South Georgia State College’s men’s and women’s swim teams returned with impressive finishes from a three-day meet at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The men’s team finished third out of eight teams participating, and the women’s team placed fourth out of nine teams. SCAD won the meet, and Emory University finished second in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
“This was by far the best finish we have had at SCAD in our six-year history,” commented Head Coach CM Jenkins. “We swam very well, having best times in over 90 percent of our splashes and cut times in all ten of our relay events.”
The Swim Hawks had two swimmers take top times in the meet. Mitchell Graham from Columbus won the 100-yard breaststroke and broke his own school record with a time of 57.15. Carrollton native Carolyn Ives had the lowest 50-yard freestyle time and reestablished her record with a time of 24.2. Graham also placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke. Ives earned a second place spot in the 100-yard butterfly along with a third place finish in the 200-yard butterfly.
Also scoring top points for the Swim Hawks was another Columbus native, Alex Haymond, who tied the school record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.50. Thomasville’s Ryan Davis finished third in the 200-yard butterfly, and Moultrie’s Austin Vines placed fourth in the 200-yard backstroke.
The teams have traveled back to their respective homes for semester break and will return to SGSC on Jan. 4 for winter training. Congratulations to these swimmers for a great first half of the season. The Swim Hawks will return to the SGSC pool Jan. 9 for the South Georgia Sprint Meet at 1 p.m.
– Submitted by Amy Hancock, SGSC External Affairs Coordinator