Cyclones swim to wins against Cherokee & Volunteer

Published 8:43 am Friday, December 16, 2022

The Elizabethton High School swim team competed Thursday night in a double-dual meet against Cherokee and Volunteer High Schools.  The Cyclones won 15 of 22 events, broke a school record and swam nineteen personal best times.

The girls’ 200 Freestyle relay team of Cadie Digby, Mia Whaley, Sophia James, and Cara Carr broke the season’s previously set school record by an astounding five seconds with a time of 1:56.50.  Earlier in the evening, Digby swam a personal best time in the 200 Freestyle and followed up with a winning, personal best and State qualifying time of 58.82 in the 100 Freestyle.  Carr joined Digby in the 200 Freestyle to cut 2.06 seconds from her previous best along with teammate Eva El Helou, who also swam her best time in the event. The 50 Freestyle saw three Cyclone women swim personal best times. Grace Artz dropped .72 seconds, Layla El Helou cut 2.71 seconds, Tyanna Hitechew shaved .34 seconds and Tori Frakes improved by .88 seconds in the shortest event in the lineup.  Whaley placed second behind teammate Digby in the 100 Freestyle with a personal best 1:08.44 while Frakes improved by 4.84 seconds in the sprint event.  Freshman Jasey Hyatt swam the longest event in the lineup, the 500 Freestyle, for her first time in a time of 7:15.44.  Eva El Helou dropped 1.13 seconds in the 100 Backstroke for a second place finish with teammate Emersen Jetmore coming in right behind with a personal best time that was 2.83 seconds faster than her previous best.

On the men’s side, senior Raven Rogers won the 200 Freestyle in a personal best time of 2:20.63 and later dropped another 5.06 seconds in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:24.03.  Morgan Roszel, continuing to rehabilitate from knee surgery this fall, swam the 200 Individual Medley for the first time this season for a win while teammate RJ Brewer finished in second just 3.24 seconds behind.  Kody Broussard faced tough competition against Cherokee High School’s Noah Hawk in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle events.  Broussard finished second in both events behind Hawk with times of 25.15 and 54.90 respectively.  Teammate Jacob Frickel joined Broussard in the 50 Freestyle with a time four seconds faster than his previous best while another teammate, John Odom, swam 1.62 seconds faster than his previous time.  Sophomore Liam Cannon won both of his events, the 100 Butterfly and 100 Breaststroke. Brewer returned to the water to swim the 500 Freestyle for his first time and a win with a time of 5:58.44 next to Frickel who cut a jaw-dropping 24.67 seconds from his previous best time.

The Cyclones will now enter the most rigorous segment of the training season.  Christmas break will have them swimming approximately fifty miles in thirty-seven hours in the EHS pool in preparation for the conclusion of the regular season on Jan. 21 when they will compete in the Northeast Tennessee Regional Championship.  Their next meet comes just after the break on Jan. 5 against Tennessee High School and Avery County at home.  The meet starts at 6:00 pm.  Entry is $3.00 and the public is welcome.