Girls Swim/Dive is State Runner Up; Four New School Records Set
Last week, the varsity swim/dive culminated their season with the state championship meet. The divers were at Westminster on Tuesday, January 31st and the swimmers were on Saturday, January 4th. At the end of the finals, Cambridge girls found themselves earning the state runner-up slot for the third year in a row and the boys took 17th.
DIVING
On Tuesday, the divers took on some of the best divers in the state with the 1-5A state championship. For diving, all qualifiers complete all six of their dives in their routine and then the top 10 complete their six dives for a second time and add on to their score. The finishers are then separated into 1-3A and 4-5A for awards and points. This year, we had Brooklyn Petit, Hana El-Gazairly and Lilah Versluis representing the Bears. After six dives, Petit earned her way into the top 10 by holding steady in 7th place. El-Gazairly narrowly missed the top 10 by finishing her six dives in 12th place and Versluis in 13th place. Petit continued her routine and had a spectacular finals round. She sat in sixth place, but once the 1-3A schools were removed, Petit secured a third place finish in 4-5A, earning her the bronze medal in the event two years in a row. Her score, 555.55, also set a new school record. El-Gazairly was eighth in 4-5A and Versluis did not break the 190 point threshold to score, but had a great meet for her first appearance at the state championship. Petit earned the team 20 points for her performance and El-Gazairly added 15 points, so the Bears went into Saturday's meet with a solid 35 points, trailing Westminster by about 20 points for their three scoring divers.
PRELIMS
On Saturday, the Bears headed to Georgia Tech to take on the swim portion of the competition. For the first time, the preliminary round and finals round would be held on the same day. This is a heavy challenge for these athletes as they have to compete to make it to finals and then find the stamina and energy to compete in the events for the podium in the evening.
In prelims, the meet started with the medley relay. For the boys, John Murphy swam backstroke, Aaron Grann swam breaststroke, Gavin Schoeling swam butterfly and Gavin Grann swam freestyle. The boys finished in 21st place, just outside the top 20 and did not earn a spot back in finals. Their time of 1:45.61.
For the girls, Sophie Brison swam backstroke, Caroline Gaines swam breaststroke, Kate Kerber swam butterfly and Jennifer Griner swam freestyle. The girls dropped over four-seconds from their seed time to finish in 1:47.35 and claim the third place seed going into finals following Greater Atlanta Christian and Chamblee.
In the girls 200-yard freestyle event, Sophie Brison easily sailed into the wall with a time of 1:49.62 (over five-seconds faster than her seed time) and claimed the top seed for finals. Jennifer Griner dropped over six-seconds from her seed time and claimed the fourth place slot going into finals with a time of 1:55.72.
In the boys 200-yard individual medley, the Bears had two entries. Gavin Schoeling finished with a time of 2:08.94 which is a new best time and 28th place. Zach Andersen took 38th place with a time of 2:12.75. Neither earned a spot back in the top 20 for finals but both had great swims.
The girls had three entries for the 200-yard individual medley. Kate Kerber finished over four-seconds faster than her seed time (2:07.18) and claimed the third place slot for finals. Jamie Walsh also had a great swim and finished in 2:15.90, which snuck her into the top final heat with a ninth place finish. Olivia Skinner dropped over two-seconds and finished in 2:20.63 and took 18th, earned a spot back in the B-final for the evening.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Cale Coleman shaved off some time and finished in 22.21 and earned ninth place to return in the top heat for finals.
For the girls, Samantha Hamitlon also shaved time and finished in 25.62, a new best time. Her time earned her 18th place and a spot back for the B-final in the evening. Abby Harber shaved time to finish in 26.26, but took 36th and did not earn a spot back for finals.
Kate Kerber was the lone entry for the girls in the 100-yard butterfly. Shaving off some time, she finished in 57.74 and earned the fourth place slot for finals. This was Kerber's second third event and second individual she had earned a spot for finals so far for the day.
