Cambridge Swimmers and Divers Stand Out at Fulton County Championships

On Thursday, January 7^th, the swimming and diving team took on powerhouse teams in the annual Fulton County Championships. West Gwinnett Aquatic Center was an ideal environment for some fast swimming and quality diving and Cambridge had a number of stand-out performances but they were no match for the dominating teams from Johns Creek and Alpharetta. Out of 13 teams, Cambridge took 7^th place in the men's score, women's score and combined score.

Combined Team Scores:

1. Johns Creek – 837.5
2. Alpharetta – 646
3. Centennial – 516.5
4. Northview – 470.5
5. Roswell – 419.5
6. Milton – 346
7. Cambridge – 333
8. Chattahoochee – 291
9. Riverwood – 282
10. North Springs – 156
11. Westlake – 66
12. Tri-Cities – 0
13. Creekside – 0

Cambridge has certainly begun to make a name for itself in Fulton County. Of all of the performances on Thursday, diving was certainly the most notable. In the girls' diving, out of 16 divers, Renee Wang took 15^th place and a score of 118.55 with some of her best dives yet. Wang scored higher than she has all season and had a number of exemplary dives that showed significant improvement in technique. Teammate Haley Copeland also had her best performance of the season with a score of 141.40, which earned her 10^th place overall. When Copeland stepped on the board, even just the way she stood and prepared for her dive caused a judge to comment, "Oh, this is going to be a good one." The way Copeland presents herself and the little details she thinks about are what is going to cause her to be a huge contributor in the seasons to come. The top female diver, Maddie Chaloux, certainly did not disappoint. Chaloux took first place in the event with a score of 244.30, which was 34 points above the next competitor. After each of her dives, you could hear the judges comment with, "beautiful" or "great entry" or "wow, that was a tough one!" Chaloux has so much talent and she certainly stands out and this competition proves that she is certainly someone to watch out for next month at Georgia Tech. Cambridge is looking for Chaloux to go all the way.

In the boys' competition, the two divers from Cambridge also had solid performances. Turner Mignerey, a first-year diver, finished in fourth place overall out of 12 divers and a score of 186.15. Mignerey has improved significantly this season and he will be taking advantage of every opportunity to practices his new dives before he makes his first appearance at the state meet next month. Simon Finlayson, Cambridge's returning male diver, had a very solid performance that earned him second place overall with a score of 224.60. Finlayson also impressed the judges with his ability to flip so quickly and tightly in the air. Many judges commented that with some minor corrections to his entries, Finlayson is looking to turn those dives that are earning sixes and sevens to scores of nine, which is optimistic for his state performance where hopefully he will put it all together and also go all the way through the rounds. Cambridge is excited for having so many divers make it to the top level of performance. It will be exciting to see what they do.

In the 200-yard medley relay, the A-relay (Sean McGinty, Konata Ford, Jason Yang, Jason Hink) took 11^th place out of 20 relays with a time of 1:54.06. The B-relay (Connor Christiansen, Kyle Daniel, Cole Pieroni, Cameron Chong) took 17^th place overall.

In the 200-yard freestyle event, Austin Daniel had a solid performance that earned him fourth place out of 36 swimmers with a time of 1:47.41. This will probably be one of Daniel's chosen events at the state meet next month, so watch for his standout performances in the weeks to come. The next from Cambridge to finish was Conor Wesolowski in 19^th place, Connor Christiansen in 22^nd place, and Cole Pieroni in 34^th place.

In the 200-yard individual medley, freshman Ben Balmes had a solid performance that earned him 25^th place with a time of 2:34.13.

In the 50-yard freestyle event, there were 56 entries in total and really difficult competition. Jared Keim was the first finisher from Cambridge and even though his goggles fell off, he still managed to swim a time of 24.66 which earned him 23^rd place. Jason Hink was the next to finish in 31^st place, followed  by Connor Fleming with a new personal best time and a 43^rd place finish, Cameron Chong in 44^th place, Dawson Hall in 46^th place, and Nick Mirchandani in 50^th place.

In the boys' 100-yard butterfly, Austin Daniel once again had a solid performance that earned him 10^th place out of 38 swimmers, with a time of 56.43. In 14^th place was Jake Todd, followed by Erek Humm in 18^th place, and Dawson Hall in 19^th place. Cole Pieroni finished in 29^th place with a season best time by almost two-seconds. Connor Fleming touched the wall in 33^rd place.

In the 100-yard freestyle event, 51 boys took to the pool with some impressive performances. Jake Todd was the first to finish from Cambridge, with a time of 51.47, he earned seventh place. Jason Hink finished next in 19^th place with a new personal best time, followed by Conor Wesolowski in 27^th place, Jared Keim, with another goggle malfunction, managed to take 28^th place and swim a new personal best time. Cameron Chong came in 37^th place, and Nick Mirchandani took 42^nd place.

In the 500-yard freestyle event, Sean McGinty continues to work hard in the event and earned 23^rd place on Thursday. In an event that not many people want to swim, McGinty continually puts every ounce of effort into making the team proud and he never disappoints.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the A-relay (Austin Daniel, Dawson Hall, Jared Keim, Jake Todd) had a solid performance that earned them 6^th place out of 20 relay teams. The relay team hopes to drop some more time before finals to improve their seed and set themselves up for a finals return performance. The B-relay (Erek Humm, Konata Ford, Cameron Chong, Conor Wesoloski) also impressed and showed that they are all contenders for the final state relay team. They earned 13^th place overall.

