael Rosa-Lebron finished third (2:19.86).
- Conrad Stabene finished first in the 50-meter free (23.06).
- Dakota Reilly finished second in the 100-meter fly (1:08.21) with Eryn Lee close behind in third (1:10.07). Reilly also finished second in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:09.13.
- Goxhaj finished second (54.37) in the 100 free with Rosa-Lebron right behind in third (54.58).
- Reese Holland finished third in the 500 free (6:09.51).
- Both the Girls' & Boys' 200-meter free relay finished second with the girls posting a time of 1:52.87 and the boys finishing with a time of 1:41.94.
- Dakota finished 2nd in the 100 back
The Oceanside Invite was held on Tuesday at Park West Recreation Complex and the Landsharks hosting Academic Magnet and Bishop England.
"It was a super fun meet," Beauch said. "Both Bishop England and Academic Magnet have quite a few returning swimmers on their teams, so just being in an atmosphere with so much positive energy makes for a fast, fun swim meet.
"They are two of the best teams in the state and, luckily, we have an opportunity to swim against them a few times throughout the season. Swimming against fast people can only make you faster."
Oceanside's top finishers on Tuesday included:
- Girls' relay finished third in the 200-meter Medley (2:06.91).
- Reilly finished third in the 50-meter free (26.98).
- Lee finished third in the 100-meter free (1:00.66).
- Stabene finished second in the 50-meter free (23.13).
- Boys' finished second in the 200-meter free relay (1:38.88).
"Overall there was a very good improvement from the first meet to the second where people swam the same events and lowered their times," Beauch said. "On paper, we are in a better position than we have been in past years in terms of already achieving consideration and automatic state times.
"We have about 10 days until our next meet again Bishop England so there will be some event specific training going on before that and, hopefully, we will continue to figure out who likes to swim which events and keep moving in the right direction."
The Landsharks will be back in the water today at Park West in a tri-meet with Wando and Phillip Simmons High Schools. The meet is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
About Oceanside Collegiate Academy: Oceanside Collegiate Academy (OCA), located in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while earning up to two years of college credit. OCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades Learn more about OCA by visiting our website at OceansideCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X. For video content, visit our YouTube channel.