Cale Coleman took on his second event with the 100-yard freestyle. Once again, Coleman earned a spot in the top final with his new best time of 48.46 and taking sixth place. Gavin Grann also had a phenomenal swim and a new best time of 50.25 and earned 16th place and a return to finals.
Samantha Hamilton earned her second returning event with her 100-yard freestyle. Finishing in a new best time of 56.60, she earned her spot for the night's competition by taking 19th place, sneaking into the top 20. Abby Harber took 33rd place with a time of 58.36.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Yan Berezitsky had a great swim and a new best time of 5:13.62, but it wasn't enough to earn a slot at finals. His finish earned him 27th place. Jax Jackson had also qualified in the event.
The girls had three entries for the 500-yard freestyle. Jennifer Griner shaved off almost eight-seconds to take fourth with a time of 5:15.66. This was Griner's third event and second individual she earned a qualifying spot in for the evening. Jamie Walsh once again snuck into the top ten with her ninth place prelim finish of 5:25.27. Olivia Skinner also earned her second appearance back for finals in the event with her 19th place finish with a time of 5:36.32.
The boys 200-yard freestyle relay was made up of Gavin Grann, Aaron Grann, Gavin Schoeling and Cale Coleman. The final time of 1:32.06 earned them seventh place and a spot in the top final heat in the evening.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the girls needed to earn points in the event to stay in the game and that meant needing a top 10 finish in prelims. The girls delivered. Samantha Hamilton, Olivia Skinner, Jamie Walsh and Abby Harber got the job done by taking seventh with a new best time by almost three-seconds (1:43.98). They would return to compete in top finals heat for the event.
John Murphy was the lone entry for the boys in the 100-yard backstroke. Murphy went in as the last place seed and jumped to 35 with his 59.92 finish. Unfortunately, it was not enough to return to finals.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Sophie Brison easily sailed into first with a time of 54.78. Caroline Gaines also earned her place in the top final with a seventh place finish in 59.77.
Aaron Grann was the lone entry for the boys in the 100-yard breaststroke. He finished in 32nd with a time of 1:07.24.
Caroline Gaines took on the very next event, the 100-yard breaststroke. Earning ninth place in prelims with a time of 1:09.09 (best time this season), she would return for her third event. She was also to compete in a third event in a row for the last relay. Alana Drevet, even though she was ill, gave it her all and competed in the event and took 22nd, earning the second alternate position for finals with a time of 1:13.69.
The boys 400-freestyle relay was made up of Gavin Grann, Aaron Grann, Gavin Schoeling and Cale Coleman. The relay finished with a new best time of 3:23.47 and earned ninth place and a spot back in the top final for the evening. Coleman would have a full four-event schedule, Gavin Grann would have three events, Gavin Schoeling would have two and Aaron Grann would also have two.
In the final event of the day, Kate Kerber, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner and Sophie Brison had a great swim and dropped over six-seconds to finish in 3:32.16. Kate Kerber swam a new school record with her leadoff leg of 52.24. Their time earned them the top slot in finals for the evening. Westminster and Greater Atlanta Christian would be chasing them in the evening's competition. All four girls would have a full four-event schedule for the evening.
FINALS
In the evening, excitement was high for the events ahead. In the girls competition, the top three teams in 4-5A (Westminster, Cambridge, Greater Atlanta Christian) were hyped up to duke it out in every event to the end to compete for the top spots on the podium. In the boys event, Chattahoochee and Northview were fighting for the top and everyone else was looking to steal points wherever they could, including the Bears.
The medley relay has always been a strength of the girls program. The powerful combination of our stroke specialists makes them hard to beat and has claimed them many titles, but the girls were prepared to fight it out with the other top programs. At the end, the Bears were beaten out at the end and took second by a half-stroke into the wall. Their time of 1:46.54 was a new best time this season and a hair off of the All-American Consideration time. The Bears claimed the silver medal!
