On Tuesday, February 6th and Wednesday, February 7th, the swimming and diving team competed in the state championship meet. The team took two divers and 19 swimmers. The girls team secured third place after Westminster (reigning state champion) and Northview. The boys had an outstanding meet and had a number of best times. At the end of the meet, the team had replaced four school records, crowned one state champion, and medaled five individual athletes.
Diving
The divers competed for the state championship at Westminster. The girls competition was first up for the day, so the girls didn't have to wait around long for their turn. Lilah Versluis had an excellent performance and finished with a score of 173.90. Brooklyn Petit secured third place during her freshman and sophomore years and had high aspirations for her junior year performance. Throughout the whole first round of diving (where divers complete all six of their dives), Petit was fighting for top seed from a North Ocoee diver that was the reigning state champion. The girls traded first place back and forth the whole first round. Going into the final round, Petit was positioned in second place. In the finals round, the divers complete all six dives AGAIN and continue to add to their score. Finals tightened the fight for first and by the end of the fifth dive, Petit was only trailing by seven points (which is a very small amount in diving). The standings held after the final dive and Petit was medaled state runner-up for 4-5A! In addition to being the highest dive finisher in Cambridge history, she also broke her own school record by almost 100-points to make it a whopping 628.75. Petit holds the 11-dive and 6-dive school records.
Swimming Prelims - Girls
The swimmers took the competition from there. Thanks to Petit, the team started off the swim events already with points on the board. For swimming, the preliminary round for qualifiers was held at 9:00 AM at Georgia Tech and then the top 20 swimmers from 4-5A qualified to compete in finals in the evening (6:00 PM). In swimming, the 4-5A conferences compete together and so they all compete for the same points.
To kick things off, the medley relay (Jamie Walsh, Alana Drevet, Audrey Lampa, Abby Harber) had a lot of pressure. Without all three finals qualifying for finals, the team would have a very difficult time being podium contenders. The relay team did their job and qualified to return as the 13th place seed.
In the girls 200-freestyle, two Cambridge heavy-hitters were taking on the same event: senior captain Kate Kerber and junior Jennifer Griner. Both won their respective heats and secured the first (Kerber) and second (Griner) place seeds going into finals. This was the first time in Cambridge history that such a result has occurred and if they held on, they would also create a new first by being the first event where two Cambridge athletes would podium for the same event. Kerber's time was 1:53.20 and Griner's time was 1:53.73, both of them best times for the season.
In the 200-individual medley, Jamie Walsh was carrying the load for the Bears in the event. After touching in a new best time of 2:17.50, Walsh secured the eighth place seed and a spot in the A-final. This would set up the Bears for critical points.
In the 50-freestyle, Abby Harber was the only competitor for the Bears and she finished in 29th place overall, so not a spot to return to finals in the evening. Harber had an excellent race, even without returning to finals.
In the 100-butterfly, Kate Kerber had her eyes set on the podium in this event as well. Kerber easily won her heat and secured the second place seed going into finals with a new best time of 56.78. Kerber was very close to breaking her older sister's school record in the event.
The 500-freestyle presented a great opportunity for the Bears. With a limited number of girls competing, this was a chance for big points. Jennifer Griner did not disappoint and blew away the rest of her heat to finish with a time of 5:05.84. The time qualified her to be the first place seed going into finals. Jamie Walsh also punched her ticket for her third event in finals by taking 11th with a new best time of 5:24.36.
The 200-freestyle relay (Kate Kerber, Abby Harber, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner) dropped almost four-seconds from their seed to secure the fifth place seed going into finals with a time of 1:41.74. Their time was dancing very close to the school record of 1:40.22.
In the 100-backstroke, Caroline Gaines jumped right back in the pool after the relay. Swimming a new best time of 59.35, Gaines jumped from the seventh place seed to the fourth place seed going into finals.
As if her agenda couldn't get worse, Gaines would get right back up on the blocks again for the 100-breaststroke. Gaines touched in a time of 1:09.11 which secured her another top heat spot for finals. Alana Drevet also had an incredible performance and finished with a new best time of 1:09.94, which earned her the 13th place seed for finals.
Gaines had one last race to go to finish off her morning session. She was joined by Kate Kerber, Abby Harber and Jennifer Griner to compete in the 400-freestyle relay. The girls finished with a time of 3:43.45, which earned them the fifth place seed in the top heat for finals.
The morning session went exceptionally well for the Bears. All competitors were returning to finals and compete to maintain the Cambridge podium legacy.
Swimming Prelims - Boys
The boys team had high aspirations to finish in the top 10 for state and they had a lot of competitors that could help them get there. But without diving points to help get them started, they needed to have an exceptional preliminary round to have a chance.
The boys medley relay (John Murphy, Thomas Lenston, Gavin Schoeling, Yan Berezitsky) finished with a new season best time of 1:42.84. The time qualified them to return to finals in 14th place.
In the 200-freestyle, Jax Jackson finished with a new best time of 1:50.08, which snuck him into finals as the 20th place seed, jumping from his 31st place seed going into prelims. Yan Berezitsky took 30th place and did not qualify to return.
In the 200-individual medley, Gavin Schoeling finished in 2:02.72, which earned him 18th place and a spot for finals.
In the 50-freestyle, Zach Andersen touched in a time of 23.60, which was 38th place overall.
Gavin Schoeling had his second individual event with the 100-butterfly and finished with a new best time of 54.98. Teammate Thomas Lenston touched in the exact same time. Lenston and Schoeling tied for 22nd place to return to finals as the second alternates.
Jax Jackson took on one of the most competitive events in the meet: the 100-freestyle. Touching with a new best time of 50.86, Jackson took 23rd place overall, jumping him from his original 41st place seed.
