SWIMMING AND DIVING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR A THRILLING WEEK OF ACTION
BY NAJEH WILKINS | NAJEHWILKINS@SCOREATL.COM
The 2023 GHSA Swimming and Diving State Championships will take place at the Westminster Schools & Georgia Tech’s Aquatic Center for four days of action that will begin on Tuesday, January 31st with all diving events before wrapping up the swimming events on Saturday, February 4th. Diving events will be held at Westminster, while swimming events will be at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. After all diving events commence on Tuesday, Class 7A will hit the lanes on Wednesday, followed by Class 6A on Friday and Class A-5A on Saturday.
The continued dominance of Westminster and Marist in their respective classifications make them the programs to keep an eye on. Between the boys and girls programs, the Wildcats have won an incredible 55 total swimming state titles, while the War Eagles have won 21 total swimming state titles. Both teams are coming off consecutive state title wins, and 2014 is the last year a state title was not won by one of the programs.
CHAMPIONSHIP FORM
The Westminster girls and boys are each aiming for their sixth-straight state title. Leading the Lady Wildcats are Janine Horst and Virginia-commit Katie Christopherson. Christopherson set the state record (1:56.72) by winning the 200-yard individual medley last year, and alongside Horst, helped set the state record in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:32.56) dur-
ing last year’s state championships. Christopherson is the second-best swimmer in the state this season with 704.15 total points and trails Lambert's Kara West by just 1.65 points. The Wildcats will now compete in Class 4-5A, but expect the same level of dominance they had in Class A-3A for the past five years.
The Marist boys are seeking their fourth-consecutive state swimming title and lead the standings right now in total points, but will be swimming against strong competition in Class 6A after a three-year stretch of dominance in Class 4-5A. Coach Christopher Marshall talked about how he is preparing his team for the state finals and what has been his emphasis outside of the pool.
“For me, it is developing that core and body strength to transcend to what we do in the water,” said Marshall. “My approach has been to shift more to getting kids stronger, so when we are in the water we can focus on developing speed. The weight room not only helps us gain strength but also prevents injuries.”
In Class 7A, the North Gwinnett boys are seeking to win their third title in four years (2020, 2021). Last year the Bulldogs finished in second place behind Parkview, who picked up the programs first title since 2013 and eleventh all-time, only losing by eight points. North Gwinnett is back to avenge its loss and is led by Georgia-commit Tristan Denbrok. South Forsyth’s Derek Henry is a top swimmer in the state and will be pivotal in helping lift a potential first title in school history.
The Johns Creek boys are seeking their third-
consecutive title, and fourth all-time, in Class 6A. Last year, the Gladiators won by 120 points to capture the state title. Auburn-commit Britton Spann is a name to watch for Johns Creek as he will compete in the 200yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke.
On the girls' side in Class 7A, the Walton girls have been impressive all season and recently won their county championships as they aim to snag a consecutive state title. The Raiders are led by Lily Alderman, who placed second in last year’s 100-yard freestyle (51.90) and 100-yard backstroke (57.14), and Virginia Tech-commit Sydney Starnes, who placed second in last year’s 500-yard freestyle (4:57.22) and third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:06.64)
In Class A-3A, with Westminster being reclassified, the door is wide open. A new champion will be crowned for the first time since the classification debuted in 2018. Gilmer, Sandy Creek and Oconee County will be the teams to watch for in the Class A-3A competition. Individual names to keep an eye on are Oconee County’s Louisiana State-commit Simon Casey, who is the fifth-ranked swimmer in the state and won first-place (4:33.81) in the 500-yard freestyle in last year’s state finals. Mt. Pisgah’s Emma Livezey, a Birmingham Southern College-commit, is another name to watch for. Livezey finished second (52.46) in the 100-yard freestyle in last year’s state championships.
