Cambridge swimming took on Johns Creek on Saturday, December 5th at Dynamo.
Johns Creek, a regional powerhouse in swimming, was to be the toughest competition Cambridge has faced yet this season. The girls' team surprised all by their performance and outscored the Johns Creek girls' team by a small margin. The performances put up by the Bears served as a good preview as to the kind of competition that they will see at State and it appears that the Bears are ready for the big stage.
The boys' team had their first defeat of the season, but had many stand-out performances that should translate into a strong showing in February at Georgia Tech.
Combined Score:
Johns Creek – 398.5
Cambridge – 396.5
Girls' Team:
Cambridge – 198.5
Johns Creek – 191.5
Boys' Team:
Johns Creek – 207
Cambridge – 171
Boys' Team Recap
The boys' team started off the dual meet with a very strong performance in the 200-yard medley relay. The A-relay team (Erek Humm, Jason Yang, Ethan Nalwasky, Jared Keim) was outtouched by the Johns Creek A-relay team, but the squad did manage to swim a season best time of 1:49.94, which is also a state qualifying time. The B-relay (Sean McGinty, Kyle Daniel, Connor Fleming, Nick Mirchandani) and the C-relay (Connor Christiansen, Ben Balmes, Cole Pieroni, Manav Kumar) finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth place, both scoring points for the Bears.
The 200-yard freestyle had Conor Wesolowski take second place with a time of 2:04.59 to earn vital points for the Bears, followed by teammates Sean McGinty and Cole Pieroni in fifth and sixth place. In the 200-yard individual medley, Ethan Nalwasky (2:18.87) and Jason Yang (2:19.93) put up solid performances to take second and third place, followed by teammate Ben Balmes in fifth place. In the 50-yard freestyle, Cambridge had a number of solid performances. Jason Hink was the first from Cambridge to touch the wall with a time of 25.07 in third place, followed by Jared Keim in sixth, Konata Ford in eighth, Nick Mirchandani in 11th, Connor Fleming in 12th, Ben Walker in 14th and Manav Kumar in 15th.
In the 100-yard butterfly, an exciting race ensued between top contender from Johns Creek and Cambridge's Jake Todd. Todd took the lead, but started to lose ground and the race came down to the last touch and unfortunately, Todd had to settle for second with a time of 56.94. Even though he took second, he finished with a state qualifying time. Teammate Erek Humm took third, followed by Ethan Nalwasky in sixth, and Kyle Daniel in eighth. In the 100-yard freestyle, Conor Wesolowski was the first from Cambridge to touch the wall with a third-place finish and a time of 55.69. Jason Hink followed in fourth, Cameron Chong finished in sixth, Connor Fleming in eighth, Cole Pieroni in ninth, Ben Walker in 12th and Manav Kumar in 14th.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Cambridge A-relay team (Jake Todd, Jared Keim, Jason Hink, Conor Wesolowski) was side-by-side with Johns Creek's A-relay and in the end, Cambridge outtouched Johns Creek to take first place with a time of 1:39.21, which is a state qualifying time. The B-relay (Connor Fleming, Konata Ford, Connor Christiansen, Nick Mirchandani) took fourth, and the C-relay (Cameron Chong, Ben Walker, Kyle Daniel, Ben Balmes) took sixth.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Johns Creek top contender, Michael Taylor, was out on his own far ahead of the rest of the competition, but top finisher from Cambridge, Jake Todd, wasn't too far behind and touched the wall with a time of 59.91, his second individual state cut for the day. Teammate Erek Humm finished right behind him in third with a time of 1:05.19. Sean McGinty finished in fifth and Connor Christiansen in seventh. In the 100-yard breastroke, Cambridge took the show with taking top spots and scoring vital points for the Bears. The entire race, Cambridge's Jason Yang and Konata Ford were ahead of the pack and racing each other to get to the wall. Going into the last 25-yard, Ford was ahead, but Yang had a long streamline off the wall and popped up ahead of Ford and the two raced to the wall. In the last extension into the wall, Yang reached and touched the wall first with a time of 1:07.52, a new personal best and only half a second away from a state cut. Ford finished with a time of 1:07.66. Cambridge is excited to see so many male breaststrokers pushing for coveted state spots and extend the presence of Cambridge into more individual events. Cambridge has not yet had a male breaststroker go to state for the individual event. Kyle Daniel finished in fourth followed by teammate Ben Balmes in fifth, both scoring points for the Bears. Nick Mirchandani took eighth.
In the last race of the day, Cambridge's 400-yard freestyle A-relay (Jake Todd, Erek Humm, Ethan Nalwasky, Conor Wesolowski) pushed hard and finished in second place. The B-relay (Jason Hink, Sean McGinty, Jared Keim, Konata Ford) took fourth, and the C-relay (Jason Yang, Cameron Chong, Ben Walker, Cole Pieroni) took fifth.
