Last week’s GHSA Swimming and Diving State Championship at Westminster was one for the record books. A total of six state records were broken by competitors in Saturday’s swimming finals, and Walton’s Erin Reisinger shocked everyone by setting two state records within minutes of each other.
Reisinger set the first of two records Saturday after anchoring the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:35.59. Only 10 minutes later, Reisinger snagged another record in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 53.71 and winning her third consecutive championship in that event. Reisinger did not stop there, however, repeating as champion in the 50-yard freestyle by finishing in 23.10. She also helped her teammates Jessica Graber, MaryRose Palermo and Adrienne Pilchard win the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:35.59).
Brookwood’s Jana Mangimelli also had a dominant performance in Saturday’s meet, winning the 200-yard individual medley, but her most significant performance came during both relays. Leading off the medley relay, Mangimelli helped teammates Anna Springer, Haley Holcomb and Meghan Faulkner set the medley record of 1:45.05. Swimming the anchor leg in the freestyle relay, Mangimelli helped capture a record performance behind Allyson Sweeney, Kelsey Gouge and Faulkner, setting the freestyle record of 3:26.54.
The other two records that were set in Saturday’s swimming finals belong to Greater Atlanta Christian’s Will Freeman and Heritage’s Nathanael Eisenman. Freeman shattered the state record of 4:28.18 in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing the longest race in only 4:19.32. In the shortest race of the meet, Eisenman broke the long-standing state record of 20.58 by finishing the 50-yard freestyle in 20.46.
In the boys Class 5A finals, Norcross’ Kebin Sppiwak, Andrew Feeney, Connor Stickney and Sean Bagent won the 200-yard medley relay (1:36.57). Brookwood’s Connor Sweeney won not only the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.41), but also the 500-yard freestyle (4:35.75). Milton’s Jeff Cox won the boys 200-yard individual medley (1:52.18) and the 100-yard freestyle (46.04). Brookwood’s Andrew Ruffing won both the 100-yard butterfly (49.47) and the 100-yard backstroke (50.53). Houston County’s Mark Weber captured the 50-yard freestyle (21.22), and Norcross’ Andrew Feeney won the 100-yard breaststroke. Parkview’s Clarence Messler, Ben Hudlow, Eloi Furtado and Andrew Ruffing won the 200-yard freestyle relay, and Brookwood’s Danny Nguyen, Mark Dunn, Ken Bolton and Conor Sweeney captured the 400-yard freestyle relay.
In the girls Class 5A finals, Brookwood’s Allyson Sweeney won both the 100-yard butterfly (55.10) and the 100-yard freestyle (55.10). North Gwinnet’s Caroline Kenney captured the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.10), and Pope’s Kelsey Gaid won the 500-yard freestyle (4:48.71). Centennial’s Julia Treible captured the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.10).
TEAM EFFORTS
Brookwood’s boys captured their second consecutive team championship in Class 5A (255), finishing ahead of Norcross (224). The Lassiter girls earned their third championship title in five years—without winning a single event—by outscoring Brookwood by 23 points.
Marist continued to dominate the Class 4A-A state meet, capturing the team titles in both boys and girls. The Marist boys pulled a major upset, ending Westminster’s string of six championship titles, while the girls earned their third consecutive championship.
In the Class 5A diving finals, Woodstock’s Alex Watson claimed the boys championship title (549.60), and Kennesaw Mountain’s Ansley Long captured the state title for the girls (453.74). In the Class 4A-A diving finals, Westminster’s Stevie Vines (600.10) and Wesleyan’s Lauren Hall (511.80) captured the championship titles for boys and girls.
Parker can be reached at jparkeruga@gmail.com.
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