GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION (GIRLS & BOYS 1-3A RECAP)
- When:
- Diving: Thursday, February 3rd, 2022
- Swimming Prelims: Friday, February 4th, 2022
- Swimming Finals: Saturday, February 5th, 2022
- Where:
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Course:
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Results:
Girls 1-3A Team Scores (Top 5)
- WESTMINSTER – 605
- GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN – 276
- ST VINCENTS ACADEMY – 192
- WESLEYAN – 169
- WHITEFIELD ACADEMY – 162
Girls 1-3A Recap:
The girls 1-3A meet was incredibly fast this year, seeing Westminster win the team title by more than doubling runner-up Great Atlanta Christian’s score. Westminster was dominant on the relays, downing the GHSA record in the 200 free and 400 free.
In the 200 free relay, Gigi Johnson, a Stanford recruit, led off in a new personal best of 22.89. She was followed by junior Janine Horst, who split 23.64, then sophomore Katie Christopherson swam a 22.99 on the 3rd leg. Annie Jardina, a senior, anchored in 23.04, touching in 1:32.56 to break the GHSA record.
Westminster won the 400 free relay by an astonishing 20 seconds, clocking a 3:24.20 to down that state record as well. Johnson led that relay off also, swimming yet another personal best of 49.79. This time, junior Sara Ketron went 2nd, splitting 52.20, then Annie Jardina went 3rd with a 52.04. Christopherson anchored the team in 50.17.
Of those relay members, sophomore Katie Christopherson went on to win both her individual events, and break a GHSA record in the process. Swimming a 1:56.72 in the 200 IM, Christopherson won the 200 IM, shattering the GHSA record which was held by 2-time Olympian Kathleen Hersey. Not only was hersey a 2-time Olympian in the 200 fly, she was a 4-time Pan American Games Gold medalist.
Christopherson went on the 100 breaststroke as well, clocking a 1:00.81 to win the race by over 2 seconds. She nearly broke that GHSA well, a record which stands at 1:00.56 by Alicia Henry.
Another Kathleen Hersey record almost went down, as Gigi Johnson fell just short of it in the 100 fly. Johnson swam a 52.59, just narrowly missing Hersey’s record mark of 52.44. Johnson also finished 2nd in the 200 IM, swimming a 1:58.15.
Annie Jardina also went on from the relays to win both her individual events. Jardina, a Navy recruit, took the 50 free in 23.55, before going on to win the 100 free with a 52.01.
Westminster also won the 200 medley relay, where Mary Claire Anderson (26.64), Janine Horst (29.84), Sadie Clayton (25.78), and Genae Horst (23.77) teamed up for a 1:46.03.
Another event win came from St. Francis senior Gia Pergolini, who won with a time of 55.21. Pergolini is a 2020 U.S. Paralympian, winning Gold in the 100m back. She also broke the S13 World Record in the event, swimming a 1:04.64 (LCM). Pergolini is a FIU recruit.
Mt. Pisgah Christian senior Emma Norton won a pair of events as well. Norton, a UGA recruit, clocked a new personal best of 1:49.58 to win the 200 free. She went on to win the 500 free in 5:01.54, off her personal best of 4:56.00.
Boys 1-3A Team Scores (Top 5)
- WESTMINSTER – 516
- GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN – 216
- PACE ACADEMY – 215
- NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN – 171
- ATHENS ACADEMY – 158
Boys 1-3A Recap:
Westminster posted a dominant victory in the boys team standings, led in large part by their sweeping of the relays.
Westminster wasted no time, nearly breaking the GHSA record in the boys 200 medley relay to open the finals session. Nik Vijayvergiya (24.55), Saavan Shah (24.65), Clayton Miles (22.05), and Charlie Bollwerk (21.16) teamed up for a 1:32.41, narrowly missing the GHSA record mark of 1:32.04. All 4 members of that relay went on to win at least one other event on the day.
Saavan Shah was the winningest of the bunch taking both the 100 free and 100 breast later in the meet, as well as helping the Westminster 200 free relay to victory. In the 100 free, Shah clocked a 45.75, marking a new personal best for the Harvard recruit. He would then go on to swim a 54.80 to win the 100 breast decisively, touching just off his 54.75 best time.
Shah, along with Charlie Bollwerk and Clayton Miles, was a member of the Westminster 200 free relay. Shah led the team off in 20.55, a new personal best for the senior. Bollwerk went 2nd, splitting 21.25, then Tobias Liu split 21.59 on the 3rd leg, and Miles anchored in 20.52. The quartet combined for a 1:23.91, winning the event by over 4 seconds.
Nik Vijayvergiya went on to help the Westminster 400 free relay to victory, splitting 48.35 on the 3rd leg of the race. Sam Ivey led the squad of in 49.99, while Copeland Block clocked a 48.31 on the 2nd leg. Tobias Liu was also on this relay, anchoring in 47.74, to get Westminster into the wall in 3:14.39.
Pace sophomore Carter Freudenstein had a phenomenal meet, posting personal bests in winning efforts in both the 200 IM and 100 fly. In the 200 IM, Freudenstein opened up a big lead on the field thanks to a 23.65 fly split and 28.13 back split, finishing in 1:52.17. He was faster in prelims, however, swimming a 1:51.46, his new personal best. Freudenstein would go on to win the 100 fly in 49.90, breaking 50 seconds for the first time in his career.
Freudenstein also posted personal bests leading off the 200 free and 400 free relays, swimming a 21.52 50 and 46.80 in the 100.
Sticking with Carters, Trey Carter, a Greater Atlanta Christian senior, swam a 1:39.53 to win the 200 free. He was the only swimmer in the field to crack 1:40 in the event. That being said, another swimmer to keep an eye on in the future is Simon Casey, an Oconee County sophomore. Casey finished 2nd with a 1:40.49, setting himself up as the clear favorite for next year’s meet. Casey would go on to win the 500 free later in the session, swimming a 4:33.81 to touch first by over 10 seconds.
University of Georgia recruit Aaron Seymour, a Savannah Arts Academy senior, won the men’s 50 free in 20.26, establishing a new personal best. Seymour would go on to post a dominant victory in the 100 back, swimming a 48.44. That swim also marked a new personal best.
