Alabama State High School Championships

By Brian Savard

AUBURN, Alabama, December 13. BOB Jones High School swept both the men's and the women's competitions in the Alabama State High School Championships, the fall season's final state championship meet.

Bob Jones' sweep of the men's and women's competitions marks the first time since 1999 that a team won both sides of the meet.

Team Results
The Bob Jones women won their first-ever state championship meet by a 30-point margin over the defending champion Mountain Brook Spartans (259-229). St. Paul's Episcopal came in third with 184 points.

Bob Jones won its fourth-straight state title with a commanding 121-point margin over second-place Huntsville (361-240). Hoover rounded out the top three men's teams with 189 points.

Women's Individual Results
Bob Jones took two of the three relay events. The 200 medley relay grouping of Vicky Burrows, Anna Jenkins, Danielle Sander and Jamie Voelkel touched first in a 1:52.19 time while the quartet of Voelkel, Callie Katers, Katie Fogg and Jenny VonJouanne received the gold in the 200 freestyle relay (1:38.89).

The 200 freestyle relay broke the former state mark of 1:39.90 that St. Paul's Episcopal set in 2003.

VonJouanne added her name to the record book two more times: once in the 50 freestyle and again in the 100 butterfly.

VonJouanne swam a 23.28 50 freestyle. Her time reset her 2006 mark of 23.41. She also erased one of the state's most prestigious records, namely because of the icon that formerly held the record. Her 56.37 performance eclipsed the standard of 56.96 that former Auburn University and Huntsville standout Margaret Hoelzer set in 1998. Hoelzer currently is a member of the U.S. National Team and ranked third in the world in the 100 meter backstroke in 2006.

Another Hoelzer record tumbled as Leigh Hendry of Briarwood sprinted her way to a 1:51.15 performance in the 200 freestyle. Hoelzer swam the former time of 1:51.52 back in 1998. Hendry attacked the record book again in the 100 freestyle, winning in a record-time of 51.62. Laura Hancock of UMS-Wright set the former record of 51.94 in 1997. Hancock's former record stood as the oldest Alabama state swimming record.

Laura Johnson from Lamp broke two Alabama state records en route to her two individual event victories. Johnson used a 35.16 breaststroke split to power a 2:04.48 performance in the 200 IM. She reset her own record of 2:06.23 that she set in last year's state championship meet. Johnson posted one of the nation's most elite 100 breaststroke times when she stopped the clock at 1:02.47. Amy Wheatley of Trinity swam the former standard of 1:04.31 back in 2001.

Men's Individual Results
Bob Jones monopolized the relays, winning all three. The 200 medley relay foursome of Phil Deaton, Alan Rowe, Russel Johnson and Ben Fogg kicked off the meet with a 1:39.45 win. Fogg, Johnson, Rowe and George Wong took the 200 freestyle relay by more than a second with a winning time of 1:28.52 and the grouping of Derek Gore, Phil Deaton, Charlie Johnson and Wong completed the three-event relay sweep with a 3:17.36 win in the 400 freestyle relay.

Stanhope's Woody Joye added on to the women's redrafting of the Alabama record book by notching two records of his own. Joye set the tone of his 200 IM by splitting out a 23.52 butterfly, and he hung on to win in a 1:52.14 time. Daniel Armstrong of Bob Jones set the former standard of 1:53.62 in last year's state meet. Joye continued his reign as the meet's most supreme swimmer as he knocked off the ancient 500 freestyle record with a 4:29.12 swim. Brad Dillionaire of Auburn held the former mark of 4:32.18 that he set way back in 1983.

Sam Kiefer of Opelika corralled two individual event wins as well. He swam the top time in the 50 freestyle (21.53) as well as in the 100 butterfly (51.00).

Diving Results
Mary Cochran of Briarwood dove to a gold-medal 402.50 score in the women's diving competition. Jillian Braun of Auburn took second (382.15) while Laura Russell of McGill-Toolen placed third (357.00).

Eighth-grader Robert Railey showed up the men's diving field, placing first with a 391.80 score. Matt Ramey from Hartselle won the silver medal (366.45) while Lee Hollingsworth of Mountain Brook garnered the bronze (357.80).

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