By: Griffin Callaghan | gcallaghan@cherokeetribune.com | January 23, 2023
River Ridge is the back-to-back county title holder following its win at the 2023 Cherokee County Swim and Dive Championship Meet on Saturday. The Knights finished with 506.5 points, beating out Creekview (494 points) and Sequoyah (487 points) for the overall win.
The River Ridge girls’ team finished second with 278.5 points, behind Woodstock (282.5 points), while the boys took third place with 228 points behind Creekview (298 points) and Sequoyah (263 points).
“Our success at the county meet was truly a team effort,” Knights’ coach Sarah Goodbread said. “We had 48 personal records achieved, 20 top five finished and 22 state cuts. Every single swimmer contributed to us winning county. We had several swimmers who swam in three relays to optimize points. We knew going into the meet that it was going to be extremely close; every point mattered.”
Relays were vital in River Ridge’s overall victory, with its boys taking third place in the 400-yard freestyle relay and the girls finishing first in the same race to claim the final event of the meet.
“We attempted to maximize our scoring and focus on relays since their points are worth double of an individual event,” Goodbread said. “Our relays did phenomenally and exceeded the expectations I had for them. We even had two B relays get a state cut time.”
The 50-yard freestyle was another standout event for the Knights, with John Cook (23.27 seconds) and Cole Womack (23.34 seconds) finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. That race counted for state times, with both crossing that mark for the first time this year.
“In the boys’ 500-free, Diego Ladera dropped nine seconds to get a state cut and finished second, just beating Creekview,” Goodbread said. “The final key event was the last race of the night when our girls 400-free relay consisting of Ava Hownowski, Maja Brooker, Nicole Fetcinko, and Macie Portis took first place.”
Creekview won the boys’ side by 35 points and received a massive performance from Nicholas Kjaerulff, who broke two county records during Saturday’s meet. Kjaerulff broke the 100-yard fly record with a 49.79, along with the 100-yard backstroke record with a 51.43. He’s broken three county records overall this season.
Kjaerulff signed with Alabama last week.
“This has been a tremendous season for him, and we expected nothing less,” Creekview coach Heather Morris said. “He is incredibly passionate about this sport. He aspires to be an Olympic athlete, and I have no doubt that he will achieve that. We’re excited to see his performance at State. I know we’ll see podium finishes for him.”
Kjaerulff was not the only swimmer to pick up two wins on Saturday. Sequoyah’s Laurel Blase won the 200-yard IM (2:02.43) and 500-yard freestyle (4:56.39), contributing to the Chiefs’ third-place finish overall. Both of Blase’s first-place finishes broke county records. Woodstock’s Ashley Case added wins in the 100-yard fly and 100-yard freestyle.
Victoria Kjaerulff and Evie Clark gave Creekview early points with their performances in the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. Kjaerulff finished second in the 200-yard freestyle behind Etowah’s Astrid Medina, while Clark was fifth in the 200-yard IM.
“I have to give credit to our senior and junior leadership this season,” Morris said. “Every day in the pool, they work hard and are a tremendous example to our younger swimmers. This season has been successful, thanks to them, and I’m so grateful for the legacy they are leaving. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the young talent we have on this team.”
For the first-place Woodstock girls, the relay team of Leia Lankford, Shannyn Lambert, Case and Emmy Mims took an early victory in the 200-yard medley relay, paving the way for Saturday’s final result.
Scoreboard
Overall scores
1. River Ridge High School 506.5
2. Creekview High School 494
3. Sequoyah High School 487
4. Etowah High School 444
5. Woodstock Wolverines 421
6. Cherokee High School 245.5
Girls
1. Woodstock Wolverines 282.5
2. River Ridge High School 278.5
3. Etowah High School 240
4. Sequoyah High School 224
5. Creekview High School 196
6. Cherokee High School 79
Boys
1. Creekview High School 298
2. Sequoyah High School 263
3. River Ridge High School 228
4. Etowah High School 204
5. Cherokee High School 166.5
6. Woodstock Wolverines 138.5
