The legacy continues

Haley James

More stories from Haley James

After Woodstock held the county title the past two years, Etowah Swim and Dive took the reins and dominated its races to win the County Championship this year. With a personal record rate of 98 percent throughout the meet, everyone on the team contributed to the big success. Etowah crushed Woodstock by almost a hundred-point lead, winning the meet with 706 points under their belt.

There were many standout races, including the very last race of the meet, the girls’ 400 Free Relay. Ella Stewart started the first leg of the race, followed by Delena Crook swimming second. Caitlyn Pallas fought to keep the race alive, and Lilly Zamarano swam the last 100 yards to out-touch Sequoyah by less than 0.2 seconds. The relay came in first overall (3:43.66).

Lilly Zamarano came away with county records in the 200 Yard Free and the 500 Yard Free, qualifying for state in multiple individual events. Senior Caitlyn Pallas also swam well, coming in second place for both the 200-Yard IM and the 100-Yard Back. Joey Young, Jonathan Young, and Tegan Brown carried a bulk of 29 points each for the boys.

“I was really impressed and amazed about the extreme dedication and drive that the team had to win county,” Brown said, “even though we will be missing the seniors that leave this year, I look forward to the new seniors stepping up and keep that passion going.”

With the season coming to a close, the team was able to come away with a county trophy under its arm. The hype for next year’s season is already beginning as the team hopes to accomplish even more, and new seniors will rise to the occasion of leading the team to another victory.