The McIntosh Chiefs hosted Chattahoochee and Etowah

on Friday evening at the Kedron Aquatic Center and the

results were record breaking. Seven school records were beaten

and members of 12 events qualified for the state meet. The boys

took first place with an overall score of 132 points while the girls

finished in second place with a score of 107 points. Becky Brokish set

two school records in the 200m freestyle and the 500m

freestyle, with times of 2:06:63 and 5:30:14 respectively. Her brother,

Andy Brokish, set a school record in the 200m individual medley with

a time of 2:07:87. Annya Lee set two new school records in

both the 50m freestyle and the 100m fly with times of 25:79

and 1:00:92. Each of those times was also good enough to qualify

those swimmers for the state meet. Molly McGregor also

qualified for the meet in the 100m breaststroke and the 200m

individual medley.

The 200m medley relay, featuring Kumiko Mase,

Molly McGregor, Annya Lee and Mary Rebok, set a school record

and qualified for the state meet with a time of 2:01:6. The boys

200m medley relay team of Andy Brokish, Keith Hudson,

Chris Jobson and Alex Puig, also qualified for the state meet. Both

the girls and boys 200m free relay qualified for the state meet, as

did the girls 400m free relay. Boys captain, Alex Ruddy, swam

extremely well and qualified for the state meet in the boys 200m

free relay.

The boys finished in first place in all but three events and the

girls swam very strong. They will continue to practice over the

holiday break but Coach Nancy Dements is pleased with her team.

"This team is really dedicated and it's paying off," said Coach

Dements. "We swam well on all levels. I think it is indicative of where

the program is." McIntosh is off until Jan. 9 when they host Callaway.

Starr's Mill hosted a strong Marietta team at the

Kedron Aquatic Center on Saturday and tied them. The boys won

soundly while the girls lost. Marietta had three relay teams of girls

racing and Starr's Mill only had one, allowing Marietta to pick up

24 points against the Panthers. Coach Cathy McMullen is pleased

with the team's progress as all of her swimmers continue to trim

their times down. A lot of the Panthers had been sick the week before,

so Coach McMullen worked them extra hard in preparation for

this meet and they responded. Michael Patrick dropped time in the

500m freestyle while Jenny Keenan who had never raced the 500m

freestyle swam and held her pace with the more experienced swimmers.

Sarah Deluca lost 10 seconds off her time in the 200m

individual medley and Casey Jones dropped five seconds off her

time in the same event. The team is building confidence as they

stand their ground against some of the tougher programs in the

state. Caitlin Mills swam in the 100m freestyle for the first time,

dropped three seconds off of her time and won the race. "She outtouched

the girl from Marietta and was just shocked. She felt real good

about winning," Coach McMullen said.

Each member of the swim team swam in two relays and

three events because it was only a dual meet and there were extra

lanes open. Boys captain Will Hardison swam for his best finish in

the breast stroke event and won it. Jason Buttram, the starting

breaststroke swimmer also dropped time in the event and finished in

second place. Brian Federico dropped five seconds in the 500m

freestyle and took second place. The Marietta swimmer who

defeated Federico qualified for the state meet.

"I was just real impressed with the sportsmanship of the

Marietta team," said Coach McMullen. "After every race, win or

lose, they shook hands with everybody and complimented them on a

good race." Coach McMullen is working to get the Panthers more

versatile at events so that she can have backups available in

certain events and not have to surrender points to other squads. Starr's

Mill will practice several times over the holiday break and will

return to action on Jan. 9 to face Heritage and Jonesboro in

Rockdale County.

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