SULPHUR — Westlake’s Talen Garrard successfully defended his Division III 100-yard butterfly title at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state swim meet on Thursday at the Sulphur Parks and Recreation Aquatic Center.

Garrard entered the finals as the top seed after winning the preliminary round on Wednesday but felt some heat from E.D. White’s Cooper Bilello early in the race. At the first turn, Bilello was right with Garrard, but he ended up winning by nearly a full second at 53.35 seconds, improving by nearly a half second on his winning time (53.82) last season. Bilello was the runner-up at 54.30.

“It feels really good,” Garrard said. “I felt very confident, but that last 50 hurt though.

“I tried to breathe as less as I could and just stay under the water. I really wanted to make sure I had my dolphin kicks and my stroke. He swims over the water, and I was just trying to keep my underwaters and get him with that. I use my dolphin kicks to my advantage.”

Two events before his gold medal swim, Garrard had a near miss for a medal in the 50 freestyle. He finished fourth at 22.56 seconds and one-hundredth of a second off the podium.

“I was good, but not what I wanted,” Garrard said. “I think I was just so focused on my 100 fly that my head wasn’t in the 50 free like I thought I would be.

“Next year I will have to pick something else. I am not decided yet but definitely the 100 fly.”