MARIETTA – The Walton boys clinched their fourth straight Cobb County championship Saturday at Mountain View Aquatic Center, winning by only seven points over Lassiter.
The Raiders finished with 1,022 points to narrowly beat Lassiter (1,015). Pope (692) was a distant third, followed by Harrison (608.5) and Kennesaw Mountain (528).
“That was a nail-biter,” Walton coach Ty Vernon said.
The event that helped swing the meet in Walton's favor was the 200-yard freestyle relay of Thomas Iglar, Josh Chapman, Jacob Linartas and Wyant Jackson. The Raiders jumped in front early by putting their faster swimmers in the first two legs and held off Pope's relay down the stretch to win in 1 minute, 27.26 seconds.
Walton ended up being less than a second shy of beating Lassiter in the 400 freestyle relay but Linartas, Wyant, Iglar and Sam Fields settled for second in 3:13.26.
The Raiders also benefited from having three swimmers in the top heat of the 200 individual medley, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.
Individually, Linartas won the 100 freestyle (48.13), with Chapman fourth (48.44). Walton also placed three swimmers in the top six of the 200 IM, led by Jesse Niederjohn's third-place showing (1:58.52).
“We had some good individual events, like in the IM and in the nail-biter (200 freestyle) relay, and we have some really strong sprinters,” Vernon said.
Lassiter had its share of highlights, but it was not enough to overcome Walton. The Trojans finished strong, however, with Ethan Jones, Alex O'Brien, Cody Miles and Gavin Halusic outlasting Walton to win the 400 freestyle relay in 3:12.74.
Individually for Lassiter, Miles won the 200 IM by half a pool's length in 1:52.11. He also prevailed in the 500 freestyle (4:31.03), while Halusic clinched the 50 freestyle (21.28).
“They gave it their all,” Lassiter coach Brittany Hughes said of her boys squad. “We had some really great swims tonight. They raced, and I think they are super-excited about their future.”
Kennesaw Mountain, anchored by Bravden Moore, Isaiah Tucker, Gavin Buettner and Hunter Fennel, passed Walton on the butterfly leg and held on to win the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:35.23.
Tucker also had success individually, setting a county record in the 100 butterfly with a winning time 47.71. Tucker also set a record in his 100 backstroke victory (48.34).
For Campbell, Luke Watkins won the 100 breaststroke (54.82) and was second in the 500 freestyle (4:40.10).
McEachern's Jarrett Watkins won the 200 freestyle (1:43.67) and was fifth in the 100 freestyle (48.61).
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