THOMASVILLE — On Saturday ten different high school swim teams descended on Thomasville for the Thomas County Central High School Invitational. Both Central and Thomasville competed and performed very well.
The Thomasville girls swam extremely well, finishing third overall and 24 points better than fourth place Lee County. Makenna Ponder was dominant as usual, finishing first in the 100 breast and the 200 free, which she won by 15 seconds.
McCartney Bell also did well in her events finishing the 500 free in 6:33.65 to take fourth place.
The Thomasville relay team of Violet Illian, McCartney Bell,Makenna Ponder and Sarah Kate Still finished top five in two different relays. They edged out Thomas County Central by 26 seconds in the girls 400 free and took fourth in the girls 200 free relay with a time of 2:01.25, just six seconds off of the state qualifying time.
“That’s really the relay that we are focusing on trying to get to state in and that’s the closest that we’ve gotten so far this season,” said Thomasville swim coach Margaret Davis.
Davis has been encouraging her swimmers to get out of their comfort zone in the 100 and 50 free and swim the more challenging races that allow them to generate more points.
“I think that has a lot to do with why we scored third overall and are doing better as an overall team,” Davis said.
Central was dominant throughout the competition, especially on the boys side. The Yellow Jackets took second overall in the meet and first among the boys.
Tyler King and Chris Pierce were up to their winning ways as both swimmers took first in multiple individual events. King won both the 100 fly and the 500 free, a race that he owned by 24 seconds. Meanwhile, Pierce captured gold in the 100 free and 200 IM. Nick Pierce also took first in the 50 free with a time of 25.23 and secured second place in the 100 back.
The Yellow Jackets boys relay team was a hit on the day as well. King, Chris and Nick Pierce, along with Johnny Bradshaw took first in both the 200 medley and the 200 free relay.
The girls made their presence known as well. Carolina Knight finished fourth in the girls 100 free and the relay team of Knight, Emily Carr, Gabby Treadon and Wendie Vonier finished the 400 free relay with a time of 5:07.52, edging out the HCHS team by just .03 seconds.
The next swim meet in Thomasville will be this Saturday and will be hosted by the Bulldogs.