All season long, Rome High’s swimmers have been working hard in practices and meets, and all that work will come to fruition this weekend as several swimmers compete in the Georgia High School Association State Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech.
“We're seeded in the top 20 in some individual events and real close on some relays. We want to go into it on Friday, swimming our best times and making it to Saturday, making it in the top 20,” Rome High Swimming Coach Joey Powers said. “I have a feeling that we're going to see some standout swims. I hope to see a few top 10 finishes, if not top 10 finishes across the board.”
The Wolves are taking two relays for girls and boys, and two individual swimmers, who all swam state-qualifying times.
Kadey Clonts and Jake Medley both qualified for two individual events for the meet. Clonts will swim both the 50 and 100 freestyle, while Medley will compete in the 50 free and 100 butterfly.
The boys and the girls have two relays swimming in the meet. The girls crew of Sarah Beth Bushnell, Clonts, Sara Holoway, and Nina Mayer will compete in the 200 medley and 200 free relays. Avi-Kate Edwards, Macy Lewis, and Iris McHagge are alternates for the relays.
The boys crew of Liam Hastings, Medley, Newby Rearden, and Mateo Quintero will compete in the 200 and 400 free relays. Eathen Freshney is the relay alternate for the boys.
Powers has had the swimmers training hard throughout the season, meaning they haven’t done much resting between meets and have trained hard through their meet schedule, especially after swimming state qualifying times. That process allows the swimmers to improve, and they now have a unique opportunity to train and rest specifically for state in hopes of bettering their times.
“Some of our swimmers haven’t recorded their best time since the beginning of the season. They've just been grinding hard and really pushing on, peaking at the right time,” Powers said. “If we can stay healthy and have the right mindset, I have a feeling that we're going to see great things from this weekend.”