On Tuesday, November 17th, the Cambridge swimmers and divers traveled to Gainesville to compete against North Forsyth, Sequoyah, Cherokee and Riverside Academy. In addition to hitting many state qualifying times, divers were able to compete for the first time this season and Cambridge took home a first place victory with their men's, women's and combined score. 

Women's Team

1. Cambridge High School - 204
2. North Forsyth High School - 174
3. Sequoyah High School - 131
4. Cherokee High School - 7

1. Cambridge High School - 186
2. North Forsyth High School - 149.5
3. Riverside Military Academy - 94
4. Sequoyah High School - 88.5

1. Cambridge High School - 390
2. North Forsyth High School - 323.5
3. Sequoyah High School - 219.5
4. Riverside Military Academy - 94
5. Cherokee High School - 7

The men's team had a strong showing in Gainesville. In the first event, the 200-yard medley relay, the men's A-relay team (Jake Todd, Jason Yang, Dawson Hall, Jared Keim) took third place overall with a time of 1:51.82, just shy of the state cut. The team is not concerned and knows they will meet the time requirement at the next meet. The B-relay (Sean McGinty, Kyle Daniel, Erek Humm, Jason Hink) are also state relay hopefuls as they compete for the coveted four spots. 

In the 200-yard freestyle, Austin Daniel easily took first place with a state cut time of 1:52.48, almost 10 seconds before the next person touched the wall. Ben Walker and Cole Pieroni also tacked up points for the men's team with their 200-yard freestyle performances. Up next in the 200-yard individual medley, Jake Todd took second place, clocking a time that was less than a half-second off the state cut time. 

In the 50-yard freestyle, Cambridge had a number of men finishing in the top 10. Jared Keim was the first from Cambridge to touch the wall in fifth place with a time of 25.18. Following immediately behind was Conor Wesolowski in sixth. Other notable performances included Jason Hink touching the wall in seventh and Dawson Hall in eleventh. Dawson Hall followed up his 50-yard freestyle performance with the 100-yard butterfly event. With a time of 1:00.99, Hall took third place overall, followed immediately by teammate Erek Humm in fourth and Jason Yang in sixth. Cole Pieroni, Kyle Daniel and Connor Fleming also had notable performances in the event. 

In the 100-yard freestyle event, Cambridge really stood out. Jake Todd touched the wall in first place with a state-qualifying time of 52.00. In third place, Conor Wesolowski touched the wall, followed by Jared Keim in sixth, and Jason Hink in ninth. In the 500-yard freestyle, Sean McGinty took fourth place for the Bears. 

Another standout event for the Cambridge men was the 200-yard freestyle relay. Against difficult and close competition, Cambridge out-touched North Forsyth High School by less than a second to take first place. The A-relay (Austin Daniel, Jared Keim, Jason Hink, Conor Wesolowski) swam a state-qualifying time of 1:39.46. The B-relay (Konata Ford, Nick Mirchandani, Ben Balmes, Connor Fleming) also finished in a point-earning position by finishing in fifth place overall. The men continued their top-rate performances in the 100-yard backstroke event where Cambridge took three out of the top five finishing places. Austin Daniel easily took first with a state-qualifying time of 56.33, following by teammate Erek Humm also with a state-qualifying time of 59.99. Teammate Sean McGinty finished fifth, also scoring points for the Bears. The last individual event of the evening was the 100-yard breaststroke and Jason Yang was the first from Cambridge to touch the wall, taking third place overall. Teammate Konata Ford took fourth, following immediately by teammate Kyle Daniel in fifth. Ben Balmes took ninth and Nick Mirchandani took thirteenth. 

In the last swim event of the evening, the Cambridge 400-yard freestyle A-relay (Austin Daniel, Jake Todd, Conor Wesolowski, Dawson Hall) fought back and forth with North Forsyth High School with each leg of the race. In the end, the Bears came up short and touched the wall in second place, but their time was an incredibly solid state-qualifying time, so the performance was impressive nonetheless. The B-relay (Erek Humm, Sean McGinty, Konata Ford, Connor Christiansen) also took a point-earning finish by touching the wall in fourth. 

Following the swimming events, the two divers from the men's team took to the boards. New diver, Turner Mignerey, joined returning diver, Simon Finlayson, in Gainesville. Finlayson looked incredibly solid in his performance, and with a new level of confidence and season under his belt, he looks to make it back to state in February. His dive sequence gave a preview of his performances to come. With the level of difficulty required to make it to state, Finlayson took first place with 270.10 points. Mignerey was also incredibly solid on the board. Even though it was his first competition, he looked like he had been doing it for years. Mignerey scored 197.25 points and is looking to join Finlayson at Georgia Tech in February. The Cambridge men's divers are certainly athletes to keep your eyes on. 