In the 200-yard freestyle, Sophie Brison sailed into first with no other competitors in sight. Her time of 1:48.15 was an automatic All-American time and a new school record, beating out Abby Grottle from the 2020 state championship season. Jennifer Griner shaved time from the morning swim to finish in 1:54.84 and remaining in fourth place, just off the podium.
In the 200-yard individual medley, Kate Kerber fought till the very end but finished just off the podium in fourth place with a time of 2:08.68. Jamie Walsh finished with a time of 2:17.63 and took 10th place. Olivia Skinner dropped time again and jumped to 17th place with a time of 2:19.79, a new best time.
In the boys 50-yard freestyle, Cale Coleman held his place in ninth with a time of 22.26.
In the girls 50-yard freestyle, Samantha Hamitlon won the B-final and jumped from 18th place all the way to 11th place with a new best time of 25.39.
Kate Kerber managed to shave off time from prelims to finals in the 100-yard butterfly and took seventh with a time of 57.48.
In the boys 100-yard freestyle, Cale Coleman held ninth place with a new best time of 48.41. Gavin Grann jumped to 15th place with a time of 50.34.
In the girls 100-yard freestyle, Samantha Hamilton had another great swim which jumped her to 16th place with a new best time of 56.25.
In the 500-yard freestyle, Jennifer Griner took fifth with a time of 5:16.23 and Jamie Walsh jumped to seventh place with a new best time of 5:20.10. Olivia Skinner also moved up in her second event with a 17th place finish and a new best time of 5:35.34.
The boys 200-yard freestyle relay was a tremendous fight and the boys held their seventh place finish with a new best time of 1:31.54. The relay was made up of Gavin Grann, Aaron Grann, Gavin Schoeling and Cale Coleman.
The girls 200-yard freestyle relay took seventh and matched to the hundredth of a second their preliminary round time of 1:43.98. The relay was made up of Samantha Hamilton, Olivia Skinner, Jamie Walsh and Abby Harber. Walsh and Skinner had just competed in the 500-yard freestyle and turned around and competed in the sprint event! This was Hamilton and Skinner's last events in their high school career as seniors.
Sophie Brison maintained her domination of the 100-yard backstroke event and claimed the state championship title in her second individual of the day. Her time, 53.62, is an automatic All-American time and a new school record. Caroline Gaines maintained her seventh place spot with a time of 59.72, faster than the morning. Gaines unfortunately hurt her back in the event and would create a challenge for her in the next two races she would have to power through.
Gaines immediately got back in the water for the 100-yard breaststroke and miraculously made it through the event with a solid time of 1:10.29, which earned her 10th place.
In the final event of the evening, the boys fought it out in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Gain Grann, Gavin Schoeling, Aaron Grann and Cale Coleman finished with a time of 3:24.61 and they maintained their ninth grade position. Aaron Grann and Gavin Grann wrapped up their high school careers with this swim and it was a good one!
The final event of the night, the girls had their sights on a state championship title. Seeded first, all the other teams were gunning for them. Kate Kerber led off the relay again, followed by Caroline Gaines in her pain from her prior two events, then Jennifer Griner and senior Sophie Brison. It came down to the final touch, but the Bears fell short. They claimed the bronze medal which was a phenomenal finish to the meet and a certainly challenging day. This was the end of Sophie Brison's high school swim career and she was able to finish it on the podium.
The girls finished with 349 points, just behind Westminster who would claim the state championship team title. The Bears got to take home the state runner up trophy for the third year in a row, which is an accomplishment to be incredibly proud of. With Westminster being a 4A team, the Cambridge Bears were the top 5A team in the state meet, followed by Greater Atlanta Christian.
The boys had a great finish with a 17th place finish and some incredibly solid finishes.
The meet ended with four new school records, two state championship titles, two All-American times, and five podium finishes. The Bears are already excited at the prospect of what they can accomplish next season, but we will terribly miss the seniors that contributed so much to the success the team had this season.
