Jackets continue success with NWGA title
The Calhoun Aquatic Center hosted some of the best swimmers and teams from throughout northwest Georgia on Friday and Saturday, and at the end of the competition, it was Calhoun High that stood out from the rest.
The CAC hosted the second ever Northwest Georgia Swim and Dive Championships, which included more than 20 teams and more than 521 swimmers. The Calhoun boys team further cemented their dominance this season with a first-place finish with 421 points to easily defeat second-place Rome (285) and thirdplace Blessed Trinity ( 269). The Jackets remained undefeated with the victory.
Calhoun also took first in the combined team scores with 685 points to finish ahead of Rome (618) and Blessed Trinity (563). The Lady Jackets had 264 points to place fourth in the girls team standings. Rome (333), Blessed Trinity (294) and Jefferson (276) finished ahead of them.
The competition began Friday night with the girls’ and boys’ diving competition as well as the 500-yard freestyle prelims.
Calhoun’s Jaxon Holland (Jr.) took first place in boys’ diving with 367.05 points. Northwest Whitfield’s Tyler Mathis came in second with 337.90, and Blessed Trinity’s Michael Rich was third with 327.35. Calhoun’s Joshua Tolson ( Fr.) came in fourth with 314.30 points. Holland and Tolson both qualified for the GHSA State Meet in February at Georgia Tech.
The swimming competition continued on Saturday as the Calhoun boys had a great day in the pool. Calhoun senior Caleb Black scored highest points for the team with his first-place wins in the 200 free and 100 fly. Cody Workman (Sr.) took first in the 500 free and second behind his teammate Black in the 200 free.
Calhoun’s Cal Parker (Jr.) took first in the 100 breast and second in the 100 free. Sophomore John Carroll took second behind Black in the 100 fly. Jeremiah Petty ( Soph.) was second behind Workman in the 500 free, swimming his first GHSA State qualifying time. Bo Dyar (Jr.) placed first in the 100 back.
Calhoun High boys ‘A’ relays took first in all three relay events. Dyar, Parker, Black and Joe Kauffman (Sr.) placed first in the 200 medley relay. In the 200 free relay, Spencer Brown (Sr.), Carroll, Kauffman and Dyar placed first. Workman, Black, Parker and Carroll finished the meet with first place in the 400 free relay. All three relays set new pool/school records.
Calhoun was back at home on Tuesday to host Southeast Whitfield, Dawson County and CSAS for Senior Night. ( For details on that meet, see Saturday’s Calhoun Times.) They will swim at the Northwest Georgia Regional at Dalton High on Friday and Saturday.