Published Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Depth shines early for East Coweta, Northgate girls in first swims of year
The Newnan Times-Herald
Depth shined for East Coweta and Northgate's girls swim teams in 2009 debuts on Saturday, which came in Whitewater's annual Wildcat Invitational at the Lundquist Aquatic Center in Jonesboro.
A field of 17 schools was led by Class A private school Wesleyan with 790 points, followed by Fayette County schools McIntosh (592) and Starr's Mill (533).
Led by senior Amanda Kralman, East Coweta put together a solid sixth-place finish with 263 points. Kralman was responsible for 45 points with a pair of top-six individual efforts, while joining Kelsey Talifaerro and Jessica Cooper on top-five relay finishes. The Lady Indians were fifth among girls teams and Northgate was right behind in sixth.
The Lady Vikings depth helped lead to an eighth-place effort in overall team points with 212, with the girls team scoring 15. Newnan finished a respectable 10th overall with 143 points.
Led by Kralman, a senior, East Coweta's girls got off to a strong start, and led all individual local efforts with a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle (2:13.72), where Talifaerro also finished eighth. Kralman also took sixth in the 100 freestyle in 1:01.13 among 99 swimmers.
Among relays, the Lady Indians were fifth in the 200 medley event as Kralman and Talifaerro joined Evans and Cooper. Brittany Kessel joined Kralman, Talifaerro and Cooper to finish third in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:54.48.
Evans also picked up right where she left off in the pool last season, scoring 36 points in three events. She turned in a fourth-place effort in the 100 breaststroke (1:22.46), along with a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:11.18), one spot ahead of Talifaerro.
Talifaerro scored 39 points in four swims, while adding a sixth-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:12.53) and an eighth-place effort in the 200 freestyle (2:23.34).
Cooper and Kessel also scored points for the Lady Indians individually. A 400 freestyle relay team of Cooper, Arielle Setera, Ashley Kennedy and Ashley Delgado also contributed 12 points with an 11th place finish.
Scoring 156 of the school's 212-point total, the Lady Vikings were led by Bailey DeRidder, who turned in two top-five individual times as well as pacing a ninth-place finish in the 200 medley relay in 2:14.47, one of two Northgate girls relays that scored in the event. DeRidder was joined by Olivia Decker, Kayla Freund and Erica Pauly.
A team of Meredith Yarbrough, Bria Malry, Giulia Middei and Angela Edmonds placed 11th, giving Northgate 30 points in the event between its two relay lineups. The Lady Vikings added an eighth-place effort with a 200 freestyle relay team of Edmonds, Decker, Pauly and DeRidder.
Leading Northgate's girls individually with 38 1/2 points, DeRidder placed fourth in the 100 backstroke among 42 swimmers in 1:10.06 and was fifth in the grueling 500 freestyle while scoring with Edmonds, who was eighth.
Edmonds scored 25 1/2 points while also 15th in the 200 individual medley (IM).
Another top individual finish came from Malry, who was sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:23.75. Freund (18), Middei (17 1/2), Decker (16) and Pauly (14) all contributed more than 10 points to Northgate's total effort.
Newnan's girls scored five points in varsity debuts for many of its swimmers. Returning swimmer Casey Stillwell and newcomer Felicia Wan each scored in individual events in the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, respectively.
Newnan's girls medley relay of Sarah Johnson, Jordan Ponce, Stillwell and Kathie Stewart added points with an 18th place finish.
NOTES: Christina Gallucci, a standout swimmer for the Summit YMCA Titans swim team, qualified for the GHSA state meet in the 200 IM while competing with third-place finisher Starr's Mill.
