Walton Boys, Lambert Girls Defend Georgia 6A State Swimming and Diving Titles

Agon is the proud sponsor of all high school coverage (recruiting, results, state championships, etc.) on SwimmingWorld.com. For more information about Agon, visit their website Agonswim.com.

ATLANTA – The Walton High School boys and Lambert High School girls swimming and diving teams successfully defended their GHSA 6A State Swimming and Diving Championships titles Saturday night at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

Walton totaled 310 points to take home the boys’ title by just 6.5 points over Alpharetta (303.5); Collins Hill took third with 250.5 points. Lambert scored 433 points to win the girls’ meet, while Brookwood (355) and Lassiter (326.5) rounded out the top three.

Walton kicked off the meet with a win in the boys’ 200 medley relay as the foursome of Nicholas Froemming, Thaddius Macon, David Dingess and Jacob Williams posted a 1:33.06, just missing Chattahoochee’s state record of 1:32.78 from last year. Alpharetta’s Patrick Cusick, Derek Wu, Jonathan Vater and Jay Wellman, the top seeded team after prelims, settled for second in 1:34.01, while Johns Creek’s Michael Taylor, Daniel Cooney, Colton Williamson and Ben Radak placed third in 1:35.36.

In the girls’ 200 medley relay, Lambert and Brookwood staged a thrilling battle for the state title as the two teams finished within two tenths of each other. Thanks to a 23.05 anchor split by Katherine Aikins, Lambert’s foursome of Caroline Aikins, Ashley Mallon, Jane Johnson and Katherine Aikins got to the wall first in 1:44.38. Brookwood’s Maddy Cohen, Erin Scott, Devan Sweeney and Leila Taylor took second in 1:44.57, well ahead of Pope’s Sarah Sorenson, Emma Murray, Kirby Prestel and Britheny Joassaint (1:47.13).

Northview senior Knox Auerbach challenged the state record in the boys’ 200 free final but came up just short of Matias Koski’s 2012 record (1:36.15) with a final time of 1:37.00. Collins Hill’s Cody Bekemeyer also dipped under 1:40, taking second in 1:39.19. Reed Wynn of Peachtree Ridge rounded out the top three in 1:41.34.

Woodstock’s Lauren Case chopped almost five seconds off her prelim performance to win the girls’ 200 free by a solid margin in 1:45.96. She just missed Nicole Stafford’s 2013 state record of 1:45.29, but will have another shot at the record next season. Peachtree Ridge’s Haley McInerny also dropped a chunk from prelims, taking second in 1:48.87. Walton’s Emma Cole finished right behind in third with a 1:49.02.

The boys’ 200 IM final turned out to be the race of the meet, as Brookwood’s Alex Taylor and Alpharetta’s Patrick Cusick swam stroke-for-stroke for most of the race before hitting the wall in matching 1:48.85s. Collins Hill’s Taylor Delk stayed in the hunt for the first 100 before fading to third with a 1:50.67.

Brookwood’s Devan Sweeney moved up three spots from fourth to first in the girls’ 200 IM final, dropping three and a half seconds from her prelim performance to grab the state title in 2:02.38. Second seed Kelsey Prince of Northview equaled her prelim time and place with a 2:03.36 for second, while top seed Evie Bragg of Johns Creek slipped to third with a 2:03.98.

After qualifying first and second in the boys’ 50 free in prelims, Marietta’s Tyler Harper and Parkview’s Dalton Vaux flip-flopped places in finals, with Harper taking first in 20.62 and Vaux placing second in 20.91. Brookwood’s Alex Taylor held onto his third place spot with a 21.17 in finals.

Johns Creek freshman Tatum Smith got her high school state meet career off to a great start with her first individual state title in the 50 free. Smith stopped the clock in 23.38 to knock off Lambert’s Katherine Aikins (23.58) and Parkview’s Morgan Fleming (23.60), who had qualified first and second in prelims.

Colquitt County freshman Parker Hardigree was the class of the field in the boys’ 1-meter diving final as he posted 521.00 points to finish almost 80 points ahead of second place finisher Griffin Ramsey of Norcross (442.70). Nick Goh of Pope rounded out the top three with 431.95 points.

On the girls’ side, Madison DuVall of Etowah brought home the state title in her final high school state meet with 433.20 points. Walton’s Peri Charapich (404.95) edged Colquitt County’s Kelliann Howell (404.85) for second.

In the boys’ 100 fly final, seven swimmers broke 50 in an exciting final that came down to the last few yards. Walton’s David Dingess just out-touched Lambert’s Jared Chulavatr for the win, 49.19 to 49.23. Hillgrove’s Cullen Fields held on for third with a 49.36.

