Decatur Swimmers Dominate at States

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity swimming teams turned in strong performances at the state Class 3A-2A-1A South Region meet last week, with the boys finishing first and the girls coming in third.

The Seahawks boys were dominating at the state region meet, finishing with 349 total team points to claim the title. Easton was second with 254 points, while La Plata was third with 246.5. All in all, the Seahawk boys won eight individual events and placed high in several others. The girls’ team finished third overall with 257 points. Cambridge-South Dorchester won the girls’ meet with 300 points.

The Decatur boys’ 200-meter medley relay team, made up of Shayne Custodio, Austin Deppe, Garrett Neville and Jack Blazer, finished first in the that event. The Seahawks also won the mens’ 200-meter freestyle relay with Christian Yandle, Jake Middleton, Neville and Deppe. In the 400-meter freestyle relay, Deppe, Yandle, Blazer and Custodio won the title.

The Seahawk boys also won several individual events. For example, freshman Jake Middleton won the men’s 500 freestyle with a record time of 5:17:77. Middleton also won the 200-meter freestyle, finishing in 1:56:22. Jake Blazer won the men’s 50-meter freestyle, Shayne Custodio won the men’s 100-meter butterfly, Blazer won the men’s 100-meter freestyle, and Custodio won the men’s 100-meter backstroke. In the men’s 200-meter individual medley, Neville was third while Jeff Middleton finished ninth. Austin Deppe was fourth in the men’s 50-meter freestyle and Jeff Middleton was fourth in the men’s 100-meter backstroke.

The Seahawk women also enjoyed a successful state regional meet with the third-place finish. The team of Courtney Walls, Ali McLoota, Julia Wellen and Brianna Carroll finished fourth in the women’s 200-meter medley relay. Carroll was second in the women’s 200-meter freestyle, McLoota was sixth in the 200-meter individual medley, and Walls was fifth in the 50-meter freestyle.

Carroll finished second in the women’s 200-meter butterfly, while Wellen was fifth. Shelly Smith was eighth in the 100-meter freestyle; Cailey O’Brien was seventh in the 500-meter freestyle, while Sara Prengaman was ninth; Wellen was seventh in the 100-meter backstroke; and McLoota finished second in the 100-meter breaststroke, while Hailey Gibbs was fourth.

The Seahawk girls also did well in the relays. In the 200-meter freestyle relay, Walls, Wellen, McLoota and Carroll finished third, while the team of Cece Pyles, Jessica O’Neill, Shelly Smith and Sara Prengaman finished sixth in the 400-meter freestyle relay.