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Forestview girls, South Point boys take Big South swim titles again
KINGS MOUNTAIN — They did it again, and that goes for just about everybody.
The Forestview girls won their sixth straight title, the South Point boys made it two championships in a row and even last year’s swimmers of the year repeated at the Big South 3A Conference swimming championships Friday at Kings Mountain.
South Point senior Ben Scruggs was voted boys swimmer of the year for a third straight season after winning four events. And Ashbrook senior Shannon Kay claimed the top girls award after placing first in two events and swimming on two relay teams.
Scruggs won the 200-yard freestyle by a landslide, touching the pad in 1 minute, 51.08 seconds, which was 25 seconds faster than the runner-up. He also took gold in the 100-yard freestyle at 50.55 seconds before leading the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay teams to victory.
“I wanted to win everything I swam, and I wanted a team win,” Scruggs said.
Check and check.
Scruggs helped South Point score 299 points to hold off runner-up Ashbrook (282). Forestview was third with 209 points.
South Point also got a first-place finish from Quinn Barnette in the 500-yard freestyle and second-place finishes from Barnette (200-yard individual medley), Matt Hodges (200-yard freestyle) and Kyle Knox (100-yard backstroke).
Kay took gold in the 50-yard freestyle at 26.35 seconds and in the 100-yard freestyle at 57.77 seconds. The senior also helped her 200-yard medley relay team finish second and her 200-yard freestyle relay team place third.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Kay said of her award. “There were so many deserving athletes.”
Forestview coach Pat Strothmann was nervous entering the meet because he studied the psych sheet Thursday and projected his team a one-point winner. The Jaguars wound up scoring 294 points to beat South Point by 19 points. Kings Mountain wasn’t far behind with 245.
“My middle swimmers really, really stepped up tonight, and I have to give them credit because our other girls did what they were supposed to do,” Strothmann said, specifically mentioning Coralie Watts, Page East and Kassie Dibert.
Two Jaguars won two events: Lyndsay Richard in the 200-yard individual medley and 500 freestyle, and Carly Emerson in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke. Forestview’s Cassie Adams also earned the gold medal in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The Jaguars also won a pair of relays (200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle) with Emerson, Richard, Adams and Sarah Covington.
Phillip Gardner: 704-869-1843; twitter.com/gazettephil
