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The 2020 Georgia 7A State Championships took place on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Ga.
Mill Creek’s Jake Magahey highlighted the meet by breaking a three-year-old state record in the 200 free with an impressive time of 1:34.37. West Forsyth’s 4×50 free relay team also broke a state record with a combined time of 1:23.74.
Despite not winning any events, North Gwinnett showed their impressive depth by clinching the boys’ team title with 319 points ahead of Brookwood (304.5) and West Forsyth (236). On the girls’ side, Lassiter won two relays to secure the championship crown with a total score of 332.5 ahead of Brookwood (307) and Walton (291).
Click HERE for full results and team scores.
BOYS MEET
Top 3 Team Scores:
1. North Gwinnett – 319
2. Brookwood – 304.5
3. West Forsyth – 236
Brookwood’s Nathaniel Stoffle (22.15), Grant Clark (25.95), Chris Scalzi (23.26), and Sam Mauldin (21.02) began the meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in 1:32.38, just over two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Colquitt County’s Carson Tyler dove to the top spot on the 1-meter diving board, posting a final score of 710.95 to win the event by nearly 150 points.
Magahey successfully defended his title in the 200 free, finishing in a final time of 1:34.37 to crush the overall Georgia state record of 1:35.16 set by Michael Taylor in 2017. The soon-to-be Georgia Bulldog later won the 500 free in 4:16.47, a dominant 17 seconds ahead of the field and just off his own state and National High School record of 4:15.63.
West Forsyth’s Jack Aikins lit the pool on fire in the 50 free to defend his state title, stopping the clock in a blazing-fast 19.74 as the only athlete under 20 seconds. His time was just shy of Paul Powers’ state record of 19.63 set in 2014. Aikins, who has verbally committed to Virginia, then went on to win the 100 free in 43.27, again just off Power’s record of 43.19.
After placing second in the 200 IM a year ago, Lambert’s Daniel Gallagher redeemed himself by winning the event this season with a time of 1:49.36 as the only swimmer in the field to crack the 1:50-marker. Kennesaw Mountain’s Connor Haigh won the 100 breast, getting his hands to the wall the fastest in a final time of 55.17.
Not too long after leading off Brookwood’s winning medley relay, Stoffle was back in the pool to earn another gold medal in the 100 fly after clocking in at 48.95 to edge out the runner-up by .01. The future Auburn Tiger also powered home to a win in the 100 back, leading the charge in 48.43.
West Forsyth’s Brett Sasser (21.12), Griffin Egolf (21.57), Owen Holland (21.50), and Aikins (19.55) won the 4×50 free relay in a combined time of 1:23.74, eclipsing the previous Georgia state record of 1:23.76 set by Dalton in 2019. Sasser (46.06), Egolf (47.81), Holland (46.60), and Aikins (42.97) also won the 4×100 free relay in 3:03.44.
GIRLS MEET
Top 3 Team Scores:
1. Lassiter – 332.5
2. Brookwood – 307
3. Walton – 291
Lassiter began their winning ways as Elizabeth Blanco (26.69), Elizabeth Tilt (30.97), Kennadi King (25.88), and Lindsay Johnson (23.80) won the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:47.34, just ahead of runner-up Lambert’s 1:47.39. Blanco (24.43), Frances Carson (23.99), Allison Brown (23.74), and Johnson(24.06) also gave Lassiter the 4×50 free relay victory in 1:36.22, only .02 ahead of Brookwood (1:36.24).
Parkview’s Abigail “Abby” McCulloh dominated the 200 free to successfully defend her state title in the event, clocking in at 1:47.95 as the only swimmer under the 1:50-barrier. The future Auburn Tiger also won the 500 free for the second-straight year, winning the race by 10 seconds in a final time of 4:46.21.
Brookwood’s Lily Burke posted a three-second victory in the 200 IM for the second-consecutive season, using a strong back half to pull away to take the gold in 2:01.98. The junior also successfully defended her state title in the 100 free, winning that event in 51.12 to edge out the runner-up by .05.
North Forsyth’s Hailey Galbraith sprinted her way to the top of the podium in the 50 free to defend her title, stopping the clock in 23.20. After swimming on the winning medley relay, Tilt later went on to win the 100 fly in 54.85 ahead of Galbraith’s 55.28.
Kennesaw Mountain’s Kyler Dixon won the 1-meter diving board for the second year in a row after posting a final score of 515.35. Norcross freshman Catie Choate powered home to a win in the 100 back, leading the charge in 54.66 to win the event by two seconds.
West Forsyth’s June Phang, who earned bronze in the 100 breast in 2019, found herself with the gold this year after winning the event in 1:04.22. Parkview’s Maggie Nguyen (52.58), Sydney Walker (53.06), Sarah Livingston (52.20), and McCulloh concluded the meet by winning the 4×100 free relay in a combined time of 3:29.26 to edge out runner-up Walton (3:29.72).
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