2023 SWIMMING & DIVING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS GHSA.NET // 5
SWIMMING & DIVING PAST CHAMPIONS
SWIM RECORDS
6 // GHSA.NET 2023 SWIMMING
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS GIRLS Year 7A 6A 4A-5A A-3A 7A 6A 4A-5A A-3A 2018 Brookwood Dalton St. Pius Westminster Brookwood Pope Blessed Trinity Westminster 2019 Brookwood Johns Creek St. Pius Westminster Brookwood Centennial Chamblee Westminster 2020 North Gwinnett Dalton Marist Westminster Lassiter Cambridge Blessed Trinity Westminster 2021 North Gwinnett Johns Creek Marist Westminster Lambert Lassiter Marist Westminster 2022 Parkview Johns Creek Marist Westminster Walton Lassiter St. Pius Westminster BOYS GIRLS Year 6A A-5A 6A A-5A 2013 Parkview Dalton Lambert Westminster 2014 Walton St. Pius Lambert Woodward 2015 Walton Westminster Lambert Marist 2016 Brookwood Westminster Lambert Marist BOYS GIRLS Year 6A-7A A-5A 6A-7A A-5A 2017 Brookwood St. Pius Walton Marist BOYS EVENT NAME/YEAR SCHOOL/RECORD 200 Yard Medley Relay...................................................................................................................................................................................Aidan Saunders, Justin Bender, Sebastien Sergile, Caleb Paek...................................................................................................................................................................................Centennial 2022 *1:31.71 200 Yard Freestyle....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Sebastien Sergile........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Centennial 2022 *1:34.05 200 Yard Individual Medley....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Henry Bethel.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Dalton 2021 1:45.54 50 Yard Freestyle...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Paul Powers..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................North Hall 2014 19.63 100 Yard Butterfly...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Gunnar Bentz......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................St. Pius 2014 47.26 100 Yard Freestyle.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Paul Powers..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................North Hall 2014 43.19 500 Yard Freestyle......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Jake Magahey.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Mill Creek 2019 4:15.63 100 Yard Backstroke..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Michael Taylor...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Johns Creek 2017 45.53 100 Yard Breaststroke...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Henry Bethel...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Dalton 2021 52.96 200 Yard Freestyle Relay..............................................................................................................................................................................................Brett Sasser, Griffin Egolf, Owen Holland, Jack Aikins.....................................................................................................................................................................................West Forsyth 2021 1:22.56 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.............................................................................................................................................................................................Brett Sasser, Griffin Egolf, Owen Holland, Jack Aikins......................................................................................................................................................................................West Forsyth 2021 3:03.13 One Meter Diving.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Carson Tyler....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Colquitt County 2021 878.95 GIRLS EVENT NAME/YEAR SCHOOL/RECORD 200 Yard Medley Relay..............................................................................................................................................................................Sadie Clayton, Katie Christopherson, Gigi Johnson, Annie Jardina............................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2021 1:40.65 200 Yard Freestyle......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Nicole Stafford.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2013 1:45.29 200 Yard Individual Medley.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Katie Christopherson.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2022 *1:56.72 50 Yard Freestyle........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Caitlin Cooper................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Woodward 2014 22.69 100 Yard Butterfly.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Kathleen Hersey......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Marist 2008 52.44 100 Yard Freestyle.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Amanda Weir.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Brookwood 2004 49.06 500 Yard Freestyle.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Elizabeth Hill............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2004 4:40.93 100 Yard Backstroke...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Erin Reisinger........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Walton 2009 53.71 100 Yard Breaststroke.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Alicia Henry..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Alpharetta 2020 1:00.56 200 Yard Freestyle Relay..........................................................................................................................................................................Gigi Johnson, Janine Horst, Katie Christopherson, Annie Jardina...............................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2022 *1:32.56 400 Yard Freestyle Relay..........................................................................................................................................................................Gigi Johnson, Sara Ketron, Annie Jardina, Katie Christopherson................................................................................................................................................................................Westminster 2022 *3:24.20 One Meter Diving............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Julia Herring........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................St. Pius 2022 *664.10 * New State Record