Women's Team Recap 

The women's team had a similar start as the men's team. The meet opened with the 200-medley relay and the A-relay (Darby Goodyear, Katie Fishman, Olivia Mahler, Ashley Dale Henslee) had a solid performance that earned them third place overall. The B-relay (Paula Morales, Sydney Swenton, Emily Powers, Lindsey Robinson) also finished in a point-earning position in fifth place. 

Following the relay, the 200-yard freestyle event, Darby Goodyear finished in second place with a time of 2:19.62. Also scoring points for the Bears was Julia Dinardo in fifth place and Ella McIlvain in seventh place. Just missing a point-earning position was Carolyn McLainin ninth place. In the 200-yard individual medley, Cambridge freshman Lauren Jonsson had a standout performance, touching the wall in fourth place and being the first Cambridge woman to make a state-qualifying time in the event. With a time of 2:20.62, Jonsson will have the opportunity to swim the event at Georgia Tech in February. Finishing behind Jonsson were a stream of Cambridge swimmers. In fifth was Katie Fishman, in sixth was Sydney Swenton, and in seventh was Olivia Mahler, all scoring points for the Bears. 

In the 50-yard freestyle, Cambridge took top positions with impressive times. Caley Cramer took first with a time of 26.84, Alex Newcomer took second with a new personal best time of 26.96, followed by Katie Durden in fourth, Ashley Dale Henslee in seventh, and Avery Osborne in eighth, all point-earning positions. The 100-yard butterfly had Olivia Mahler tack up points by touching the wall in fourth, following by Emily Powers in eighth. 

In the 100-yard freestyle event, Alex Newcomer touched the wall in third with a time of 59.49, followed immediately by teammate Caley Cramer in fourth, Katie Durden in sixth, and Paula Morales in seventh. Cambridge occupied every spot between sixth place to fifteenth place, all with impressive performances. In the 500-yard freestyle event, freshman Lauren Jonsson had another amazing performance. Her second-place finish was also another state-qualifying performance with a time of 5:29.15. Her time is not only going to get her to state, but it will set a new school record for the event. Teammate Ella McIlvain finished in fourth. 

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, just like the men's team, the women took first place. Unlike the men's team, the women's team took first by a sizable lead. The A-relay (Caley Cramer, Katie Durden, Alex Newcomer, Lauren Jonsson) swam a time of 1:49.18, which also qualifies them for state. Also scoring points for the Bears, the B-relay (Sydney Swenton, Ashley Dale Henslee, Lindsey Robinson, Sarah Moore) finished in fourth. 

In the 100-yard backstroke event, Darby Goodyear was the first from Cambridge to touch the wall, finishing in fifth place with a time of 1:13.92. Goodyear was followed by Julia Dinardo in sixth, Paula Morales in seventh, Isabella Empoliti in eighth, and Colleen McCreanor in ninth. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Katie Fishman finished in second place with a time of 1:17.96, followed by Sydney Swenton in third, Natalie Henderson in fourth, Sarah Moore in sixth, Melissa Mandato in seventh, and Ayana Dudley in eighth. 

In the last individual swimming event of the evening, the girls fought for the top finishing position in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The A-relay (Caley Cramer, Alex Newcomer, Katie Durden, Lauren Jonsson) took second with a time of 4:00.11, which is a state-qualifying time and not far from the school record. This relay team is a powerhouse of women that will be exciting to watch. The B-relay (Paula Morales, Julia Dinardo, Darby Goodyear, Katie Fishman) finished in third, also scoring points for the Bears. 

After the swimmers cleared the pool, the three Cambridge women's divers began their competition. Returner Maddie Chaloux was joined by new divers Haley Copeland and Renee Wang. Chaloux, after finishing an impressive cheer season, rejoined the Bears for the first competition of the season. After an impressive season last year, Chaloux has the goal of returning to state and finishing on the podium. Chaloux's performance was impressive as always, and left the judges complimenting her talent and promise for the season. Chaloux scored 239.80 points, which earned her third place overall. Teammates Copeland and Wang had great starts to their first season and prove that Cambridge diving had a strong future ahead. These ladies are certainly going to be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. 

Up Next 

Cambridge will take to the pool again after the Thanksgiving holiday. The divers will perform at the Cumming Aquatic Center on the evening of December 4th against Lambert and South Forsyth. The swimmers will compete the following day against Roswell and Johns Creek at Dynamo Alpharetta at 3:00 PM.