Ethan Young from Dalton High School and the Carpet Capital Aquatic Club won the 100-yard backstroke Friday night at the USA Swimming Winter Junior National Championships East competition at Georgia Tech’s pool in Atlanta.
Young, who has signed to swim for the premier men’s collegiate program in the nation, California-Berkeley, won the 100 back in 46.66 seconds, which beat the previous record of 46.72 set in 2011 by Floridian Ryan Murphy, who is a Cal junior. But another swimmer in the simultaneous West competition at Austin, Texas, had a 46.57 Friday and is recognized as the meet record-holder.
Last week at the Georgia Senior State Championships, also at Georgia Tech, Young won the 100 and 200 backstrokes in 48.34 and 1:48.72, respectively the third and seventh fastest times in the United States this year for 17-year-olds, and led five CCAC relay teams to qualifying times for the National Club Swimming Association junior nationals in March in Orlando, Fla. Emilio Valdez and Brandt Hudson joined Young as 200 and 400 medley relay and 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relay qualifiers. Tyler Stephenson was the other member of both medley relays; Jonathan Shaheen was on the three free relays. Valdez swam the 10th fastest 1000 free for a 14-year-old and the 12th best 200 butterfly for the age group.
Carpet Capital’s Reese Bingham also qualified for the NCSA junior nationals – in the girls’ 50 free.
Basketball
‘ By an overwhelming margin, Covenant College freshman Joanna Smith from Chattanooga Christian was the first women’s honoree for the USA South’s new award: the basketball play of the month. Smith got the designation for November with 84 percent of the fan votes for a play in which she burst down the lane, was fouled and made a layup in a 69-62 win over Berry.
‘ Despite 34 points by Brandon Cole and 21 by Tyler Yoder, the Bryan College men’s basketball team lost 85-82 in overtime Friday at Webber International in Babson Park, Fla. Yoder was 7-of-13 from 3-point range. Brice Cusick had 11 rebounds and Cole had nine for the Lions (5-6), who got 11 points and six steals from Oteriah Lee and five assists from Robert Troino. Daniel Coffey and Jovany Deceus had 24 and 16 points and nine rebounds apiece for Webber (7-5).
Soccer
‘ The Red Bank-based Premier Soccer Academy under-16 Los Guapos won their age group at the Gatlinburg Season Finale last weekend. That was the fourth tournament championship of the season for the team coached by Pedro Kozak and Kevin Stophel. Los Guapos won 3-1 over Zionsville, 1-0 over the Covington Galaxy and 3-1 over the Butler Fury before beating the Eagle Express 2000 Red 2-1 in the championship match.
Running
‘ Two Dalton State cross country runners from the area, Jessica Brock from Summerville and Dylan Smith from Chickamauga, are getting married today at Berryton Church of God in Summerville.
They will be moving to Savannah and majoring in rehabilitation science at Armstrong Atlantic State with hopes ultimately of earning doctorates in physical therapy. Brock, a Roadrunners junior who ran for Chattooga, and Smith, a sophomore who won 1600- and 3200-meter track state championships for Gordon Lee, both made the Southern States Athletic Conference all-conference and all-academic teams this fall. “We met through Dalton State cross country.
Dalton State has been really good to me,” Smith said in a DSC release, admitting that leaving is “bittersweet.” Said Brock: “Running has made me who I am, so thinking about ending my running career makes me really sad. I love everyone that I have met at Dalton State and I am going to miss them so much, but I am super excited about what the future holds for us.”