In the 500-freestyle, Yan Berezitsky finished with a new best time of 5:07.07 which took him from the 33rd place seed to the 22nd place seed. He would return to finals as an alternate in the event.
The boys 200-freestyle relay (Zach Andersen, Thomas Lenston, John Murphy, Jax Jackson) had an awesome performance and finished with a time of 1:34.93, earning them the 20th place seed and a chance to swim it again at finals.
The Bears had two competitors in the 100-backstroke: John Murphy and Oscar Ryzhkov. Murphy swam a new best time of 59.43, and Ryzhkov did the same with a time of 59.71. With a 27th and 32nd place seeds after prelims, the boys did not qualify to get another chance to swim the event at finals.
In the 100-breaststroke, Thomas Lenston finished in 12th to swim a new best time of 1:01.06. Lenston had his eyes on the school record (59.91) at finals.
For the final event of the morning, the 400-freestyle relay (Gavin Schoeling, Yan Berezitsky, Jax Jackson, John Murphy) touched with a time of 3:30.55, which earned them 17th place and a spot for finals that night.
All in all, the boys didn't earn a ton of individual competitor spots, but they did secure all three relays to return which are worth twice as many points as an individual finish. They just needed to out-perform from the morning to improve their standing.
Swimming Finals
Back in a single pool together, the boys and girls were excited for the evening's competitions. Many were going to have a very exhausting night with high demands, but the energy that comes with finals helps you rise to the occasion when those big moments come.
The boys set the tone in the 200-medley relay (John Murphy, Thomas Lenston, Gavin Schoeling, Yan Berezitsky) as they took 15th place and earned 12 points to kick off the night.
The girls medley relay (Jamie Walsh, Alana Drevet, Audrey Lampa, Abby Harber) out-performed their morning relay to finish in 1:55.57, improving their seed to a 12th place finish and 18 points on the board.
Jax Jackson out-performed in finals for his 200-freestyle and was able to improve to 19th place with a time of 1:50.89.
In the much anticipated girls 200-freestyle event, Kate Kerber and Jennifer Griner were ready to race against each other and try to secure a state champion and a runner-up spot. Unfortunately, the top Westminster competitor let loose and robbed the state champion spot, but Kerber was able to hold on to the runner-up slot and Griner held on for third. These were the first individual medals earned for each of the girls and the first time Cambridge has had two people on the podium for the same event. The girls were starting off wanting to rewrite history for this meet.
Gavin Schoeling dug deep for his 200-individual medley and held on to the 18th place spot with a time of 2:04.41.
Jamie Walsh had an outstanding performance in the 200-individual medley. She went in as the eighth place seed and finished in sixth with a new best time of 2:14.94, beating out her new best time from the morning. Walsh earned critical points for the Bears in her event.
In the girls 100-butterfly, Kerber badly wanted to medal for another individual for her senior season. Not only did Kerber medal in third, she broke her sister's school record by swimming a 56.06. Kerber was on a roll for the evening.
Another big event for the girls team was the 500-freestyle. With two competitors in the event, this was a tremendous opportunity. Jennifer Griner was the top seed going into finals and she wiped away the competition for finals also. Finished over four-seconds ahead of the next finisher, Griner was crowed the state champion with a time of 5:02.55, a new best time. The good news also carried over to Jamie Walsh for her second individual event of the night. Walsh was trying to hold on to 11th place and the whole race she trailed. Walsh was racing her own race and making sure she wasn't going out to fast or getting caught up in what other athletes were doing. She swam a tremendous race and in the end, out touched everyone in her heat to maintain 11th place and finish with a new best time of 5:19.66. If Walsh had been in the top heat, she would have taken eighth place (the rules are that if you qualify for the B-heat - 11th through 20th place - then the highest you can finish is 11th place).
The boys 200-freestyle relay out-performed themselves from the morning. Zach Andersen, Thomas Lenston, John Murphy, and Jax Jackson jumped from 20th place to 17th place with an improved time of 1:34.76.
The girls relay (Kate Kerber, Abby Harber, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner) dropped almost a full second from the morning session (even with Griner having just competed in the 500-freestyle). They touched with a time of 1:40.95, just missing the school record for the event, but secured fifth place overall. Additionally, Kerber was able to break the school record with her lead-off leg with a time of 24.57. The record will replace alumni Abby Grottle from 2019.
The relay kicked off Caroline Gaines's marathon of events for finals. After the relay, she hopped back in for the backstroke final. Managing to pulled out ANOTHER new best time of 58.96, Gaines held on to fourth place overall, just missing the podium, but having an incredible performance.
Thomas Lenston had an outstanding performance in the 100-breaststroke. Lenston held on to his 12th place finish, but more importantly he crushed the school record to finish with a time of 59.22, replacing Oleg Kolesnikov from 2022.
Caroline Gaines was up on the blocks again! After so many events back to back, just being in the top heat was what the Bears needed from Gaines and she took care of business. She touched with a final time of 1:09.60 and the 10th place spot.
To finish off the night, the boys (Jax Jackson, John Murphy, Yan Berezitsky, Gavin Schoeling) absolutely killed the 400-freestyle relay. They dropped over six-seconds from their morning performance and jumped from the 17th place seed to the 14th. They ended the night in fantastic fashion and we were so proud of them!
The girls had one last race to get through to ensure they stayed on the podium. The girls (Kate Kerber, Abby Harber, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner) dropped almost four-seconds from their preliminary swim to jump to fourth place overall, just missing the podium, with at time of 3:40.01, their best time the whole season.
The boys finished in 19th place overall with 48 points in finals, and the girls finished in third with 261 points. The team did an incredible job supporting each other and taking the opportunity to perform to the very best of their ability. Another successful season came to a close! Congratulations, Bears!
