The Cambridge Bears prepare to compete among the best swimmers in the state at Georgia Tech this weekend at the State Meet Championships. Thirteen swimmers from Cambridge will make the trip and try to earn a coveted place in the top 16 in their respective events to have the privilege of returning on Saturday for championship finals.
On Friday, Cambridge will compete in the following events during the preliminary round:
Girls' 200 Medley Relay – Seed time 2:02.87 (Lauren Holliday, Maggie McGinty, Caley Cramer, Sydney Swenton – Alt. Alex Newcomer, Angela Ho, Tori Bentley)
Girls' 200 Freestyle Relay – Seed time 1:52.27 (Lauren Holliday, Sydney Swenton, Ashley Dale Henslee, Caley Cramer – Alt. Alex Newcomer, Angela Ho, Susannah Jordshaugen, Maggie McGinty)
Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay – Seed time 4:07.93 (Lauren Holliday, Ashley Dale Henslee, Caley Cramer, Susannah Jordshaugen – Alt. Alex Newcomer, Angela Ho, Maggie McGinty)
Girls' 100 Breaststroke – Maggie McGinty (Seed time 1:12.48)
Boys' 200 Freestyle Relay – Seed time 1:39.50 (Hawk Hammer, Bryce Jewell, Erek Humm, Jake Todd – Alt. Noah Sannes)
Boys' 400 Freestyle Relay – Seed time 3:43.91 (Hawk Hammer, Bryce Jewell, Erek Humm, Jake Todd – Alt. Noah Sannes)
Boys' 50 Freestyle – Hawk Hammer (Seed time 23.48)
Boys' 100 Freestyle – Hawk Hammer (Seed time 51.58)
Boys' 500 Freestyle – Jake Todd (Seed time 5:18.75)
The team has been working hard and tapering down their yards to rest up for the big season finale event. The team hopes to swim some season best relay times and splits as well as set new school records in all qualifying events. The girls' 200 Medley Relay is two seconds off of the teams swimming in the top 16 spots, so there is a good chance that, with the proper tapering and rest, the girls' team could earn a place back on Saturday. With Caley Cramer taking the butterfly position, her strength, the team may be able to shave off those precious seconds.
The boys' 200 freestyle team will be facing a true test in qualifying for the 200 freestyle relay, one of the most competitive relays of the meet. The team will have to shave off four seconds to be in contention for the top 16 spots. For half of the relay team, this will be their first event of the day. They hope the rest prior to their race will work in their favor. Each swimmer will have to shave a second off their time, a very difficult thing to do in such a short race.
The girls' 200 freestyle team will have an equally difficult challenge. They will have to shave five seconds off their time in order to be among the top 16 seed times. Not impossible, but incredible difficult.
Lastly, for the relays, the boys' 400 freestyle relay will have the biggest challenge of the day. An incredible 13 seconds separates them from the top 16. While the team might not make it among the top time, they boys will definitely be in a position to swim a new school record.
The girls' 400 freestyle relay will have an equally difficult challenge by taking on an 11 second deficit to make it into the top 16. Just like the boys, the girls will seek to set a new school record.
The first individual event for the Bears on Friday will be Hawk Hammer's 50-freestyle. Only two seconds separates the first place person from the last place person. The 50-freestyle is an incredibly fast race where every single stroke, breath, and turn could make the difference. Hammer will be among the fastest in the state and will need to find somewhere in his race where he can save a whole second to earn a spot to return. In Hammer's 100-freestyle, a second-and-a-half separates him from the top 16 spots. Another fast race where every piece will count.
A race that allows for a little more wiggle room, but does not let up in difficulty, is the 500-freestyle. Jake Todd will need to shave off 11 seconds to be among the top 16. While the 500 provides more opportunities to shave off time, the distance, energy and fitness required to tackle it is extraordinary. Coach Lauren Hall: "Todd has the possibility of doing amazing things in this race. The last time he took on the race, he dropped 16 seconds from one day to the next, so for him to drop 11 seconds is difficult, but not impossible for this master swimmer."
The last individual swimmer of the day will be Maggie McGinty in her 100-breaststroke. Having swam state cut times all season, qualifying for this final race has been in the cards for McGinty since the season began. She has earned her place among the top 16 swimmers going into the preliminary round. McGinty will need to push herself in order to maintain, or even improve, this position to keep her spot for the finals round on Saturday. The team is fully confident that if any of them can make it back to finals, McGinty will be the one.
"The team is excited to be able to participate in the state meet their first season. The theme of this Cambridge squad truly is 'Defying the Odds.' The Bears will look to continue that legacy into the weekend and into the seasons to come," says Hall.
Go Bears!!!