Another Cyclone swimmer qualifies for state

Published 12:26 pm Tuesday, January 17, 2023

The Cyclone Swim team competed against Dobyns-Bennett, Sullivan East and Westridge in their last regular season meet at the Kingsport Aquatic Center last Tuesday.  The nineteen-member team placed second behind the much larger school from Kingsport.  In a challenging week that had the team compete in three meets within five days, the team had many personal best swims.  Two of those swims were achieved by Grace Artz in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, in which she placed third and fifth consecutively.  The sophomore improved in her two favorite events by a combined 11.13 seconds after already dropping over seven seconds in the latter event just three days prior.  Also competing in the 200 Freestyle, teammates, Eva El Helou improved by 6.98 seconds for a time of 2:37.99 and Raven Rogers shaved an additional 1.80 seconds in the event.  Rogers also swam the 500 in a time of 6:30.75, improving by 7.32 seconds.  RJ Brewer placed fourth in the 200 Individual Medley, shaving 1.07 seconds from his previous times in the event.  Two Cyclones who won their events were Cadie Digby, who took the 50 Freestyle with a time of 26.41, and Kody Broussard, who won the 100 Freestyle with a time of 54.68. Digby also swam the 100 Freestyle, placing third while shaving .18 seconds in the event alongside teammates Cara Carr who dropped .75 seconds to place fifth and Tyanna Hitechew who cut 7.98 seconds.  Senior Jacob Frickel improved in his 50 Freestyle by 1.27 seconds for a time of 31.17.  Layla El Helou had a great week in the 100 Butterfly, swimming 4.02 seconds faster just three days after a 31.53 second drop in the event.  The 500 Freestyle also saw Emersen Jetmore swim an incredible 23.35 seconds faster than previous races for a time of 7:25.68 to place sixth. In the final individual event of the meet, the 100 Breaststroke, Liam Cannon clocked 1:08.86 to achieve the State qualifying time and raucous cheers from his teammates.  He joins teammates Broussard, Brewer, Digby and Morgan Roszel in qualifying for individual events in the State competition at the University of Tennessee on February 10-11. The Cyclones round out their regular season by competing in the Northeast Tennessee Swimming Regional Championship on January 21 at the Kingsport Aquatic Center.  Preliminary competition starts at 9:15 am with finals beginning at 5:45 pm.  Admission is $6.00 and the public is encouraged to attend.