On Friday, November 20th, Cambridge hosted North Springs at the Cumming Aquatic Center and ended the night with a sweep. Cambridge took the win for combined team score, girls team score and boys team score. At the end of the night, there were 28 state qualifying performances, which shows how well the team performed.
Combined Team Score
Cambridge - 1253
North Springs - 554
Girls Team Score
Cambridge - 755
North Springs - 397
Boys Team Score
Cambridge 498
North Springs 157
Dive
Link for video: https://youtu.be/VgVvL8q6JH8
First to compete for the evening was the divers. Cambridge had an impressive 11 total divers competing for the Bears.
Jack Oblen, the sole male diver at the Friday meet, has shown steady improvement all season. Oblen, who took up diving just last year and clenched a spot on the state roster the same season, is hoping to get his state qualifying performance soon so he can return in February for another chance. All signs are pointing to that possibility. Oblen scored 172.60 points.
On the girls side, captain Kate McKay took the top spot with an impressive 242.75 points and some beautiful dives that earned the highest scores for the night. McKay has already earned her spot for state.
Following McKay was Addy Woods. Earning 209.80 points, Woods secured the third place on the state roster for the girls team. The other member of the state diving squad, Emilija Ragaine, took third place with 206.00 points. Following Ragaine was Gracie Counsell, Hana El-Gazairly, Malaika Murlidhar, Maddy Mild, Julia Versluis, Claire Danner and Ella Thurman.
Swimming
Link for video: https://youtu.be/YfS36SX0QeY
Beginning the meet, the boys medley relay (Michael O'Connor, Jack O'Connor, Billy Blood, Alex O'Connor) took first with a state qualifying time of 1:49.48.
For the girls team, the A-relay (Sophie Brison, Jayla Brown, Claire Kerber, Kate Kerber) took first place by almost 10-seconds with a new season best state time of 1:52.62. The B-relay (Eva Medici, Grace Ghent, Camille Brown, Emma Guy) also swam a state qualifying time and took second place. The C-relay team (Olivia Skinner, Jamie Walsh, Kathryn Suplee, Jessica Hernandez) also swam a state qualifying time and took third place.
In the boys 200-freestyle, Michael O'Connor swam a great race against top North Springs swimmer but was untouched and took second, but he touched with a state qualifying time of 1:50.89 which is a great time for O'Connor. Oleg Kolesnikov took third and Harrison Cottick took fourth.
For the girls, Claire Kerber was untouched and took second place but with a state qualifying time of 2:00.51, which is also an incredibly great time for Kerber. Jessica Hernandez took third and secured her first state qualifying swim. Olivia Skinner took fourth, Emma Guy took fifth, Izzy Filipek took sixth, and Emma Solomon took seventh.
In the boys 200-IM, Alex O'Connor took second place.
For the girls, Sophie Brison finished first with almost 10-seconds before the next swimmer touched the wall. Her state qualifying time of 2:06.09 was her first swim for the Bears this season. Teammate Kate Kerber took second with a state qualifying time of 2:15.90. Jamie Walsh took third with a time just off the state standard, Laura Watkins took fourth, and Anna Filipek took fifth.
In the boys 50-free, Aiden Goodnight took the win for the event, followed by Abhi Malik in second, Matthew Harper in third, and Nick Feliciani took fifth.
In the girls 50-free, Kathryn Suplee took the win for the event, following by Samantha Hamilton in second, Abby Harber in third, Eva Medici in fourth, Paige Jaeger in sixth, Jayci Brown in seventh, Phoenix Koontz in eighth, Anna Kate Black in 10th, and Abigail Marzullo in 12th.
In the boys 100-fly, Billy Blood took the win with a state time of 56.25, following by teammate Jack O'Connor who took second with a state time of 57.84. Aiden Goodnight took third.
For the girls, Claire Kerber took the win with a state qualifying time of 1:00.36, followed by teammate Camille Brown in second, Kathryn Suplee in fourth, Laura Watkins in fifth, and Amelia Duffner in sixth.
In the boys 100-free, Abhi Malik took second, Matthew Harper took third, and Nick Feliciani took fourth.
For the girls, Kate Kerber took the win with a state qualifying time of 56.56, followed by Jayla Brown in second with a state qualifying time of 56.73. Emma Guy took third, Camille Brown took fourth, Grace Ghent took fifth, Jayci Brown took sixth, Emma Solomon took seventh, Izzy Filipek took eighth, and Abigail Marzullo took ninth.
In the boys 500-free, Zach Andersen took second.
For the girls, Jessica Hernandez took first and secured her second state qualifying swim with a time of 5:35.38. Anna Filipek came in second, Phoenix Koontz took third, and Anna Kate Black took fifth.
In the boys 200-free relay, the boys relay (Oleg Kolesnikov, Abhi Malik, Zach Andersen, Aiden Goodnight) took first.
In the girls event, the A-relay (Emma Guy, Eva Medici, Abby Harber, Samantha Hamilton) took first with a state qualifying time of 1:46.97. The B-relay (Kathryn Suplee, Grace Ghent, Paige Jaeger, Jayci Brown) took second also with a state qualifying time, in addition to Kathryn Suplee making her 50-free state qualifying time with her leadoff leg. The C-relay (Izzy Filipek, Phoenix Koontz, Anna Filipek, Emma Solomon) took third.
In the boys 100-back, Billy Blood clenched his second individual win and another state qualifying swim with a time of 57.40. Teammate Michael O'Connor took second, also with a state qualifying time. Alex O'Connor took third and Harrison Cottick took fourth.
For the girls, Sophie Brison sailed into first with a state qualifying time of 57.44, followed by teammate Eva Medici in third with her first state qualifying time of the season. Olivia Skinner took fourth, Samantha Hamilton took fifth, and Abby Harber took sixth.
In the boys 100-breast, Oleg Kolesnikov swam just off the state qualifying time but still took first place in the event. Zach Andersen took second.
For the girls, Jayla Brown took first with a state qualifying time of 1:12.98. Jamie Walsh took second with a time just off the state cut, followed by Grace Ghent in third, Amelia Duffner in fifth, and Paige Jaeger in sixth.
In the boys 400-free relay, the A-relay (Billy Blood, Alex O'Connor, Jack O'Connor, Michael O'Connor) took first with a new best state qualifying time for the season of 3:32.29. The B-relay (Zach Andersen, Matthew Harper, Nick Feliciani, Harrison Cottick) took third.
For the girls, the A-relay (Sophie Brison, Jayla Brown, Claire Kerber, Kate Kerber) took first with a new best state qualifying time for the season of 3:42.74. The B-relay (Samantha Hamilton, Camille Brown, Jessica Hernandez, Jamie Walsh) took second also with a state qualifying time.
The team had many great performances by the end of the evening and will have the weekend to recover and regroup before taking on Rivers Academy and Riverwood on Monday afternoon! The meet will begin the livestream at 1:30 PM from Cumming Aquatic Center, beginning with the dive competition. No spectators are allowed in the building, but we hope you'll tune in to watch the action!
