The Raider Swim and Dive Team took second place behind the Forsyth Central Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Forsyth Central High School Double Dual Invite at the Cumming Aquatic Center. The team scored enough points to beat Dawson County, West Forsyth and Lumpkin County. The girls took second place, while the boys took third place out of five teams. This was the second meet of the season and many Raider swimmers have already qualified for state and some broke school records and personal bests.  

Leading the girls team were seniors Hailey Galbraith and Maryann Story and freshmen Gracie Runion and Abigail Hutcheson. In the relay races, the team of two seniors and two freshman took the win for the girls 200 meter medley relay with a time of 2:13.17, which also qualified them for state. 

In individual races, Galbraith won the girls 100 meter backstroke and set a new school record of 1:01.40, beating the old record of 1:01.90, while Story came in second for the girls 100 meter backstroke with a time of 1:12.58, Hutcheson took first place in the girls 50 meter freestyle and qualified for state with a time of 25.97, while Runion placed second in the girls 100 meter breaststroke. In the girls 200 meter freestyle, Galbraith took first, Story took second and Freshman Ansley Grimes took third place. Freshman Julia Wickman took third in the Girls 100 Fly. Senior Abby Byers cut her best time by 19 seconds in the Girls 100 Free with a new time of 1:20.15. Sophomore divers Sydnee Etheridge and Ava Altman took third and fourth place in diving, and Freshman Annelise Martin participated in her first dive event ever.   

Leading the boys, were seniors Owen Brubaker, Jack Mullis, Will Riley, and Logan Cornelison. In the boys 200 meter freestyle relay, they took the win with a time of and also qualified for state. 

Similar to the girls, the boys were also quite successful in the individual races. Seniors Logan Cornelison, Owen Brubaker, and Will Riley all scored state qualifying times in a variety of events. Logan won the boys 100 meter freestyle with a time of 49.01. Will Riley placed second in the boys 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 1:06.11 and won the boys 200 meter IM with a time of 2:11.25. Owen Brubaker got second in the boys 50 meter freestyle with a time of 23.49 and Logan Cornelison won the boys 200 meter freestyle. Along with the girls, these four senior boys will all participate in the State Wide Swim and Dive Competition at Georgia Tech. Owen Brubaker also won the boys 500 meter freestyle with a time of 5:21.17 and Matthew Luther, also a senior, finished third in the boys 200 meter freestyle.

The Raiders kick started into a great season with these record breaking, state qualifying times!