Region meet is Saturday at Hopkinsville High School
Henderson County Colonels Swimming hopes to make a big splash at the Region One Championships this weekend in Hopkinsville. Last season, the girls came away with a third-place finish while the boys claimed runner-up, with several qualifying for state. Many of the swimmers who were part of that success will be in the pool again this time.
“I do anticipate that if they swim their best, we have a good shot at the relays and a few individual qualifiers,” said head coach Melanie Mays.
The boys team figures to have a real shot of defending their runner-up finish from last year and sending several swimmers to the first round of state again, as each swimmer who competed at state last year returned to the team.
Max Mays, son of the head coach, was second in the 100-yard Backstroke last season at regionals with a time of 1:01.76, qualifying him for state. This season, at the Best of the West Invitational, Mays turned in a time of 1:01.07. That meet was coincidentally held in Bowling Green which is the site of the first round of state.
“I’m trying to keep my stress level low. At this point in the season, your nerves are pretty high, but if you can stay as calm as you can, you’ll do better in this scenario,” said the younger Mays, who also hopes to qualify in the 200-yard Individual Medley.
Another Colonel looking for a strong individual showing is Boone Thompson, who last season qualified for state in the 50-yard Freestyle and the 100-yard Breaststroke. His time in the 100 Breaststroke in regionals last year was 1:06.23. At the Best of the West, he posted a 1:05.47.
“We’re pretty confident going into regionals this year. We’ve cut a lot of time with the boys this year,” said Thompson.
When it comes to the relays, the Colonels sent three teams to state last year in the 200-yard Medley, the 200-yard Freestyle, and the 400-yard Freestyle. They expect to qualify again in the 200 Medley and 400 Free.
It remains to be seen if they’ll get a chance in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay, where they have been chasing the Henderson County record. They have gained on it, sitting just about one second off the record time.
“We need to put everybody in the event that is going to best suit them. That’s always a challenge,” said coach Mays. “We have several swimmers that are versatile and can go in different events, but we want to put them in the event that’s best for them, but also benefits the team as well.”
Other swimmers who figure to make an impact for the boys at regionals, especially as part of the relay teams, are Jack Logan, Nate Raymer, and brothers Caden and Seth Boggess. Caden Boggess hopes to qualify individually in the 100-yard Butterfly as well.
For the girls, Sariah Coots will look to repeat her past performances in which she qualified for the first round of state individually in both the 200-yard Individual Medley and the 100-yard Breaststroke.
Coots, along with her twin sister Lyana Coots, Avery Thomson, and Piper Thompson also qualified for state last season in the 200-yard Medley Relay. The Coots sisters and Thomson were also part of the state-qualifying 400-yard Freestyle Relay last year.
Thomson failed to qualify individually last season, but made it a goal of hers to move onto state this year.
“Avery has a good shot of qualifying in the freestyle. She’s been training really hard this year,” said Mays of her junior swimmer.
The Region One Championships will take place on January 24 at Hopkinsville High School.
To qualify for the first round of state in Bowling Green, swimmers must finish in the top two of an event at regionals or secure an at-large bid by having one of the next 10 fastest times from the First, Second, and Third Regions combined.
HCHS Swimming Bids Farewell to Seven Seniors
The Colonel swim team honored its seven seniors on Jan. 13 in a head-to-head meet with Madisonville-North Hopkins at the Henderson County Family YMCA. The pool at the YMCA is a 25-meter pool which is a bit longer than the standard pool to which the swimmers are accustomed in competition.
The seniors on the boys team include Jack Logan and Nate Raymer. Logan collected a first place finish on the night as part of the 400-meter Freestyle Relay. Raymer’s best finish on the night was second place in the 100-meter freestyle, as well as second as part of the 200-meter Freestyle Relay.
The seniors on the girls team are Lily Clark, Lyana and Sariah Coots, Irah Plummer, and Aubrie Woolfork. Clark swam to a first place finish with the 400-meter Freestyle Relay team. Lyana Coots collected a first place finish in the 100-meter Butterfly, while her sister Sariah won the 100-meter Breaststroke. Both girls were part of the 200-meter Medley Relay and 200-meter Freestyle Relay that each claimed first place. Plummer and Woolfork were part of the first place 400-meter Freestyle Relay.
“It’s been great to have seven seniors this year. We didn’t have any last year. It’s great to see senior banners and it’s great for the community to see that there are kids that stick with it. It’s a challenging sport,” said coach Mays. “They’re all really special in their own right and they’re all going to be tremendously missed.”
