EHS swim coach recaps state appearance
Published 12:39 pm Friday, February 18, 2022
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Photo Contributed The Cyclone swimmers in their State Squad tee shirts are in this order: Elijah Smith, RJ Brewer, Kody Broussard, Liam Cannon, Morgan Roszel, and Cadie Digby.
Photo Contributed The state swimmers in front of the Parthenon are in this order: RJ Brewer, Cadie Digby, Elijah Smith, Liam Cannon, Morgan Roszel, and Kody Broussard.
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BY KELLI BROUSSARD
The Elizabethton Cyclones Swim Team traveled to Nashville last Thursday to cheer six members of their team on as they tested their skills against the best in the state.
In a meet that pits the best swimmers in the state against each other regardless of school class or division, the competition saw 874 swimmers from 73 schools fill the Tracy Caulkins competition pool at the Centennial Sportsplex. Racing took place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12.
Friday’s competition first saw Kody Broussard in the 200 Freestyle. He dropped .28 seconds from his time at the regional championship just three weeks prior and placed 50th out of the 85 swimmers in the event.
Next to swim that morning was Morgan Roszel in the 200 Individual Medley, the event that displays mastery of all four competitive strokes for 50 yards each, the Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle.
Roszel had dropped over eleven seconds in the event over the course of the regular season and continued to improve by dropping another .95 seconds in the event for a 2:09.16, breaking his school record for the third time.
His performance placed him 61st of the 91 swimmers in the event.
Cadie Digby was the next Cyclone in the water for the 50 Freestyle, the fastest and shortest event in the sport. She too dropped time, improving by .56 seconds for a time of 26.00 and a 36th place finish out of 78 competitors.
Entering the water for the splash and dash just moments later was Elijah Smith who placed 59th out of the 86 men in the event.
Digby and Smith later reentered the water on Friday morning for their second event, the 100 Butterfly. Digby dropped another half-second for a time of 1:03.02 and a 41st place finish out of the 74 women in the event.
Smith proved his consistency in the event by finishing just two-hundredths of a second off his best time and a 70th place finish.
That evening, the team feasted on a pasta dinner in order to prepare Broussard and Roszel for their second event on Saturday and it certainly paid off.
In a thrilling 500 Freestyle, Broussard dropped an astounding 19.05 seconds to win his heat and bump him up from 62nd to 38th of the 76 swimmers in the event for a time of 5:06.32.
Roszel followed that race by breaking the one-minute mark in the 100 Backstroke by dropping a significant 2.08 seconds to place him 50th of the 67 men in the event with a time of 58.10.
The boys were also able to compete in two relays, the 200 Medley Relay on Friday and the 200 Freestyle Relay on Saturday. Teaming up for the Medley Relay were Broussard at Backstroke, Liam Cannon at Breaststroke, Smith on Butterfly, and RJ Brewer anchoring on Freestyle.
They dropped almost two seconds from their season-best time. The same four boys swam again Saturday in the Freestyle Relay and, while they didn’t improve on their time, the race was a fun way to round out a pressure-filled weekend and saw Cannon break the 30 seconds barrier in the final leg for the first time in his career.
With the season officially over, the swimmers and coaches are thrilled to be preparing for much-anticipated renovations to the Elizabethton High School pool next month.
Several of the swimmers will also continue to swim with the Typhoons Swim Club, the year-round program for swimmers in and around Carter County.
For information on that program and upcoming swimming lessons through the Community Involvement Program, please contact the athletic department at (423) 547-8015 ext. 1525.