“I’m really proud of our girls,” SHS head coach Nell Hess said. “They gave it their all this weekend. When I can look at the board and see we beat Westminster, Pace Academy, Riverwood and some other really good teams, that’s pretty exciting. I just wanted them to do their best, and just about all of them set personal records (Saturday) and broke several team records. You can’t ask for much more than that.

“But I have to credit the club coaches that these girls have. They are the reason for the fast times. I just like to act as a good cheerleader for their accomplishments.”

Charting the Lady Chiefs’ top individual placing, Kamryn Carter knocked out the 100 Butterfly in 56.91 seconds for third. The sophomore standout, who added an 11th-place 2:08.56 in the 200 Individual Medley, also teamed with senior Rachel Pelzek, junior Sophie Roy and freshman Kristina Friedrichs to take third (1:38.23) in the 200 Freestyle Relay and with freshman Meghan Peterson, Roy and Friedrichs to claim sixth in the 200 Medley Relay with a 1:49.36.

Like Carter, Friedrichs and Pelzek earned a pair of individual finals’ event showings to go along with their relay efforts.

Friedrichs reached the A Finals in both the 50 Free and 100 Free, placing sixth (24.11) and eighth (53.49), respectively, while Pelzek took 15th (1:56.88) in the 200 Free and 18th (54.82) in the 100 Free.

Rounding out the Lady Chiefs’ scoring off the blocks, freshman Jordan Weems completed the 500 Free in 5:21.77 for 17th, then joined Peterson, freshman Ansley Davis and Pelzek for a 15th (3:48.48) in the 400 Free Relay.

Prior to Saturday’s finals, Sequoyah got on the board during Thursday’s dive championships, as freshman Rachel Renner secured a sixth-place finish.

Renner, the first diver in Sequoyah’s history, scored 405.60 points — not far off the pace of fourth-place Marist sophomore Sarah Jacobson (420.05) and fifth-place Wesleyan sophomore Kate McCahan (417.80). Sophomore Abby Gardner, of Wesleyan, won the title with 474.40 points, followed by Marist freshman Ellie Crump (453.45) and Greenbriar senior Ayanna Woods (444.15). The seventh-place diver, Katie Knight, of Oconee County, was 45 points behind Renner.

In third-place for much of the meet, Sequoyah (179 points) saw its lead over Oconee (193) and Dunwoody (192) dwindle without having any backstroke and breaststroke finalists and the pair overtook the Lady Chiefs late to finish third and fourth, respectively. Marist totaled 264 points to win the girls’ team title and fellow private school St. Pius was second with 202.5.

Anchored by the efforts of sophomore Emily Snyder, the Creekview girls (41 points) were 25th out of 61 scoring teams.

Snyder highlighted her Saturday with a fifth-place time of 1:05.81 in the 100 Breaststroke and placed 14th in the 200 Individual Medley with a 2:11.55. She also joined fellow sophomores Michelle McCord and Anna Knowlton and senior Lauren Griffin in giving the Lady Grizzlies a 13th-place, 1:56.05 showing in the 200 Medley Relay.

Adding to a big day for Cherokee County, River Ridge secured its first state placers in program history, grabbing a trio of relay top 20s and an individual top 20 by senior Greer Blackmon.

Getting the Knights on the board, Blackmon, along with senior Josh Butler and sophomores Brian Oktavec and Brad Burke posted a 1:42.86 for 19th in the boys’ 200 Medley Relay, before the Lady Knights’ team of freshman Katie Hopkins, junior Chantal LaFlamme and seniors Katie Brown and Avery Blackmon charted a 14th-place 1:56.65 in the girls’ event just moments later. Greer Blackmon then scored a 22.42 for 19th in the 50 Free, and the boys’ 200 Free Relay squad of Butler, sophomore Brian Biddiscombe, Oktavec and Blackmon wrapped up River Ridge’s weekend with a 1:30.60 for 12th.

The Knights placed 38th in the boys’ standings with 24 points and 45th in the girls with 14 points.

Westminster won the boys’ team championship, scoring 309 points to best runner-up Marist (293.5). Chamblee Charter (269), Evans (206) and McIntosh (151) completed the top five.

