Bears Have Historic Finish at Fulton County Championships
On Thursday, January 9th, the Bears traveled to West Gwinnett Aquatic Center to face off against the best of Fulton County teams. At the end of the night, the girls' team took the runner-up position, the boys' team finished in third, and the combined team took second place which is the highest combined finish the team has ever had. In addition, the girls broke three Fulton County Championship records and claimed four event champion titles.
Combined Scores
Johns Creek - 738
Cambridge - 637
Alpharetta - 604
Northview - 562
Chattahoochee - 491
Milton - 349
Centennial - 308
Riverwood - 275
Roswell - 252
North Springs - 47
Girls Team Scores
Johns Creek - 333.5
Cambridge - 323
Alpharetta - 294
Chattahoochee - 237.5
Riverwood - 209
Milton - 205
Northview - 204
Centennial - 170
Roswell - 153
Boys Team Scores
Johns Creek - 404.5
Northview - 358
Cambridge - 314
Alpharetta - 310
Chattahoochee - 253.5
Milton - 144
Centennial - 138
Roswell - 99
Riverwood - 66
North Springs - 47
Diving
A critical part of the team's success has been made possible by the contributions of our divers. For the fourth year in a row, Brooklyn Petit has earned the title Fulton County Champion! Running away with the competition, Petit scored an incredible 303.45 points. A huge win came with Lilah Versluis following Petit to claim Fulton County Runner-Up with a new best personal score of 244.50. Petit and Versluis have their eyes on the prize with state championships in four weeks. Teammate Taylor Eastman claimed the fifth place position with a score of 153.90. On the boys side, Josh Oblen led the charge and took third with a score of 172.90. Carter Solomon took sixth and Jack Flores took seventh. All three boys and all three girls scored critical points for the Bears and started us off in the lead before the first swim event hit the water.
Swimming
The boys team started off the night strong with a great performance in the 200-medley relay. The A-relay (Tayne Naude, Gavin Schoeling, Oscar Ryzhkov, Jax Jackson) took third with a time of 1:39.71, just off the new school record they set before winter break. The B-relay (Pranav Kolathaya, Tom Berezitsky, Aneesh Ayyagari, Brian Guy) took 14th.
The girls A-relay (Audrey Lampa, Alana Drevet, Leila Kader, Molly Melchiors) took 10th with a time of 2:03.46. The B-relay (Ana-Clare Grann, Mihika Ayyagari, Alexis Walkenhorst, Maya Berezitsky) was close behind in 13th place.
In the boys' 200-freestyle, Jax Jackson was the first Bear to touch the wall in fifth place with a time of 1:50.51, which was a new personal record. Oscar Ryzhkov took eighth, Elijah Edison shaved off over six-seconds to take 12th with a new personal record, Tate Robertson took 21st with a new personal best, Aneesh Ayyagari took 26th, and Raj Malik took 29th.
In the girls' event, Jennifer Griner claimed the title of Fulton County Champion with a time of 1:53.36. Caroline Garijo took eighth with a new best time, Alexis Walkenhorst took 11th with a new best time, Sydney Edison took 14th, and Mihika Ayyagari took 24th.
In the boys' 200-individual medley, Yan Berezitsky took ninth with a new best time (2:08.63) that was also a state qualifying time. This was Berezitsky's second individual state qualifying event. Shane Merrill took 15th and Pranav Kolathaya took 16th.
In the girls' event, Caroline Gaines took sixth with a new best time (2:12.92), followed by Alana Drevet in 13th, Maya Berezitsky in 20th, and Veronika Kolesnikov took 23rd.
In the boys' 50-freestyle, Tayne Naude took event runner-up with a time of 21.66, which was a new best time for Naude. Bryson Mynatt took 12th, Brian Guy took 20th with a new best time, James Kates took 40th with a new best time, Shane Merrill took 47th, and Campen Dawes took 60th.
