Atomic City swimmers have impressive performances at Lois Weir Invitational

 

After a dreary week, the sun shined on the Atomic City Aquatic Club at its annual Lois Weir Invitational in Oak Ridge.

“This was the largest meet we have hosted in quite a few years, and with the help of the volunteer efforts of our parents we pulled it off without a hitch,” said Coach Mike Bowman. “It was a fantastic meet on a nice weekend.”

The swimmers were impressive as well. In the 8-and-under age group,  Steven Zhukov (8), second overall, won three events, placed second in five more, and took third twice. Elijah Linkous (7) had nine top 6 finishes and brought home a third-place trophy. Trinity Byars (7) and Monica White (7) had outstanding debut home meets for the girls.

Daniel Arnold (10) took home the 10-and-under boys all-around trophy with 10 victories and two other top 3 finishes. Thias Brown (10) challenged Arnold with four second-place finishes and five other top 5 placements en route to second. Egan Rawn (10) finished in the top 7 eight times, and Loy Creed (10) and Dylan Arnold (10) also scored points for the team.

In an encore battle of 10-and-under girls, Mason Fischer (10) edged Madeline Linkous (10) for the top points overall trophy. Fischer won five events, came in second in six, and third in one. Linkous won seven events, took second in three, and fourth in one. Abigail King (10) earned a third-place trophy with eight top 5 finishes. Elizabeth Augustus (10), Sidney Ozcan (10) and Aubrey Hall (10) all added points for the team.

Vidar Hondorf (12) was the ACAC headliner for the 11-12 boys, winning the 100 Breast and placing in the top 6 in eight other races. Ethan Chou (12) made his presence felt with seven top 5 finishes. Jake Cheney (12) and Zachary Telep (12) also contributed points for the team.

Kamden Batchik (12) asserted herself for the girls, winning both the runner up trophy and three individual events, taking second in six, and also bringing home a third-place finish.  Sarah Walker (12) won the 50 Fly and had six other top 5 finishes.

Daeton Byars (14) and Marcus Lee (13) scored points for the boys in the 13-14 age group.

The girls shined, led by Sydney Goodman (14), who won the 100 and 200 Breast, had five other top 7 finishes, and brought home the third-place trophy. Madeline Cottrell (13) and Chase Lahr (13) earned the same amount of overall points for the age group, and Lucy Groscost (14) was just one point behind them. Payton Benko (14), Hannah Bradbury (13), Alison Craig (14), and Natalie Ingle (13) all had strong performances, bringing home points for the team and showcasing the incredible depth of this age group.

In the 15-and-over age group, the boys were led by Tyr Hondorf (15), who took second in the 1000 Free, Gary Hardin (15) who placed fifth in the 1000 Free, and Nathan Benko (15).

Stevie Logan (15) had two top 3 finishes for the girls, and Sydney Ragsdale (15) and Kristen Cannon (16) also scored points for the girls.

After the meet, Coach Bowman was very pleased with his swimmers’ performances.

“We saw several great things for where we are in the season,” Bowman said. “Many of our athletes have been working very hard and training rigorously. We are in a very good place given the increased intensity of our training, and our Nashville meet in December is shaping up to be a very good showing. The coaching staff is very excited!”

For more information about ACAC, visit swim4acac.com, call Bowman at (865) 300-2305, or text Kristi Houk at (865) 556-4070.

Chip Fischer is ACAC public relations chair.