New classifications fostered new results at last year’s swimming and diving state championships. In four of the previous five seasons, the Lassiter girls had triumphed in Class AAAAA. Brookwood won it all in 2012, giving it five titles in the last 12 years. The first installment of Class AAAAAA, however, saw a newcomer crash the party as Lambert’s girls took home the title over runner-up Peachtree Ridge and third-place Lassiter.
HORNS BACK FOR MORE …
Lambert has reloaded and is gearing up for its run at a second consecutive champion-ship in Georgia’s highest classification. The Longhorns adopted new training regimens this season, including Olympic-style exercises and also yoga sessions every Friday. Either the new workouts or pure swimming talent—or both—has suited Lambert well in 2013-14. The team pocketed a fifth straight Forsyth County title last week and did so in style. Its 764 points were more than 200 clear of second-placeSouth Forsyth.
“This success is now expected from us,” Lambert head coach Kerry Langley told the Forsyth News. “We do the best we can do. The team atmosphere is great. We train so hard and expect to win. Winning the county tourna-ment felt great.”
Winning the state meet will require an even bigger effort. Other contenders include Gwinnett County standouts Mill Creek, North Gwinnett, Brookwood and Peachtree Ridge. The Mill Creek girls, a squad heavy with se-nior leadership, recently captured their sec-ond straight Gwinnett County title. Katherine Parker finished third in the 100-yard butterfly and third in the 100 backstroke, while Anna Guynes was third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 100 freestyle. Peachtree Ridge finished runner-up to Lambert at last year’s state meet. The Lions are led in part by Haley McInerny, who set a new county record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.54. McInerny also finished first in the 100 backstroke, but was disqualified be-cause her head did not break the surface prior to the 15-meter mark. She eventually helped Peachtree Ridge win the 400 freestyle relay in a thriller over Brookwood. The Broncos had won 11 of the previous 14 county meets and they performed well yet again despite placing behind Mill Creek and runner-up North Gwinnett.
Brookwood’s girls won the 200 medley relay and Anna Jahns touched the wall first in both the 200 and 500 freestyle, setting a county record in the 500. Five different champions have prevailed in the highest classification since 2004, but the story is hardly the same in the combined smaller classes. Westminster started a streak of six straight Class A-AAAA titles in 2001, Marist won five in a row from 2007-2011, then West-minster prevailed again in 2012. The Wildcats made it back-to-back last season with the first installment of Class A-AAAAA action. In other words, it has been an absolute two-horse race of late.
WAR EAGLES SOARING …
Both Marist and Westminster, though, were outclassed by Woodward Academy at the 44th Metro Swimming and Diving Cham-pionships on Jan. 25. The host Wildcats placed third behind runner-up Marist and the champion War Eagles. Woodward’s Kathleen Cook seized top honors in a pair of individual events, the 100 and 200 freestyle. Caitlin Cooper won the 50 freestyle while setting a meet record and also finished runner-up in the 100 butterfly. Additionally, the War Eagles’ relay teamare likely to be forces to be reckoned with at the state championship. In fact, they won ev-ery single relay race at the Fulton County event (200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 free-style).
Cooper starred on the 200 medley and 200 freestyle squads before Cook anchored the victorious 400 freestyle foursome. Marist freshman Elizabeth Bailey finished second in the 200 individual medley, fifth in the 100 butterfly and helped her foursome to second place in the 400 freestyle relay. The Westminster girls are led by senior Maddie Downs and junior Katie Christy. One of the more entertaining head-to-head showdowns could come in the 200 IM, an event that saw Christy edge Bailey by three one-hundredths of a second at the county championships.
Don’t underestimate the importance of one-meter diving, an event in which Marist has a capable performer in freshman Sarah Jacobson while Westminster counters with senior Laura Barber. However, Wesleyan freshman Abby Gardner blistered the competition at the Fulton meet. Jacobson finished second and Barber placed third. Westminster prevailed at last year’s state meet by a relatively comfortable margin of 67 points—306 to the 239 total for both Marist and Woodward, which tied of second place. St. Pius X finished a somewhat distant fourth in 2013 with 189 points.
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