Monday, Jan. 25, 2010

Comets take title, nipping Garner

Thursday night's battle for the Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference Boys Swimming Championship had all the earmarks of a heavyweight bout. Two rivals kept away from each other through the course of the regular-season schedule, both with real championship hopes.

"We haven't swam against Garner all year but the boys have been keeping an eye on them," said Clayton coach Dawn Norris. "We'd heard a lot of chatter about them and knew it was going to take something extra tonight. There were times where it was a little sketchy tonight and where we didn't know how some early DQs [disqualifications] were going to play out."

But the Comets found a way to get it done. Clayton nipped the Trojans by just eight-and-a-half points for the title of conference champions. It's the Comets' second straight league crown.

"Garner has a great boys team," Norris said. "They've done a very nice job with their program over the past two years.

"But our best boys really brought their 'A' game tonight."

West Johnston's girls had a memorable night as well, using its depth to run away with the girls team championship. The Wildcats totaled 527 points; runner-up Clayton had just 331.

On the boys' side, big improvements in two relay races helped make the difference for the Comets.

In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Comets cut three seconds off of their previous best time, with David Barnes, Austin Hopkins, Trevor Parris and Alex Simpson winning in 1:39.63.

The Comets chopped 10 seconds off of their previous best run in the 400 free relay. Erik Biggs, Hopkins, Nolan Quinn and Quintero finished second in 3:53.21.

Clayton's grouping of Alex Simpson, Johann Quintero, Barnes and Parris also won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:52.17.

"We were expecting a tough meet and we got a tough meet," Norris said. "That's why winning it this year means a bit more."

Garner's squad of Max Kuhns, Colin Kroll, Chris Sutton and John Eubanks prevailed in the 400 freestyle relay. The Trojans also picked up a big individual victory from Eubanks in the 50 freestyle (24.33).

Garner was second behind Clayton in the 200 free and fourth in the 200 medley relay.

Barnes also registered two individual victories for the Comets. He took the 100 freestyle (51.08) and the 100 breaststroke (1:05.75).

The Comets had 11 top-five individual finishes to Garner's seven.

West Johnston was fourth, just behind Harnett Central, among boys' teams. Andrew Henry won the 200 individual medley (2:01.56) as well as the 100 butterfly (55.66) for the Wildcats.

Southeast Raleigh's Jack Disney took the 100 backstroke in 57.7 seconds and was second in the 500 free. The Bulldogs' 200 medley relay team picked up the silver medal.

Smithfield-Selma finished seventh (between East Wake and Knightdale) among boys' teams. The Spartans' 400 free relay team of Ben Daughtry, Justin Sturges, Taylor Mast and Carson Campbell finished fourth in 4:07.93.

Campbell was also fourth individually in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free.

On the girls' side, it was just one of those nights for West Johnston. The Wildcats posted the wins and number of point-scoring finishes it takes to put up a 500-plus point total in an eight-team meet.

The Wildcats' grouping of Kate Pearson, Kendall Nelms, Sarah Henry and Christine Henry won both the 200 medley relay (2:02.2) and the 400 freestyle relay (4:01.79).

Sarah Henry, a two-time individual state champion, won the 200 individual medley (2:07.76) and the 500 freestyle (4:56.58). "Sarah was back within a second of her pre- injury time in the IM," Francisco said. "So that's a great sign for her going forward."

Sarah's sister, Christine, was second in the 500 at 5:55.63 "Christine Henry came up big for us in a few events," Francisco said. "She's cut 20 seconds off of her time in the 500 free this season, getting us a second place finish there. And she played a big part in two of our relay teams."

Pearson brought home the individual gold in the 200 freestyle at 2:11.41 and Marlee Bergmair was second in the 100 backstroke at 1:05.98.

"Marlee really came on in the backstroke," Francisco said. "She hit 1:05 after only swimming a 1:09 for her previous best in the event."

Bergmair also finished third in the 100 butterfly.

"We keep adding more young swimmers but the girls continue to mesh so well," Francisco said. "They thrive off of each other's progress and helping the team achieve its goals."

Clayton's Emily Duff won two events -- the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly. She broke the one-minute barrier (59.99) in the backstroke and finished at 1:01.25 in the fly.

Garner finished third in the girls team rundown with 301 points. The Trojans' quartet of Ava Mumford, Iva Early, Jessica Martin and Maggie Ennis won the 200 freestyle in 1:56.71, nipping West Johnston but just more than a quarter of a second. The Trojans were also third in the 200 medley relay.

Southeast Raleigh tied for sixth place with Knightdale's girls. Paula Chin grabbed third for the Bulldogs in the 100 freestyle and Savannah Phillips was fourth in the backstroke.

SSS finished just 11 points out of that tie for sixth, taking eighth.

Elizabeth Ashley and Emily Wood took seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 100 freestyle for the Spartans. Leah Isenhour was seventh in the 500 free for Smithfield-Selma as well.

Next up for the area swimmers will be the individual regionals, set for Feb. 6.