Boys' Team Takes 1st Place at Spartan Mustang Relays, Girls' Team Takes Third

Cambridge ended the regular season with an all-relay meet. The Spartan-Mustang Relays at the Mountain View Aquatic Center Saturday, January 30th, was an opportunity to have fun, get in one last swim and honor the sixteen graduating swimmers. 

While many of the relays were not the typical relays you would see at a regular meet, the traditional relays gave an opportunity for the state relays to get another chance in a racing environment to iron out some relay teams and try out some new strategies. 

The boys' medley relay has found their groove as they continue to drop time. The A-relay (Erek Humm, Konata Ford, Dawson Hall, Jared Keim) dropped time from their relay earlier in the week  to swim a new best time of 1:48.09. The B-relay (Sean McGinty, Kyle Daniel, Jason Yang, Conor Wesolowski) also had a solid performance and even came from behind in the last leg to win their heat. The girls' medley relay A-team (Lauren Jonsson, Katie Fishman, Olivia Mahler, Katie Durden) took third overall, followed closely by the B-relay (Nicole Detjen, Sydney Swenton, Anna Salvadori, Ashley Dale Henslee) who easily won their heat and took 8th overall. 

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the A-relay (Jake Todd, Austin Daniel, Jared Keim, Erek Humm) took first overall with a new best time of 1:32.85. That time is almost three seconds faster than the week before and makes the chances of grabbing a top 20 position at state a lot more probable. The B-relay (Jason Hink, Conor Wesolowski, Dawson Hall, Konata Ford) area all possible members of that final relay as well and had a solid performance, earning them 7th overall at the meet. The girls' 200-yard freestyle A-relay (Caley Cramer, Paula Morales, Katie Fishman, Alex Newcomer) has a few kinks to work out before state, but they had another solid performance and took fourth overall. The B-relay (Katie Durden, Ashley Dale Henslee, Sydney Swenton, Lauren Jonsson) also looked very strong and are all possible members of that final state relay. 

The 400-yard freestyle event was the highlight of the day for both the boys' and girls' teams. Both teams took first place in the final event. In particular, the boys' team (Jake Todd, Jason Hink, Erek Humm, Austin Daniel) really stood out. The team managed to drop almost four seconds from their seed time to swim an incredible 3:22.88, which is better than their state performance last year. While their original seed time put them in 11th place, their new seed time would put them well within the top 10. This is the relay to watch! State finals are well within their reach. The girls' relay (Caley Cramer, Lauren Jonsson, Paula Morales, Alex Newcomer) is the strongest of their performances and they fought till the last touch to take first in this event. The girls feel that their chances are good to make the top 20 and be the first girls' relay to earn a returning place at finals. 

Other standout performances by the Bears include the 200-yard backstroke relay. The boys' team (Erek Humm, Jake Todd, Sean McGinty, Austin Daniel) took first overall by a very healthy lead of over five seconds. The girls' team (Caley Cramer, Nicole Detjen, Darby Goodyear, Lauren Jonsson) took second also by a substantial margin of over two seconds. The boys' 200-yard butterfly relay was also impressive to watch. The A-relay (Jake Todd, Jason Yang, Austin Daniel, Dawson Hall) took second place overall with all legs showing solid splits. 

The more important significance of the meet was that it was the last chance for our seniors to perform and enjoy time with their teammates. Cambridge has an incredible sixteen graduating members, which is exponentially larger than any other graduating group. Many of these seniors have been members of the program for all four years. 

Here are our impressive Sweet [Class of 20]16: 

Kyle Daniel (Four-Year Member)
Erek Humm (Four-Year Member)
Jared Keim
Jake Todd (Four-Year Member, Captain)
Conor Wesolowski
Sydney Anderson (Four-Year Member)
Caley Cramer
Nicole Detjen
Ayana Dudley (Four-Year Member)
Ashley Dale Henslee (Four-Year Member, Captain)
Sophia LaMarca (Four-Year Member)
Sarah Moore (Four-Year Member)
Alex Newcomer (Four-Year Member)
Emily Powers
Anna Salvadori
Sydney Swenton (Four-Year Member, Captain) 

These seniors have played a pivotal role in defining and shaping this program. Their dedication, commitment, and relentless attitude is what has taken this program into this new level of competition. In four short years, Cambridge swimming and diving has become a force to be reckoned with. There are no words to truly capture what these seniors mean to our program and how much they will be missed in the years to come. Thank you, seniors, for all you have done to make this team and program special. 

Next week, the state team will travel to Georgia Tech to compete in the state competition. 

Diving will take place on Thursday, February 4th. Maddie Chaloux, Simon Finlayson and Turner Mignerey will represent Cambridge on Georgia's biggest stage. With a year of state experience under their belts, Chaloux and Finlayson are expected to have incredible performances. Mignerey's new talent is exciting to watch and this is just the beginning of what he will do in the years to come. 

On Friday, Feb. 5th, swimming preliminary rounds will take place.

Cambridge will have the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, and 400-yard freestyle relay for both the boys' and girls' teams.

Cambridge is shaping up to have their best showing yet!

Come down to Georgia Tech to cheer on your Bears!