Middle school Lady Panthers 6th at state swim

Published 6:00 pm Saturday, February 4, 2023

ATLANTA — The future looks extremely bright for the Tiftarea Academy swim teams. Varsity and middle school boys and girls participated at the GIAA state meet at Georgia Tech Feb. 2, with the middle school Lady Panthers earning 6th place.

The middle school Lady Panthers earned 27 points in state, only one point behind 5th place Loganville Christian. Their performance was strong enough to earn 10th place in the combined scores, boys and girls.

The younger Pool Panthers were excellent from the beginning, starting with the 4th place 200 medley relay team of Madi Shoultz, Maci Shoultz, Coley Beth Croft and Lizzie Hendricks. They swam the course in 2:25. Tiftarea added even more firepower in the race from Cameron Faulkner, Calla Joyner, Addilyn Jones and Ella Branch, who finished 18th.

Best finish overall, though was the 3rd, the Shoultzes, Croft and Hendricks earned in the 200 freestyle relay. Their time was 2:03, less than five seconds off 1st place.

Madi Shoultz added a 9th place in the 50 freestyle, swimming in 28.99 seconds, with Croft 11th and Maci Shoultz 17th. In the 100 freestyle, it was Madi Shoultz in 7th (in 1:04), Croft 9th (at 1:06) and Maci Shoultz 11th.

Croft earned 11th in the 50 butterfly.

Maci Shoultz finished 6th in the 50 backstroke in 36.01 seconds. Hendricks placed 11th in the same race. Madi Shoultz had a 10th place in the 50 breaststroke at 40.62 seconds.

Parker Hobbs was 18th in the middle school 100 individual medley event for the boys.

Hendricks, Jones, Faulkner and Joyner swam in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Chloe Sercer participated in the 100 freestyle. Hobbs was in the boys 50 butterfly. Faulkner, Branch and Hobbs were in the 50 backstroke. Branch swam the 100 individual medley.

Branch, Joyner and Jones swam the 50 breaststroke. Sercer, Joyner, Jones and Faulkner formed a team in the 200 freestyle relay.

For varsity, Jase Hendricks, Max Reed, Logan Floyd and Jacob Joyner placed 10th in the boys 200 medley relay, finishing in 2:12. Later, the same group pulled off an identical 10th place in the 200 freestyle relay, this time a little quicker at 1:57.

Fourteenth place in the girls 200 freestyle relay went to Gigi Kendrick, Abbi Richter, Alexa Maag and Hallie Haggard at 2:11. Floyd had an individual 15th place in the 200 freestyle. Hendricks was 12th in the 200 individual medley, 14th in the 100 butterfly and 18th in the 100 freestyle.

Haggard was 14th in the varsity 200 freestyle. Kendrick was close behind at 20th.

Kendrick, Floyd and Alexa Maag swam in the 50 freestyle. Haggard, Kendrick and Maag participated in the 100 freestyle. The 100 backstroke saw Haggard in the pool for Tiftarea, with Maag and Floyd in the 100 breaststroke