LPJ Sports Report
BATON ROUGE — The Bulldog Aquatic Club wrapped up its 2026 long course season with an all-state performance, a Louisiana state record and a top-12 overall team finish at the Louisiana Summer 15 & Over State Championship Swim Meet, held July 16-19 in Baton Rouge.
The meet featured approximately 300 of Louisiana’s fastest high school and college-age swimmers competing over 3½ days. Swimmers were eligible for up to six individual events in addition to relays, with preliminary races each morning and the top 32 finishers advancing to evening finals.
Bulldog Aquatic Club, coached by Paulette Butterfield, finished 12th overall among 18 teams. The club placed sixth in the boys standings and 13th in the girls standings.
Leading the way was J.J. Hoover, who earned all-state honors by finishing among the top three in five individual events. Hoover captured state championships in the 100-yard butterfly and 200 butterfly, finished second in the 200 breaststroke and placed third in both the 50 and 100 breaststroke. Hoover also set a Louisiana Swimming state record in the 50 butterfly.
The club’s 200 mixed medley relay team of KaraLin Hoover, Camdyn Napper, Samuel Jackson and Breanna Senn also established a Louisiana Swimming state record.
“We sent a solid group of 15 athletes to compete in the meet,” Butterfield said. “It was a long hot weekend with some competing in up to 8 events per day. They showed a lot of mental toughness and grit.”
Several Bulldog swimmers turned in top-10 finishes throughout the meet.
For the girls, Breanna Senn placed ninth in the 1,500 freestyle and Emily Xu recorded fourth-place finishes in both the 1,500 and 800 freestyle while adding ninth-place finishes in the 200 and 400 freestyle.
On the boys side, Jack Groce finished eighth in the 400 individual medley and 10th in the 200 individual medley. Camdyn Napper posted four top-seven finishes, placing fifth in the 400 individual medley, sixth in both the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly, and seventh in the 200 individual medley.
In the Multi-Class Division, Brendan Pilgreen earned runner-up finishes in the 100 freestyle and 50 backstroke while placing third in the 50 freestyle. William Smith finished second in the 50 freestyle and third in the 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle.
The Bulldogs also recorded strong relay performances, highlighted by a seventh-place finish in the boys 200 freestyle relay. The boys added eighth-place finishes in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays, while the girls’ best relay finish was 17th in the 400 medley relay.
Butterfield said the meet also marked the end of an era for one of the program’s veteran swimmers.
“This last meet of the season is always bittersweet as we cheered on our graduating Ruston senior, KaraLin Hoover who will be attending Pepperdine in the fall,” Butterfield said.
Although the state meet concluded the season for most of the team, several Bulldog swimmers remain in competition.
“This meet was not even the end of the season for a few of our swimmers,” Butterfield said. “We have 3 swimmers, Senn, Roach and Romanski, currently competing in the Southern Zone Senior Championships in Houston, TX. This meet brings swimmers from 14 different regions in the southeast to one venue.”
Butterfield also noted Hoover’s season is continuing on the national stage.
“Next week (August 3-7), J.J. Hoover will be traveling to Irvine, CA to participate in USA Swimming’s Speedo Junior National Championships,” Butterfield said. “This is a true national meet where swimmers from the entire US race at one meet.”
