Swim & Dive excel at regional meet
Right, with Laker Swim & Dive Coach Valerie Reynolds looking on in the background, Russell County’s Jacob Phillips, left, stood tall this past weekend with stellar performances in regional competition. Reynolds also earned the honor of being named both Region 3 Boys & Girls Coach of the Year.
By Joseph Phillips
Special to The Times Journal
The Laker Swim & Dive Team were in action over the past week in Regional Competition.
Laker Divers kicked off the competition on Tuesday, January 20 at Scott High School where divers finished the meet as follows:
Boys
Region Champion: Kendall Wilson (State Qualifier)
Region Runner Up: Garen Railsback (State Qualifier)
3rd Place: Daniel Blakey (State Qualifier)
Girls
Region Champion: Lyla Root (State Qualifier)
Region Runner Up: Abigail Robertson (State Qualifier)
3rd Place: Alivia Crawhorn
Divers who qualified for KHSAA State will compete on February 20 and 21 at University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center.
The swim team was prepared to head to TK Stone in Elizabethtown for Regional Prelims/Finals on Friday & Saturday, but due to Snow/Ice Storm coming in on Saturday, the meet was cut down to a single Timed Final Meet on Friday.
The Lady Lakers finished the Regional Meet with a third-place finish, and the boys came away in fifth.
The Girls 200 Medley Relay Team of Haylyn Pierce (tenth), Blair Brumett (eleventh), Marlei DeVore (twelfth), & Maddie Prater (tenth) started off the meet for the Lakers with automatic bid to KHSAA State First Round with a runner up finish to Central Hardin.
The Boys Medley Relay of Ethan Coe, Ethan Hart, Jacob Phillips, & Kendall Wilson finished third.
The Boys 200 Freestyle Relay of Jacob Phillips, Kendall Wilson, Ethan Hart, & Ethan Coe were Region Champions setting a new Laker Team Record with a time of 1:32.27
The Girls 400Free Relay of Haylyn Pierce, Blair Brumett, Maddie Prater, & Marlei DeVore finished fourth.
The Boys 400 Free Relay of Daniel Blakey, Jameson Root, Garen Railsback, & Devin Dunbar finished sixth.
Laker Swimmers medaling in the meet individually are as follows:
Marlei DeVore: 200 IM (fifth), 100 Free (seventh)
Blair Brumett: 100 Breaststroke (fifth)
Kendall Melton: 100 Butterfly (sixth)
Haylyn Pierce: 100 Backstroke (third)
Ethan Coe: 50 Freestyle (sixth), 100 Freestyle (third)
Ethan Hart: 100 Breaststroke (fourth)
Kendall Wilson: 100 Breaststroke (eighth)
Lakers earning Region All Region Team Honors were Lyla Root, Kendall Wilson, & Jacob Phillips.
Laker Swimming automatic qualifiers for KHSAA State First Round in Bowling Green on February 7 are:
Girls 200 Medley Relay of Haylyn, Blair, Marlei, & Maddie
Boys 200 Free Relay of Jacob, Kendall, Ethan H, & Ethan C.
Jacob Phillips led the Lakers with two Region Championships in the 200 Freestyle and in the 100 Butterfly, lowering his Region 3 Record to a time of 51.40.
Jacob also was selected as the Region 3 Swimmer of the meet due to his times in his two individual events.
He will automatically qualify to move to Bowling Green High School for the KHSAA State First Round.
The qualifying swimmers to Bowling Green final selection will be made this coming weekend after Regions 1 & 2 compete this coming Saturday on January 31.
The top 2 from each Region are automatic qualifiers, then the next top 10 times across Regions 1, 2, & 3 will receive at large bids to the First Round Meet to try and qualify as one of 24 in each event to move on to the KHSAA Championship Finals at University of Kentucky on February 20 & 21.
Information on additional qualifiers will be posted on the RCHS Swim & Dive social media as they are announced.
Laker Coach Valerie Reynolds was also honored by the other Region 3 Coaches by being selected as the Region 3 Girls & Boys Coach of the Year.
*See more coverage in next week’s Times Journal
