Last one, fast one
Hours before the sun reached the skyline, Etowah’s fastest swimmers began the trip to the
Georgia High School Sports Association State Swimming and Diving Championship meet. At the pool, the team met Georgia’s toughest competition, but the Aqua Eagles were ready to soar, er swim.
For Etowah senior Teagan Brown, his last high school state meet was just another chance to represent his team and his school.
“I don’t feel too much different because I always feel like I have to try my best. I’m always going to try my hardest,” Brown said.
Brown placed fourth in both the 100 yard Backstroke and the 100 yard Freestyle. Fellow Senior Jonathan Young also had a top-ten individual finish, placing sixth in the 100 yard Butterfly. Another high-placing race came from the Etowah men’s 400 yard Freestyle relay, placing eighth.
“I think everyone did really well. There are still things we need to work on, though, like relay starts,” Payton Smith, freshman, said about the improvements the team will need to make in the upcoming season.
Smith rocked the competition by finishing ninth in the women’s 100 yard Butterfly. Other underclassmen swimmers also helped the team with top 30 relay finishes.
“Next season the team is losing a lot of senior guys. I think the team is going to have to train harder to make up for that,” Drew Madsen, senior, said.
Although many boys are leaving, younger swimmers on the team used the weekend event as an opportunity to prove that Etowah’s team will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in Cherokee County swimming.
As the swim and dive season comes to an end, Etowah’s athletes and coaches are excited about all of the wonderful accomplishments achieved this past season. Next season, head coach Deborah Krug hopes to continue the winning streak that Etowah has had the past two years with a squad of new athletes.
“I felt like the season was outstanding… Everyone PR’ed [personal record] and everyone was so excited. We need swimmers to come up behind them [seniors] and take their place. They need to be ready to work hard,” Krug said.
Although the team will miss all of the graduating seniors, the Aqua Eagles are excited and are preparing for another year of domination. Congratulations to the 2017-2018 Etowah Aqua Eagles for a successful season.
Hi! I'm Kat, and this is my fourth year on staff. I'm the Editor-In-Chief of the paper, and I absolutely love working with our team to keep the Etowah...