In the 100-yard backstroke event, Erek Humm dropped some time to swim his best time this season with a time of 59.92, and earning seventh place. Connor Christiansen also dropped some time to finish in 22^nd place out of 31 swimmers, followed immediately by Sean McGinty in 23^rd.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Jason Yang was the first to finish with a time of 1:07.80, which was just off the state cut. Yang is looking to cut the necessary time this weekend to make the state individual event qualification. Konata Ford took 17^th overall (also a state individual hopeful), followed by Kyle Daniel in 22^nd, and Ben Balmes in 28^th.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the boys show their strongest potential. The A-relay (Austin Daniel, Dawson Hall, Erek Humm, Jake Todd) finished in seventh place out of 17 relays with a time of 3:31.82, which is not their best time, but they are looking strong and will drop more time and perfect their strategy before the state meet comes around. The B-relay (Jason Hink, Connor Christiansen, Jared Keim, Conor Wesolowski) was also made up of state meet potentials and had a solid performance in 15^th place with a time of 3:49.32.

Girls' Team Recap

In the 200-yard medley relay, the A-relay (Katie Durden, Katie Fishman, Caley Cramer, Alex Newcomer) took on the fastest entries in the event, and finished in 10^th place overall out of 20 relays with a time of 2:03.24. The B-relay (Nicole Detjen, Sydney Swenton, Olivia Mahler, Paula Morales) were not far behind with a 12^th place finish and over a second of improvement from their seed time.

In the 200-yard freestyle event, freshman standout Lauren Jonsson took sixth place out of 40 swimmers with a new season-best time of 2:06.07. Jonsson will most likely also swim this event at the state meet, so keep an eye out for her as we try to see a Cambridge girl return to finals at the state meet. Next to finish was Darby Goodyear in 16^th place, followed by a season-best performance by Chloe Paskins in 19^th place, Annah Morgan in 23^rd place, Isabella Empoliti in 27^th place and Ashley Dale Henslee in 28^th place.

In the 200-yard individual medley, senior Sydney Swenton was the first from Cambridge to finish with a 17^th place finish and a time of 2:42.26. Olivia Mahler didn't finish far behind with a 19^th place finish.

In the 50-yard freestyle event, Alex Newcomer was the first to finish with a time of 26.88 and a 14^th place finish among 64 swimmers. Katie Fishman finished next in 34^th place, followed by Anna Salvadori in 35^th, Katie Durden in 37^th, Avery Osborne in 44^th, Nicole Detjen in 47^th, Brigs Riddick in 48^th, and Julia Dinardo in 49^th.

In the 100-yard butterfly event, Caley Cramer just missed the state cut but did swim a new personal best time of 1:06.02, which earned her seventh place out of 32 swimmers. The next to finish was Olivia Mahler in 14^th place, Anna Salvadori in 21^st place with a new season best time by almost three-seconds, and Carolyn McLain in 24^th place with a new personal best time.

In the 100-yard freestyle event, Alex Newcomer led the Cambridge pack with a 12^th place finish out of 60 swimmers. Caley Cramer took 18^th place, followed by Paula Morales, who dropped some time to swim a personal best and finish in 21^st place. Katie Durden finished in 30^th place, Sarah Moore finished in 35^th place with a personal best time, Ashley Dale Henslee finished in 36^th place, Annah Morgan finished in 48^th place, and Lindsey [Liam] Robinson finished in 49^th place.

In the 500-yard freestyle event, Lauren Jonsson again impressed the crowd with her performance. Finishing in sixth place overall with a time of 5:35.32, Jonsson will most likely swim this event at the state meet and will certainly look to finish strong enough in prelims to make it back for a finals performance. Darby Goodyear, another of the strong distance freestyle female swimmers, earned 11^th place out of 20 swimmers. Last year, Goodyear dropped significant time right before the end of the season in this event and we don't expect anything less in the next few weeks. Chloe Paskins also had a standout performance, by dropping almost 11 seconds from her best time, Paskins looked strong throughout her race and she anticipates dropping even more time before the end of the season. Sydney Anderson, a 500-yard freestyle veteran, has been a role model of hard work and has set an example for other distance females. She earned 17^th place in this event.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the A-relay (Ashley Dale Henslee, Katie Fishman, Nicole Detjen, Sydney Swenton) finished in ninth place out of 20 relay teams with a time of 1:54.19. The B-relay (Anna Salvadori, Isabella Empoliti, Lindsey [Liam] Robinson, Avery Osborne) also had a solid performance, finishing in 16^th place.

In the 100-backstroke event, Nicole Detjen finished in 20^th with a time of 1:10.11, which was her best time of the season. Paula Morales was next to the wall in 26^th place, followed by Julia Dinardo in 29^th, and Isabella Empoliti in 32^nd.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Katie Fishman had a great race and finished in eighth place out of 41 swimmers with a time of 1:17.14. Sydney Swenton wasn't far behind with a 16^th place finish, Sarah Moore with another best time performance in 20^th place, Natalie Henderson in 25^th place with a season best time, and Lindsey [Liam] Robinson in 30^th place.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the girls' team also had a solid chance of a returning state performance. The A-relay (Caley Cramer, Katie Durden, Lauren Jonsson, Alex Newcomer) earned seventh place overall with a time of 3:59.53. Out of 18 relay teams, the B-relay (Chloe Paskins, Sarah Moore, Ashley Dale Henslee, Paula Morales) all finished out their day with good times and a finish of 12^th place.

On Saturday, January 16th, the team will participate in the Forsyth Winter Classic and Cambridge will be the largest team present. With five divers and almost the whole squad ready to compete, the team is expected to have great performances at a really fast pool. The team hopes to add a few events to the state agenda under the right conditions.

Diving will begin competition at 12:30 PM and swimming will begin immediately after at 2:00 PM. Both portions will take place at Cumming Aquatic Center. Come cheer on your swimmers and divers in a day of exciting competition!