Swim team dives into new season

LCHS senior swimmer Faith Schofield put in a State qualifying performance in the girls 100 yard freestyle race and the LCHS swim team defeated their neighboring region rivals Dawson County when the Indians and Lady Indians took to the pool at the Cumming Aquatic Center for the Forsyth Central Double Dual Invite to open up their 2019-2020 swim season on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Schofield stole the show for the Lady Indians with her performance in the girls 100 yard freestyle. Schofield not only earned first place in the girls 100 yard freestyle race out of the 65 competitors, she also qualified for the GHSA AAA State Swim Meet at the season’s end. Schofield finished the race with a time of 58.22, just under the State qualifying time for the event.
Schofield also saw success in several other events at the FCHS Double Dual Invite.
Schofield took first place in the girls 500 yard freestyle. Schofield finished the race with a time of 6:08.06, showing her endurance and speed in the water.
Schofield also enjoyed success as part of the Lady Indians’ 200 yard medley and 200 yard freestyle relay teams.
The Lady Indians’ team of Julia Finesilver, Clara Purdy, Schofield and Sarah Hunsinger swan their way to a fifth place team finish in the girls 200 yard medley race, recording a time of 2:13.67.
The Lady Indians also earned an eighth place finish in the event when the team of Charleigh Thomas, Abbie Hilchie, Andrea Strubb and Alana Schroeder completed the race with a time of 2:29.76.
The Lady Indians’ team of Hilchie, Finesilver, Hunsinger and Schofield earned themselves a fourth place finish in the girls 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:57.98.
The team of Madison Myers, Thomas, Tori May and Kelly Cronan performed well in the event as well, earning a 10th place finish with a time of 2:24.77.
The Lady Indians also had their team of Hopkins, Lenzie Turner, Emily Tapley and Marcie Calhoun finish in 11th place during the race with a time of 2:31.23.
However, Schofield wasn’t the only Lady Indians to see individual success at the meet.
The Lady Indians landed five swimmers in the Top 25 of the girls 50 yard freestyle race. Hunsinger earned a 12th place finish with a time of 29.87, Finesilver followed right behind in 13th place with a time of 30.28, Purdy finished in 17th place with a time of 32.30, Sarah Bell earned a 21st place finish with a time of 32.92 and Hallie Hopkins finished in 25th place with a time of 34.11.
Hilchie and Purdy both performed well in the girls 100 yard breaststroke for the Lady Indians. Hilchie earned a seventh place finish with a time of 1:30.35 and Purdy earned an eighth place finish with a time of 1:30.46 during the event.
Strubb earned a seventh place finish in the girls 200 yard individual medley, finishing the race with a time of 3:15.34 and Finesilver earned a Top 5 finish in the girls 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:20.88.
On the Indians’ side, Lumpkin’s swimmers didn’t have as successful day as Schofield and the Lady Indians, but they still put in a strong engouh performance to beat out Dawson County in the team standings of the dual event.
Team-wise, the Indians saw solid performances in the boys 200 yard medley and the boys 200 yard freestyle relay.
The team of Ian Bateman, Dakota von Scherr, Luke Schofield and Collin Edwardson finished in sixth place in the boys 200 yard medley race with a team time of 2:14.37 and the team of von Scherr, Edwardson, Schofield and Bateman earned themselves a fifth place finish in the boys 200 yard freestyle relay race with a time of 1:53.31.
Individually, the Indians also had some notable showings at the FCHS Double Dual Invite.
In the boys 50 yard freestyle, Schofield, Edwardson and Bateman each displayed their swimming skills. Schofield finished in 17th place out of the 58 swimmers with a time of 28.71, Edwardson earned 18th place with a time of 28.84 and Bateman swam his way to a 19th place finish with a time of 29.36.
In the boys 100 yard breaststroke, von Scherr swam his way to a third place finish with a time of 1:16.11. Bateman also shined for the Indians in the race, earning himself a 10th place finish with a time of 1:31.99.
In the boys 100 yard freestyle, three Indian swimmers earned themselves Top 25 finishes. Von Scherr earned an eighth place finish in the event with a time of 1:00.04, Schofield finished in 12th place with a time of 1:04.33 and Samuel Gooch earned a Top 25 finish by placing 22nd in the event with a time of 1:19.40.
In the boys 100 yard backstroke, Lane Anderson earned an eighth place finish with a time of 2:01.15.
Both the Indians and the Lady Indians scored enough points to down rival Dawson County during the FCHS Double Dual Invite. The Indians earned a total of 32 points during the competition to beat the Tigers 32-23 while the Lady Indians earned a total of 67 points to out perform the Lady Tigers 67-13.
The dual win over Dawson combined with Schofield’s State qualifying performance allowed the LCHS swim team to make a big splash in its first competition of the 2019-2020 season.
The LCHS swim team will now prepare for its second meet of the season which is scheduled to take place at the Cumming Aquatic Center on Saturday, Dec. 7.