The Gwinnett County Swimming and Diving Championships held at the West Gwinnett Aquatic Center last week may have offered a sneak preview of this weekend’s Class AAAAAA boys’ state meet at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.
Collins Hill got the job done for its first county title since 2005 after edging Parkview 1,018 points to 861 points. North Gwinnett finished a somewhat distant third, and Norcross and Brookwood rounded out the top five.
Collins Hill was led by Cody Bekemeyer, who set county records in the 200 and 500 freestyle. Jon Atnip also won the 50 freestyle. Parkview won 19 of the previous 22 county titles, including the past four. One of the standouts on the Parkview team is Bradley Downs, who was runner-up at the Gwinnett meet in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 butterfly.
On the girls’ side, Gwinnett County standouts include Mill Creek, North Gwinnett, Brookwood and Peachtree Ridge. The Mill Creek girls recently captured their second consecutive county title. Peachtree Ridge finished second to Lambert at last year’s AAAAAA state meet. The Lions are led in by Haley McInerny, who took home top individual honors from the Gwinnett County event in the 100 butterfly.
Brookwood won 11 of the previous 14 county meets, and the Lady Broncos have captured five state titles in the past 12 years. But everyone is chasing Lambert, which won the 2013 state championship and recently looked dominant at the Forsyth County Championships.
In the combined smaller classes (previously A-AAAA and now A-AAAAA), five schools have prevailed in the boys’ competition in the past six years. Westminster, which won six consecutive titles from 2003-08, looks poised to unseat 2013 champion Dalton this season.
The Westminster and Marist girls have dominated for more than a decade in the smaller classification, but Woodward Academy should contend at the state meet. Led by Caitlin Cooper and Kathleen Cook, the Lady War Eagles toppled both powerhouses at the metro event.
Wrestling: AAAAA No. 1 Pope was beaten by No. 3 Cambridge at the Area 7 meet at Kell. The Bears ended Pope's six-year winning streak in area meets. Cambridge totaled 253 points to Pope's 249.5. Creekview came in third with 228.5. It is the Bears' first area championship in the program's two-year varsity history. … Marietta upended Kennesaw Mountain in Area 4-AAAAAA 235-223 after five wrestlers won area titles for the Blue Devils. … Etowah won the Area 5-AAAAAA championship with 179.5 points to Roswell's 160. Woodstock came in third and was followed by Walton and Lassiter.
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