On February 16th, 7th and 8th grade swimmers went to the Georgia 14 and under state championships at Georgia Tech.
Swimmers, Coby Savage, Bailey Tomlinson, and Leah Templin all competed in state on behalf of ABSC (The Athens Bulldogs Swim Club), their year-round swim team. The meet was three days long, it lasted from Friday the sixteenth to Sunday the eighteenth. The swimmers swam 21 events in total, scoring 122 points all together for their team.
Leah Templin’s best events were the 100 butterfly (100 yards), 200 Butterfly (200 yards), and the 50 butterfly (50 yards). She ranked 3rd, 5th, and 5th in her three events, putting her in the top five in the state for her age group.
Coby Savage placed 9th in the state in her 200 freestyle and 12th in her 100 freestyle. She says, “It is a really cool experience being 9th in the state but next state meet I hope to go for 5th place.”
Bailey Tomlinson went five seconds faster than anyone else in her race in the 200 fly and swam a best time.
She still wants to get better though. “I definitely want to work on improving my 200 butterfly so that I have more stamina and can hold a higher tempo throughout the whole race, not just at the end,” says Bailey after the race.
Bailey, Leah, and Coby gave their best at the meet and are all looking forward to keep swimming. The swimming season has ended and congratulations to all the middle school swimmers: Bailey Tomlinson, Frazier Lavender, Jamie Berry, Elaina Johnston, Leah Templin, and Coby Savage. They are excited to keep swimming in the winter of 2024-2025.