Tift swimmers head to state

Becky Taylor, The Tifton Gazette, Ga.
·1 min read

Feb. 2—TIFTON — Thirteen Tift County Swim Devils make their way north this week, competing for the biggest prizes of the year in the GHSA state championship. The Class 6A portion of the meet will be Friday, Feb. 3 at Georgia Tech.

The Georgia High School Association lists the preliminaries as beginning at 9 a.m. Tift swimmers who qualify for the finals will have only a short rest. Finals are to begin at 6 p.m. and finish that night.

Head coach Ivey Vickers said the team would travel to Atlanta Feb. 2.

Tift's swimmers made cuts for four relays and 11 individual events.

Anna Lupo will be in five individual events. Hayden Roberts will be in three, with Brynna Burke in two and Ava Wilson qualifying for a single event, the 100 breaststroke.

State cuts provided by head coach Ivey Vickers have Lupo in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 50 freestyle and 200 individual medley.

Lupo has the seventh fastest qualifying time in 6A in the butterfly. Her time of 59.23 seconds is within four of the state leader, Lassiter's Sophia Parker.

Roberts will be in the 200 individual medley, the 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle. Burke's specialties are the 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle.

Lupo, Wilson, Burke and Kendall Sasser will swim in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Qualifying for the 200 medley relay are Raylee Walker, Wilson, Raegin Walker and Leighellyn Bengston. Roberts will be with Tucker Dowdy, Karson Ponder and Ethan Stalnaker in the 200 freestyle relay.

The Swim Devils are among the 15 fastest qualifiers in eight of their events.