The swimming and diving state championships have finally concluded, and as expected the girls from Lassiter ended up on top. After inclement weather forced postponements last week, the championships were concluded on Tuesday, Feb. 16, with the Lady Trojans winning their third consecutive Class 5A state title. Last season the team did so without winning a single event. This year however, the 400-yard freestyle team of Courtney Ciesielski, Ansley Crenshaw, Sarah Williford and Sammie Bosman finished the championships in impressive fashion for Lassiter, taking first with a time of 3:30.71. The Lady Trojans collected 326 points to outpace second place Walton who finished up with 249. Despite having only one top finish, Lassiter placed multiple swimmers in the top 16 in nearly every event. In the 100 freestyle, Bosma earned a second place finish with a time of 51.79, while Kim Carducci took fifth in 52.48. Bosma also placed in the 50 freestyle, taking third. Additionally, Lassiter took second in both the 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke with Shannon O’Malley and Ciesielski earning times of 1:04.90 and 57.54 respectively.
Walton had several top finishes as well, winning both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay. Erin Reisinger continued her dominance in the 100 backstroke, taking first for the fourth consecutive season with a time of 53.99. Walton’s Jessica Graber also contributed a first place finish winning the 50 freestyle in 23.69.
On the boys side, after a strong start, Walton earned a third place finish at the state championships with 184 points. Brookwood won the title for the third consecutive year, coming in with 241 points, followed by Peachtree Ridge in second with 193. Ben Shepperd had a strong meet for the Raiders, winning the 50 freestyle in 51.21 and placing seventh in the 100 butterfly at 52.59. In addition, Shepperd was a part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished in a second place tie with Brookwood to give the Raiders their third place overall finish. Brian McClintock, another member of the relay team contributed a second place finish in the 100 breaststroke as well. The relay team also consisted of Kurt Malcolm (who also placed fifth in the 200 individual medley at 1:58.74) and Davis Beauchamp.
Lassiter, who earned a seventh-place finish with 138 points, had several impressive finishes as well. Jimmy Yoder contributed fifth place finishes in the 200 freestyle (1:41.16) and 500 freestyle (4:37.08), while Zach Bunner (52.62) and Jackson Marine (54.33) added fifth and seventh place finishes in the 100 backstroke.
MARCH MAYHEM AWAITS …
Meanwhile, on the court the basketball playoffs got started, with several exciting contests already in the books. In the Region 6-AAAAA title game, Campbell was unable to take advantage of their home court, falling to Milton 77-61 on Monday. Justin Seymour led the Spartans in the loss with 16 points, 15 of which occurred in the second half. Justin Haffad and Matt Cotton were also in double figures for the Spartans, tallying 12 and 11 points respectively. Campbell kept the score close throughout much of the game, pulling to within four points at 48-33 with 1:30 left in the third quarter. The first round of the state playoffs is set to begin on Friday, with Campbell hosting North Gwinnett.
Also in action on Monday, third-ranked Wheeler earned a 64-52 victory over Centennial in the consolation game of the Region 6-AAAAA championships. The Wildcats were led by K.K. Simmons, who came off the bench to score 22 points. Jelan Kendrick had a strong game as well for Wheeler, tallying 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Phil Taylor added 10 points. Wheeler is now set to take on Peachtree Ridge, the No. 2 seed on Friday.
McEachern took home a big win of its own this week. Following the death of their schoolmate Rajaan Bennett, the Indians took the court against Harrison on Monday, coming away with a 64-57 victory. Trae Golden led the Indians in the winning effort, tallying 28 points, while Rory Anderson added 10.
On the girls side, McEachern has also appeared strong thus far. Led by Dominique Wilson, the No. 3 seeded Lady Indians defeated the Lady Eagles of Etowah 44-40 at the Region 5-AAAAA semi-finals on Monday. In addition to scoring 13 points, Wilson scored the go-ahead basket with only 19 seconds remaining in regulation, before contributing a pair of free throws to ice the victory.
Also on the court on Monday, North Cobb took home a big win over Marietta 44-37 in the Region 5-AAAAA semifinals. The game remained tight throughout, with Marietta actually leading 32-28 early in the fourth quarter. Kira Gordon led North Cobb in scoring with 15 points, while Jarae Savage added ten points, all of which occurred in the second half.
Wade can be reached at kwade@scoreatl.com
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