Gainesville, GA – On Tuesday, the Cambridge Bears traveled to Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville in one last chance swim to make state for the boys' 400-freestyle relay and Hawk Hammer's 100-freestyle individual. The meet also provided an opportunity for the girls to take on each other for spots on the previously state qualified relays (200–freestyle and 400-freestyle relays).
The first event of significance was Hawk Hammer's 100-freestyle individual event. Hammer needed to shave off over half of a second in order to make the state cut time of 52.0. With determination, Hammer took to the blocks. As a senior, he knew that this was his last shot if he wanted to swim this event at finals. If he didn't make it, it would be his last time competing individually in that event. The swimmers took to the pool and upon the first turn at the touchpads, everyone suddenly realized that the touchpads that clocked the time were not functioning. Coach Hall was timing Hammer, but the ultimate time that would matter would now be in the hands of the person behind the blocks. The race finished and Coach Hall's watch read 52.16, not a qualifying time. There was still a possibility that he could qualify and that was the time that was being kept by the official behind the block. The heats continued to run until the break when times could be verified. The verifying time was a 51.58, a state qualifying swim. Cambridge had just added another event to their schedule for state championships.
The last event of the day was the boys' 400-freestyle relay. The relay consisted of Hawk Hammer, Erek Humm, Bryce Jewell and Jake Todd. They were 0.8 seconds off the cut time on Saturday and were determined to make state this time. Each swimmer would need to average a 56.0 100-freestyle leg to qualify. Hammer came in with a 54.49, a bit slower than before, but still within the range that was needed to qualify. Humm came in at 57.68, a little high, but still the difference would keep us in the right zone. Jewell came in with a 56.53, and then Jake Todd finished with a season best time of 55.62. The time on the board read 3:44.62; a new season best time, but missing the state cut by 0.62 seconds. The team was disappointed in how close they had come, but knew that the future held many more opportunities for the team. Coach Hall conferred with the coach running the meet and asked for a time to be verified by the official behind the block. With all of the issues with faulty touchpads, there was still a chance that the team could qualify. The official behind the block that stopped the pad (a secondary precaution to make sure a time is clocked in case the pad did not activate) stopped the time at 3:43.90: a state qualifying time. The boys' 400-freestyle relay was not done after all and they will move on to compete at state championships at Georgia Tech next week.
Below are the individuals that will represent the girls' and boys' teams at State Championships next weekend (including alternates):
Girls – Maggie McGinty, Lauren Holliday, Caley Cramer, Ashley Dale Henslee, Sydney Swenton, Susannah Jordshaugen, Alex Newcomer, Angela Ho, Tori Bentley
Boys – Hawk Hammer, Jake Todd, Bryce Jewell, Erek Humm, Noah Sannes