Georgia Swimming Senior State Championship Meet – Short Course
- December 2-4, 2022
- Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Results
- Individual High Point Awards
High school senior Tomas Koski had a breakout meet earlier this month at the Georgia LSC Senior State Championship meet, joining the family legacy of range and versatility.
Tomas is the younger brother of former Georgia All-American and Finnish Olympian Matias Koski and former Georgia Tech swimmer Joonas Koski.
The Koski family legacy is having huge freestyle range. Matias was one of the rangiest freestylers we’ve seen at the college level in the last decade. He was an SEC Champion in the 200 and 1650 freestyles in the same year, but also had bests of 19.62 in the 50 free and 42.56 in the 100 free.
While Tomas isn’t quite there at the top end of his results, his swims in the 50-through-500 at this meet shows that he can flex at different distances too.
Tomas Koski won the 50 free (19.91), 100 free (43.50), 200 free (1:34.82), and 500 free (4:29.33), and all of those except the 500 were new lifetime bests. He swam 4:26 in that event at his last pre-state meet in November.
About 25 swimmers have been faster than 20 seconds in the 50 free in pre-collegiate club competition this season. Of those, only Rex Maurer (19.77/4:12.33) has been 4:26-or-better in the 500 free as well.
Koski 100 free race video:
While Koski went four-for-four in his individual events at the meet, he was beat-out in the men’s high point scoring by a pair of swimmers who swam more races. That includes the title-winner Noah Saylor of SwimAtlanta.
Saylor won the 200 breast (2:04.02 in prelims, 2:04.16 in finals) and also the 200 IM (1:53.48). The 200 breaststroke was the biggest drop – a 2.7 second improvement over his best time a month earlier, and a total season drop of more than 3.4 seconds in the event.
Ironically, with such a huge drop in the 200 breast this season, that’s not where he has improved his 200 IM by almost two seconds this year. In fact, his breaststroke split at the Georgia Championships was identical to his breaststroke split in his best time prior to this season – it was every other split that has improved.
The high point award winner on the girls’ side was 17-year old Gaby Van Brunt from the Georgia Coastal Aquatic Team. She won a total of 7 individual events out of the 18 offered at the meet.
Individual event results:
- 50 free – 22.64
- 100 free – 51.47 (50.88 relay leadoff)
- 50 back – 24.82
- 100 back – 53.89
- 200 back – 1:57.88
- 50 fly – 24.06
- 100 fly – 52.92
- 100 IM – 56.21
Among the biggest drops were the 200 back, where she knocked almost six-tenths off her previous best time (that was done in November).
Van Brunt is an Alabama commit for fall 2023, meaning she will arrive just in time for the Crimson Tide – who are losing a ton of top swimmers at the end of this season, including every 100 backstroker and 50 freestyler who have been faster this season than Van Brunt.
Other Meet Highlights:
- 14-year old Collin Holgerson of SwimAtlanta won the 100 back in 50.75 and showed off his versatility with a 3rd-place finish in the 100 breast (56.55) and the fastest prelims time of the 400 IM (4:02.39) before scratching the final. That 100 breaststroke time now ranks him 15th all-time in the 13-14 age group, one spot behind Josh Matheny – who went on to break National Age Group Records as he moved up.
- 15-year-old Baylor Stanton from Gwinnett Aquatics won the 100 fly in 49.31 and finished 3rd in the 200 free in 1:38.50.
- Isabella Klinefelter from Tidal Wave Swimming swam best times in seven different events, which included wins in the 200 fly (2:02.24), 100 free (51.16), and 200 free (1:48.51). She also posted big personal bests in the 50 free (24.30) and 100 fly (55.81 in prelims). An uncommitted high school junior, those swims, and especially that versatility, should shift the dynamic of those conversations.
Final Team Scores – Top 5
Men’s:
- Dynamo – 1,034.5
- SwimAtlanta – 928
- Stingrays Swimming – 764
- Gwinnett Aquatics – 480
- Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 465
Women’s:
- SwimAtlanta – 1,603
- Dynamo Swim Club – 887
- Stingrays Swimming – 854
- Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 581.5
- Aike-Augusta Swim League – 347
Combined:
- SwimAtlanta – 2,531
- Dynamo Swim Club – 1,921.5
- Stingrays Swimming – 1,618
- Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 1,046.5
- Spartans Aquatic Club – 786.5
