Westminster Boys, Girls Dominate to Successfully Defend Georgia 1-3A State Championship Titles

Photo Courtesy: Westminster Twitter (@WestminsterATL)

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The 2020 Georgia 1-3A State Championships took place on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Ga.

Both the Westminster boys and girls successfully defended their team titles for the third-straight year in dominant fashion, marking their 27th and 24th championship crowns, respectively, in program history.

Click HERE for full results and team scores.

BOYS MEET

Top 3 Team Scores:

1. Westminster – 552
2. Wesleyan – 255
3. Calhoun – 214.5

The boy’s meet began as Westminster’s Huntington Stone (23.99), Saavan Shah (26.10), Daniel Barra (23.18), and Connor Hinkes (19.73) dominated the opening 4×50 medley relay in 1:33.00, over four seconds ahead of runner-up Mount Vernon (1:37.21).

For the second-straight year, Mt. Paran Christian’s Mitchell Norton cruised to first in the 200 free, stopping the clock in a final time of 1:37.71 as the only swimmer in the field under the 1:40-barrier. Norton, who has verbally committed to Georgia, then went on to win the 100 free in a quick 44.84.

Benedictine’s Aidan Gaskill posted an impressive seven-second victory in the 200 IM, stopping the clock in 1:51.53 to drop nearly six seconds off his prelims time. Soon after, the senior was back in the water to earn his second individual gold in the 100 fly after getting his hands to the wall in 49.81 as the only swimmer to crack the 50-second marker.

Shortly after anchoring Westminster’s medley relay in an impressive sub-20 second split, Hinkes was back in the water to claim the individual 50 free title in a swift 20.36. Holy Innoncents junior Spencer Pearson dove to first on the 1-meter board, posting a final score of 530.10 to successfully defend his state title.

Greater Atlanta Christian sophomore Trey Carter dominated the 500 free, winning the race by nearly eight seconds in a time of 4:38.89. Savannah Arts Academy’s Aaron Seymour powered home to a win in the 100 back, clocking in at 49.14 and George Walton Academy sophomore Charlie Stout won the 100 breast by two seconds in 56.55.

Shah (21.85), Tobias Liu (21.68), Ashwin Pillai (21.36), and Stone (20.97) combined in 1:25.86 during the 4×50 free relay to give Westminster another victory. Westminster made it a relay sweep as Hinkes (45.86), Miles Clayton (48.62), Peter Bernot (47.48), and Barra (48.09) won the 4×100 free in 3:10.05.

GIRLS MEET

Top 3 Team Scores:

1. Westminster – 535
2. Greater Atlanta Christian – 282
3. Wesleyan – 171

Just like the boys, the girls’ meet began as Westminster’s Mary Claire Anderson (26.59), Janine Horst (30.53), Amy Zhao (25.72), and Genae Horst (23.70) won the 4×50 medley relay in 1:46.54, three seconds ahead of runner-up Greater Atlanta Christian (1:49.56).

Holy Innocents’ Abby Pilkenton powered home to the gold medal in the 200 free for the third-consecutive season, doing so in 1:49.35. Pilkenton, an NC State commit, then went on to defend her title in the 100 free with a final time of 50.73. Also under the 1:50-barrier in the 200 free was Wesleyan’s Hannah Wasmuth who took second in 1:49.81. Wasmuth also won the 100 back in 55.34 to defend her title.

Westminster sophomore Gigi Johnson posted an impressive time of 2:00.96 in the 200 IM, besting the field by five seconds to successfully defend her state title in the event. She again successfully defended her title in the 100 breast after getting her hands to the wall first in 1:02.98.

Annie Jardina of Westminster splashed-and-dashed her way to the top of the podium in the 50 free, clocking in at a quick 23.51 to edge out runner-up Ava Kennedy (23.68) of Athens Academy. For the second year in a row, Pace Academy’s Elizabeth Kaye dove to first on the 1-meter board with a total score of 595.15 – nearly 100 points ahead of the runner-up.

After earning silver in the 100 fly last season, Lovett’s Avery Bargeron found herself with the gold medal this year after winning the event by well over two seconds in a final time of 53.98. Mt. Paran Christian’s Emma Norton knocked off eight seconds from her prelims time to handily win the 500 free in 5:00.15, six seconds ahead of the field.

Westminster’s Johnson (23.12), Horst (24.14), Samantha Bertschi (24.00), and Jardina (22.95) won the 4×50 free relay in 1:34.21, six seconds ahead of the field. Bertschi (52.38), Zhao (53.07), Jardina (51.42), and Johnson (49.86) gave Westminster the relay sweep by claiming the 4×100 free relay in 3:26.73 – 17 seconds ahead of the field.

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Glen

4 years ago

Correction for you: Abby Pilkenton won the 100 and 200 Free for the 3rd, not just the 2nd, year in a row. Your own link to her NC State commitment states at that point last year she was already a 4 time winner (twice each for 100 and 200).