Woodstock’s Lauren Case went two-for-two in her individual events, adding a victory in the 100 fly to her win in the 200 free earlier. Case stopped the clock in 53.13, just outside Kathleen Hersey’s 2008 state record of 52.44. Peachtree Ridge’s Haley McInerny challenged her the whole way and wound up less than half a second behind in 53.56. Lambert’s Jane Johnson swam a 54.99 to finish third.

Northview’s Knox Auerbach then claimed his second state title of the day in the boys’ 100 free, stopping the clock at 44.31 to finish comfortably ahead of Peachtree Ridge’s Reed Wynn (45.69) and Marietta’s Tyler Harper (45.70).

Brookwood’s Maddy Cohen dominated the girls’ 100 free final, flipping half a second ahead at the 50 and extending her lead to nearly a second with a 50.93. Parkview’s Morgan Fleming swam a 51.82 to take second, just ahead of Brookwood’s Megan Hansen (51.92).

Collins Hill’s Cody Bekemeyer blew away the field in the boys’ 500 free final, posting a 4:23.28 to win by nearly 11 seconds. Johns Creek’s Colton Williamson finished second in 4:34.15, followed by North Gwinnett’s Tyler Mazurek in 4:36.12.

Brookwood’s Anna Jahns topped the girls’ 500 free final in 4:52.88, leading a group of four swimmers under the five-minute barrier. Walton’s Emma Cole picked up another top three finish with her 4:55.07 for second, while South Forsyth’s Bayley Frierson placed third in 4:56.37.

The first and only state record of the day went down in the boys’ 200 free relay final, as Northview’s Knox Auerbach, Sam Bray, Joonas Koski and Cade Auerbach posted a 1:24.32 to wipe out Wesleyan’s 2011 record of 1:24.85. Northview had just missed the record in prelims with a 1:24.92. Parkview nearly broke the old record as well as Jacob Finco, Greg Paulukaitis, Sam Kim and Dalton Vaux touched second in 1:24.88. Walton rounded out the top three with Thaddius Macon, Nicholas Froemming, Tyler Yuen and Stephen Lane touching in 1:25.93.

Lambert claimed its second relay title of the day in the girls’ 200 free relay, with Caroline Aikins, Lilia Smith, Emma Fish and Katherine Aikins topping the event in 1:35.90. Lassiter finished in the top three for the first time in the meet as Lexi Glunn, Allison Nastasi, Sarah Nastasi and Lauren O’Malley placed second in 1:36.48. Walton’s Gabbie Gauntt, Johanna Keeline, Melissa Cox and Evan Arsenault combined for a 1:37.60 to finish third.

Johns Creek’s Michael Taylor surged past the championship heat in the boys’ 100 back final, posting the fastest second 50 by half a second to win in 48.66. Alpharetta’s Patrick Cusick flipped first at the 50 but couldn’t hold on as he touched second in 49.04. Blake Atmore of South Forsyth also broke 50, taking third in 49.71.

A trio of swimmers broke 56 in the girls’ 100 back final, with Mill Creek’s Katherine Parker leading the way in 55.62. Brookwood teammates Devan Sweeney and Maddy Cohen also made the podium, finishing in times of 55.90 and 55.98, respectively.

In the boys’ 100 breast final, Lambert’s Jared Chulavatr and Duluth’s Joseph Portillo turned at matching 26.65s at the halfway point before Chulavatr pulled ahead to win, 56.41 to 56.95. Jonathan Yang gave Duluth a 2-3 finish in the event as he touched third in 57.68.

Pope senior Emma Murray finished her high school career in style with a state title in the girls’ 100 breast. Murray stopped the clock at 1:03.11 to finish comfortably ahead of Brookwood’s Erin Scott (1:04.37) and West Forsyth’s Sheridan Schreiber (1:04.65).

For the second time in the meet, one of the boys’ events ended in a tie for the state title. This time, Northview’s 200 free relay state record-setting quartet of Knox Auerbach, Sam Bray, Joonas Koski and Cade Auerbach faced off against Alpharetta’s Jonathan Vater, Derek Wu, Patrick Cusick and Jay Wellman in the final event of the meet, the 400 free relay. Northview led the entire race before Wellman threw down a 45.34 anchor split to pull even, as both teams finished in 3:04.33. Both schools just missed Chattahoochee’s state record of 3:04.08 from last year. Brookwood’s Andrew Huenniger, Jacob Rees, Hans Kind and Alex Taylor placed third in 3:08.62.

Lambert wrapped up the girls’ team title with a win in the 400 free relay (3:27.55). Walton (3:29.89) and Lassiter (3:30.54) finished second and third.

Georgia 6A Swimming and Diving Championships – Results

Submit Your All-America Application

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x