holmes leads area swimmers at state
LEXINGTON | It takes a perfect race to win the 50-yard freestyle. For the 20 to 21 seconds the boys in the Pannell Swim Shop/KHSAA State Championship finals need to complete the race, the margin between first and eighth is razor thin.
That is why the event is called the “splash and dash”. In those few seconds, you either have it or you don’t.
Just ask Ashland’s Calyx Holmes, who despite being seeded second overall entering the weekend finished sixth is his marquee event in Saturday evening’s finals.
“I went out and felt good. I was like third going into the wall. Coming off I was like sixth or seventh, so my turn was really bad once again,” said the junior who was making his fourth appearance at the state meet. “The 50 has to be a perfect race if you want to win it. I was very sluggish this afternoon and I didn’t bounce back well enough.”
It was not all bad for Holmes. Two events later he returned and placed fourth in the 100-yard free.
“I missed two turns almost and I couldn’t get it moving again, but I was only point four (seconds) off my best,” he said. “I felt better, but the kid right next to me (Louisville Collegiate’s Alex Brehm) just blew it out of the water and I just tried to stay up there with him and it was just kind of crazy.”
Ashland coach Billy Cox was pleased with his performance in the 100y.
“(I was impressed with) how good he was off the start and his underwater dolphin kicks were superb,” Cox said.
Holmes was not the only area participant to make it into the evening finals session. Rowan County junior Dylan Midkiff qualified for the consolation finals in the 50y free. A first-time state qualifier, Midkiff was 15th in 22.46.
“I’m very proud of Dylan. He’s worked very hard and came a long way in a short time,” Rowan County coach Steve Cyrus said. “(The 50y finals was an) interesting race. He’s not been in a venue like that. Everything was different from the blocks to the bulkhead.
“He broke down his own race. He went a little deep and came into the wall a little short,” Cyrus continued. “As inexperienced as he is, he’s going to take what he learned and use (it) going into his next races.”
Holmes had his best performance in Saturday morning’s 100y free preliminary race. He entered as the fourth overall seed with a time of 47.71 and improved by one spot and dropped nearly a second off his qualifying time with a mark of 46.91.
“His best race was in the prelims. I hate to stay that,” said Cox. “He did very good on his splits, the way he took it out and brought it back with his pace. That was his personal best.”
In the 50y free prelims, Holmes had trouble with his turn and fell off his regional time of 21.04, but still finished fifth in 21.45.
”He had the fastest first 25 (yards), that was one of the highlights,” Cox said. “He had a lot of positives, but we have some things to work on.”
Midkiff had a strong race in the 50y free prelims, finishing 13th in 22.19. He was seeded 19th with a time of 22.67.
More area swimmers competed in Saturday’s prelims, but no one else advanced to the evening finals.
Midkiff swam the opening leg of Rowan County’s 4x50-yard free relay which finished 32nd in 1:39.76. Junior Trad Egleston, senior Romeo Perez and junior Joe Ammons rounded out the relay quartet.
Ashland freshman Reece Pennington finished 28th in the 200-yard free in 1:50.36 and 29th in the 500-yard free in 5:01.86. Johnson Central freshman Jacob Rubado was 41st in the 50y free in 24.26. Rubado joined junior Ryan Finney, sophomore Jaden Mayhan and freshman Nick Hardin to place 37th in the 4x100-yard free relay in 3:53.49; and junior Nathaniel Kumar, junior Conner Finney and Ryan Finney to take 38th in the 4x50-yard free relay in 1:42.20.
The girls’ state championship took place on Friday. Fleming County eighth-grader Ariel Grannis led the way by placing 22nd in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:01.60.
“It was a very good showing for her. She was first in her heat which was awesome,” said Fleming County coach Austin Hart. “Her starts and turns were really good.”
Sister Leia Grannis, a junior, was 35th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:02.18 and 39th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.68.
“It was just an awesome day to show how hard these girls have worked all season,” Hart said. “Both girls show up at the high school and lift at 6:30 a.m. four days a week and practice in the pool after school five days a week. Both work hard all year and to see them succeed on Friday at the state meet is what it’s all about.”
Boyd County freshman Abby Christian finished 39th in the 100-yard freestyle in 56.52 and 40th in the 50-yard free in 25.62, with Russell sophomore Jasmine Webb claiming 36th in the 100y free in 55.56.
Sacred Heart’s girls (503 points) and St. Xavier’s boys (592) dominated the meets, each winning the team titles with three times as many points as the runner-up. Those honors went to Manual (159 points) on the girls’ side, and Highlands (193 points) on the boys’ side. Ashland’s boys finished in 18th with 28 points, with Rowan County tying for 39th with two. None of the other area teams which had representatives qualify scored.