In the girls' 50-freestyle, Amber Naude made a triple crown - she was Fulton County champion, she set a new school record AND she set a new meet record for the event! Audrey Lampa took 16th, and Ana-Clare Grann took 20th with a new best time.
In the boys' 100-butterfly, Gavin Schoeling took silver to touch the wall with a time of 52.72. Oscar Ryzhkov had a major time drop and took eighth place, and Tom Berezitsky took 21st.
In the girls' 100-butterfly, Leila Kader took 12th, Audrey Lampa took 14th, and Christine McVicker took 21st.
In the boys' 100-free, John Murphy clocked his second individual state qualifying time with his 10th place finish, followed by Bryson Mynatt in 16th with a new best time, and Brian Guy in 21st place with a new best time.
In the girls' 100-free, Amber Naude won the event in similar fashion as the 50-freestyle - new school record and new meet record to boot. Caroline Garijo took 16th.
The boys' racked up some major points in the 500-freestyle. Jax Jackson dropped time to take fourth place overall, followed by Yan Berezitsky in seventh with a new best time, Elijah Edison with a huge nine-second drop in eighth place, Tate Robertson with a new best time in 12th, Aneesh Ayyagari in 14th and Tom Berezitsky with a new best time in 17th.
The girls' also scored major points in the 500-freestyle and showed improvement almost across the board. Jennifer Griner took the Fulton County Champion title and set a new meet record with her win. Molly Melchiors took seventh, Leila Kader took 11th with a new best time by over 23-seconds, Sydney Edison took 15th with a new best time by almost 11-seconds, Maya Berezitsky took 16th with a new best time by almost six-seconds, and Alexis Walkenhorst took 17th with a new best time by almost 11-seconds.
In the boys' 200-freestyle relay, the A-relay (Bryson Mynatt, Yan Berezitsky, Brian Guy, John Murphy) took seventh with a time of 1:34.82. The B-relay (Elijah Edison, Tate Robertson, Shane Merrill, James Kates) took 11th.
In the girls' 200-freestyle relay, the A-relay (Amber Naude, Caroline Garijo, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner) took second overall with a new best season time of 1:40.87, just off the school record. The B-relay (Ana-Clare Grann, Veronika Kolesnikov, Alexis Walkenhorst, Maya Berezitsky) took 12th.
In the boys' 100-backstroke, Tayne Naude took second with a new best time of 52.63, followed by teammate John Murphy in eighth, Pranav Kolathaya in 24th, Raj Malik in 31st, and James Kates in 34th.
For the girls, Ana-Clare Grann took 12th.
In the boys' 100-breast, Gavin Schoeling took third.
For the girls, Caroline Gaines took fourth, followed by Alana Drevet in ninth, Molly Melchiors in 12th, Mihika Ayyagari in 24th, and Veronika Kolesnikov in 26th.
In the 400-freestyle relay, the boys' A-relay (Tayne Naude, Oscar Ryzhkov, Jax Jackson, Gavin Schoeling) took fourth just off the school record that they set before break. The B-relay (John Murphy, Yan Berezitsky, Elijah Edison, Bryson Mynatt) had an awesome performance and took seventh.
For the girls, the A-relay (Amber Naude, Caroline Garijo, Caroline Gaines, Jennifer Griner) took silver with a time of 3:40.95. The B-relay (Alana Drevet, Molly Melchiors, Leila Kader, Audrey Lampa) took seventh.
At the end of the night, the Bears had a great meet and set a new standard for future years. The girls and the boys worked together to make this happen for each other. With such a balanced and deep roster of talent, the Bears look to come back just as strong next year to try to take home that big trophy.
The team recognized the ribbon winners of the meet as Shane Merrill, James Kates, Brian Guy, Leila Kader and Leila Kader. The seniors recognized the "chefs" of the meet were Sydney Edison and Tate Robertson.
The final meet of the regular season is next Friday and Saturday with Metro Championships at Westminster. Friday will be diving and Saturday will be swimming. This will be the final opportunity for athletes to qualify for the state meet as the roster gets closer to being set! Come and cheer on your Bears!