Georgia High School Association State Swimming & Diving Championships, Feb. 5-7 at Georgia Tech

Class A-AAAAA Boys

Team Standings

(Top 3, plus Cherokee County teams)

1. Westminster 309.0

2. Marist 293.5

3. Chamblee Charter 269.0

38. River Ridge 24.0

Individual Results

(Champion, plus Cherokee County athletes. Top 20 reached finals)

200 Medley Relay

1. Marist 1:35.16

19. River Ridge 1:42.86

34. Creekview 1:48.28

200 Freestyle

1. John Mitchell, Chamblee 1:40.43

200 Individual Medley

1. Derek Cox, Westminster 1:48.77

35. Garrett Dempsey, Creekview 2:08.55

50 Freestyle

1. Ty Powers, North Hall 20.47

19. Greer Blackmon, River Ridge 22.42

27. Josh Butler, River Ridge 22.48

1-Meter Diving

1. Harrison Moncino, Pace Academy 578.60

100 Butterfly

1. Lorys Christian, Marist 48.92

1. Ethan Young, Dalton 48.92

35. Greer Blackmon, River Ridge 56.59

100 Freestyle

1. Alex BeMiller, Marist 45.12

32. Brian Oktavec, River Ridge 49.80

500 Freestyle

1. Jon Lancaster, Heritage 4:32.32

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Westminster 1:24.87

12. River Ridge 1:30.60

39. Creekview 1:37.47

44. Sequoyah 1:37.86

100 Backstroke

1. Ethan Young, Dalton 47.47*

36. Josh Butler, River Ridge 57.89

100 Breaststroke

1. Colin Monaghan, Gainesville 55.03*

29. Brian Oktavec, River Ridge 1:03.22

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Chamblee Charter 3:07.72

38. Creekview 3:37.77

Class A-AAAAA Girls

Team Standings

(Top 3, plus Cherokee County teams)

1. Marist 264.0

2. St. Pius X 202.5

3. Oconee County 193.0

5. Sequoyah 179.0

25. Creekview 41.0

45. River Ridge 14.0

Individual Results

(Champion, plus Cherokee County athletes. Top 20 reached finals)

200 Medley Relay

1. Marist 1:47.12

6. Sequoyah 1:49.36

13. Creekview 1:56.05

14. River Ridge1:56.65

200 Freestyle

1. Lila Claire Best, Riverwood 1:50.44

15. Rachel Pelzek, Sequoyah 1:56.88

32. Ansley Davis, Sequoyah 2:06.88

200 Individual Medley

1. Danie Della Torre, Oconee 2:01.07

11. Kamryn Carter, Sequoyah 2:08.56

14. Emily Snyder, Creekview 2:11.55

24. Sophie Roy, Sequoyah 2:16.41

50 Freestyle

1. Donna Blaum, Starrs Mill 23.36

6. Kristina Friedrichs, Sequoyah 24.11

28. Michelle McCord, Creekview 25.42

37. Avery Blackmon, River Ridge 25.99

1-Meter Diving

1. Abby Gardner, Wesleyan 474.40*

6. Rachel Renner, Sequoyah 405.60

100 Butterfly

1. Donna Blaum, Starrs Mill 54.66

3. Kamryn Carter, Sequoyah56.91

29. Katie Brown, River Ridge 1:02.16

100 Freestyle

1. Darby Wayner, Savannah Arts 51.09

8. Kristina Friedrichs, Sequoyah 53.49

18. Rachel Pelzek, Sequoyah 54.82

500 Freestyle

1. Caitlyn McHugh, Allatoona 4:54.25

17. Jordan Weems, Sequoyah 5:21.77

26. Ansley Davis, Sequoyah 5:33.51

200 Freestyle Relay

1. Oconee 1:37.80

3. Sequoyah 1:38.23

35. Creekview 1:49.41

38.River Ridge1:49.65

100 Backstroke

1. Sara Gilbert, St. Pius 55.85

21. Michelle McCord, Creekview 1:01.11

25. Katie Brown, River Ridge 1:01.65

28. Meghan Peterson, Sequoyah 1:02.03

37. Anna Knowlton, Creekview 1:04.08

39. Jordan Weems, Sequoyah 1:04.25

100 Breaststroke

1. Danie Della Torre, Oconee 1:02.94

5. Emily Snyder, Creekview 1:05.81

23. Chantal LaFlamme, River Ridge 1:11.80

29. Sophie Roy, Sequoyah 1:13.18

400 Freestyle Relay

1. Starrs Mill 3:31.88

15. Sequoyah 3:48.48

23. River Ridge 3:58.34

29. Creekview 4:03.90

*Indicates state record