That is why the event is called the “splash and dash”. In those few seconds, you either have it or you don’t.
Just ask Ashland’s Calyx Holmes, who despite being seeded second overall entering the weekend finished sixth is his marquee event in Saturday evening’s finals.
“I went out and felt good. I was like third going into the wall. Coming off I was like sixth or seventh, so my turn was really bad once again,” said the junior who was making his fourth appearance at the state meet. “The 50 has to be a perfect race if you want to win it. I was very sluggish this afternoon and I didn’t bounce back well enough.”
It was not all bad for Holmes. Two events later he returned and placed fourth in the 100-yard free.
“I missed two turns almost and I couldn’t get it moving again, but I was only point four (seconds) off my best,” he said. “I felt better, but the kid right next to me (Louisville Collegiate’s Alex Brehm) just blew it out of the water and I just tried to stay up there with him and it was just kind of crazy.”
Ashland coach Billy Cox was pleased with his performance in the 100y.
“(I was impressed with) how good he was off the start and his underwater dolphin kicks were superb,” Cox said.
Holmes was not the only area participant to make it into the evening finals session. Rowan County junior Dylan Midkiff qualified for the consolation finals in the 50y free. A first-time state qualifier, Midkiff was 15th in 22.46.
“I’m very proud of Dylan. He’s worked very hard and came a long way in a short time,” Rowan County coach Steve Cyrus said. “(The 50y finals was an) interesting race. He’s not been in a venue like that. Everything was different from the blocks to the bulkhead.
“He broke down his own race. He went a little deep and came into the wall a little short,” Cyrus continued. “As inexperienced as he is, he’s going to take what he learned and use (it) going into his next races.”
Holmes had his best performance in Saturday morning’s 100y free preliminary race. He entered as the fourth overall seed with a time of 47.71 and improved by one spot and dropped nearly a second off his qualifying time with a mark of 46.91.
“His best race was in the prelims. I hate to stay that,” said Cox. “He did very good on his splits, the way he took it out and brought it back with his pace. That was his personal best.”
In the 50y free prelims, Holmes had trouble with his turn and fell off his regional time of 21.04, but still finished fifth in 21.45.
”He had the fastest first 25 (yards), that was one of the highlights,” Cox said. “He had a lot of positives, but we have some things to work on.”
Midkiff had a strong race in the 50y free prelims, finishing 13th in 22.19. He was seeded 19th with a time of 22.67.
More area swimmers competed in Saturday’s prelims, but no one else advanced to the evening finals.
Midkiff swam the opening leg of Rowan County’s 4x50-yard free relay which finished 32nd in 1:39.76. Junior Trad Egleston, senior Romeo Perez and junior Joe Ammons rounded out the relay quartet.
Ashland freshman Reece Pennington finished 28th in the 200-yard free in 1:50.36 and 29th in the 500-yard free in 5:01.86. Johnson Central freshman Jacob Rubado was 41st in the 50y free in 24.26. Rubado joined junior Ryan Finney, sophomore Jaden Mayhan and freshman Nick Hardin to place 37th in the 4x100-yard free relay in 3:53.49; and junior Nathaniel Kumar, junior Conner Finney and Ryan Finney to take 38th in the 4x50-yard free relay in 1:42.20.
The girls’ state championship took place on Friday. Fleming County eighth-grader Ariel Grannis led the way by placing 22nd in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:01.60.
“It was a very good showing for her. She was first in her heat which was awesome,” said Fleming County coach Austin Hart. “Her starts and turns were really good.”
Sister Leia Grannis, a junior, was 35th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:02.18 and 39th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.68.
“It was just an awesome day to show how hard these girls have worked all season,” Hart said. “Both girls show up at the high school and lift at 6:30 a.m. four days a week and practice in the pool after school five days a week. Both work hard all year and to see them succeed on Friday at the state meet is what it’s all about.”
Boyd County freshman Abby Christian finished 39th in the 100-yard freestyle in 56.52 and 40th in the 50-yard free in 25.62, with Russell sophomore Jasmine Webb claiming 36th in the 100y free in 55.56.
Sacred Heart’s girls (503 points) and St. Xavier’s boys (592) dominated the meets, each winning the team titles with three times as many points as the runner-up. Those honors went to Manual (159 points) on the girls’ side, and Highlands (193 points) on the boys’ side. Ashland’s boys finished in 18th with 28 points, with Rowan County tying for 39th with two. None of the other area teams which had representatives qualify scored.
pre-meet notes:
boys' TEAMSPl. Name Team Scores
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girls' TEAMSPl. Name Team Scores
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boys' individualsPl. