Members of the Athens swim team who participated in the Class 6A-7A North Section Swim Meet pose for a photo before leaving for the meet. The girls who competed include Emily Driskell, Madelyn Farmer, Sydney Byington, Anna Holland and Claire Martin. The boys who competed include John Ray Gentilcore, Connor Hill, Evan Alexander, Noah Bowman and Bo Hoover. All five of the boys advanced to the state meet in the two relays, while Hill advanced after winning his two individual races.

The Athens swim team had one of its best performances at the Class 6A-7A North Sectional Swim Meet last weekend at the Huntsville Aquatic Center.

All five Athens male swimmers who participated qualified for the state meet, which will be next weekend at Auburn University.

Both Athens boys relay teams qualified for the state meet, while junior Connor Hill qualified individually in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard butterfly.

Hill didn’t just qualify for the state meet, he smashed the competition in both of his individual races. He finished first in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 52.33 seconds, winning the event by 2 seconds. He was even more impressive in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning in a time of 59.41 seconds. He was the only swimmer to break the 1:00 barrier in the event, and he won the final by more than 3 seconds.

“He went under the 1-minute mark in the 100 breast for the first time, and that’s something he’s been working really hard to do,” said Athens swim coach Anna Underwood. “He’s looking to better those times even more at state.”

Swimmers can qualify for the state meet either by finishing in the top three in their event or by bettering a qualifying state time.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Hill, Evan Alexander, Bo Hoover and John Ray Gentilcore finished eighth in the final, but completed the race in 1:41.41, just better than the 1:41.82 qualifying time.

The 200-yard medley relay team of Hill, Alexander, Gentilcore and Noah Bowman also finished eighth in the final, but easily bettered the qualifying time of 1:55.61 by completing the race in 1:53.95.

“Since the AHSAA initiated the qualifying times, this is the first time Athens has had a boys relay meet the qualifying time,” Underwood said. “It was very exciting for them.”

The state meet will be Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Auburn University’s Martin Aquatics Center. Underwood said the team is looking forward to the event.

“They are very excited to be heading to state,” she said. “They’re ready for the opportunity and they’re aiming to swim their best and perform well at Auburn.”