The 2012 DeKalb County Schools Swimming and Diving Championships gear up with the 500 meter freestyle preliminaries and the diving championship on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Chamblee High School pool. The 500 prelims begin at 4:30 with the diving to follow.
The diving competition features four divers who are qualified for the state championships set for February 10-11th at Georgia Tech’s Campus Recreation Center.
Chamblee freshman Caleb Wikle, Tucker junior John Sabin along with Lakeside freshman Rick Brown and junior Jeff Jernigan headline the competition.
The championships move to the Dynamo Swim Center on Saturday, Jan. 28 with timed finals set to begin at 11 a.m.
The girls’ competition features five swimmers who qualified for state in six events along with 19 relay teams in the three relay events.
Eleven of the last 15 girls’ championships have come down to Lakeside and Dunwoody with Dunwoody breaking a streak of 14 consecutive county championships by Lakeside from 1997 to 2010. Dunwoody had won 11 in a row
prior to Lakeside’s title in 1997.
Dunwoody’s Shawn Pyne has the county’s top times in three events including the 50 freestyle (26:04), 100 backstroke (1:05.60) and 200 freestyle (2:06.41) and the second best time in the 100 freestyle (58.25).
Lakeside’s Anna Ewing has the fastest time in the 100 freestyle (58.07) and is just behind Pyne in the 50 (26.42) and the 200 freestyle (2:06.47).
Erin Collins of Lakeside has the fastest reported time in the county for the 100 butterfly (1:04.00) while teammate Lizzy White follows at 1:04.82. Erin Cunefare of Lakeside has the fastest time in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.10.
The boys’ championship has resided at Lakeside for the past eight years with Dunwoody as the runner-up each time after having won the title in 2002 and 2003. Six different guys have qualified for state in seven events along with 17 relay teams.
Lakeside senior Jason Arne has qualifying times in the 100 free (51.02), 200 free (1:55.90), 200 Individual Medley (2:08.72) and the 500 free (5:14.72). He has the fastest reports times in the county in the 100 free and 200 IM. Arne’s fellow senior Lakeside swimmer Cesar Acosta is qualified in three state events including the 200 free (1:53.86) 200 IM (2:09.33) and a county best in the 500 free (5:03.23).
Dunwoody seniors Matt Kizer and Justin Wulff both swam a pair of qualifying times for state. Kizer set county best times in the 100 backstroke (58.07) and 200 free (1:51.04) while Wulff qualified in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.65, county best) and 500 free (5:16.46).
Dunwoody junior Jonny Slimming brings the second best time in the county in the 200 IM with a clocking of 2:08.97 to qualify for state while Druid Hills senior Nate Henneman holds the county’s top spot in the 100 butterfly in 56.97.
Mark Brock is the Statistician and Information Officer for DeKalb County Schools Athletics