Girls' Team Recap
From the moment the first girls' race began, everyone knew every single event would be a fight. The 200-yard medley relay had the Cambridge A-relay (Caley Cramer, Katie Fishman, Lauren Jonsson, Alex Newcomer) out in front for the first few lengths, but slowly the Johns Creek A-relay began to catch up. Cambridge continued to push, but the Johns Creek team was approaching and it came down to the final length of the race. In the last reach for the wall, the Johns Creek team outtouched the Cambridge girls. The girls swam a state qualifying time of 2:01.85, but they had to settle for second. The B-relay (Darby Goodyear, Sydney Swenton, Olivia Mahler, Paula Morales) took third, followed by the C-relay (Nicole Detjen, Sarah Moore, Anna Salvadori, Avery Osborne) took fifth.
In the 200-yard freestyle event, Cambridge stood out with freshman Lauren Jonsson taking a far lead from the first 50-yards. Jonsson finished with significant distance between herself and the second-place finisher with a state qualifying time of 2:06.28. Jonsson has made a state cut in every individual event she has been in this season. Darby Goodyear finished in fourth, Chloe Paskins in sixth, Isabella Empoliti in eighth, Annah Morgan in ninth, Sydney Anderson in 11th, Ella McIlvain in 12th, and Julia Dinardo in 13th. In the 200-yard individual medley, Katie Fishman was outtouched to take second place, followed by teammate Olivia Mahler in third, Sarah Moore in fifth, and Ashley Dale Henslee in sixth.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Cambridge girls stood out again. Caley Cramer took first place with a time of 26.97, just shy of the state qualifying time. Alex Newcomer followed closely behind in second place. Paula Morales took fifth, Sydney Swenton took seventh, Anna Salvadori took ninth, Nicole Detjen took 12th, Avery Osborne took 14th, and Sophia LaMarca took 15th. In the 100-yard butterfly, Lauren Jonsson took to the pool again and touched the wall with another first-place finish. Jonsson was followed by teammate Olivia Mahler in second, Carolyn McLain in fifth, and Bella Kane in sixth.
In the 100-yard freestyle, Alex Newcomer was the first from Cambridge to finish with a second place finish (1:00.69). Lindsey Robinson finished in fifth, Ashley Dale Henslee in eight, Anna Salvadori in ninth, Ashley Robinson in 12th, Sophia LaMarca in 13th, and Ella McIlvain in 14th. The 500-yard freestyle event was a big point-earner for the Bears. Darby Goodyear swam another season-best time of 5:57.78 to get a first-place finish, followed by Chloe Paskins in fifth and Sydney Anderson in sixth.
The 200-yard freestyle relay was another close race between Johns Creek's A-relay and Cambridge's A-relay (Katie Durden, Sydney Swenton, Anna Salvadori, Paula Morales). In the end, the Bears were outtouched to take second place. The B-relay (Ashley Dale Henslee, Nicole Detjen, Katie Fishman, Avery Osborne) took fourth, and the C-relay (Ashley Robinson, Lindsey Robinson, Sophia LaMarca, Sarah Moore) took sixth.
The 100-yard backstroke was another event where Cambridge's Caley Cramer took first place. Just outside the state qualifying time, Cramer touched the wall with a time of 1:06.03. Nicole Detjen touched the wall in third place, followed by Paula Morales in fourth, Isabella Empoliti in seventh, Julia Dinardo in eighth, Ashley Robinson in 10th, Colleen McCreanor in 12th, and Ayana Dudley in 13th. The very next event, Cambridge got a pivotal first place finish with the 100-breaststroke. Katie Fishman touched the wall in first place with a time of 1:17.84, followed by Sydney Swenton in second, Sarah Moore in ninth, Natalie Henderson in 10th, Lindsey Robinson in 11th, Melissa Mandato in 13th, and Ayana Dudley in 14th.
In the last event of the day, to win the meet, Cambridge's 400-yard freestyle relay A-team (Katie Durden, Caley Cramer, Lauren Jonssoon, Alex Newcomer) took first place with a time of 4:03.78 (a state qualifying time). The relay had little competition as they were out in front the entire race. The B-relay (Chloe Paskins, Sophia LaMarca, Darby Goodyear, Ashley Dale Henslee) took fourth, and the C-relay (Annah Morgan, Ella McIlvain, Sydney Anderson, Julia Dinardo) took sixth.
Competition This Week
This week, Cambridge's diving team will compete against Lambert on Thursday evening, Dec. 10th at Cumming Aquatic Center at 8:30 PM.
Additionally, the swimming team will compete against Lassiter and Northview on Saturday, Dec. 12th at Dynamo on Abbotts Bridge at 3:00 PM.
Come and support your Bears! Let's see if the girls can keep up with their winning streak!
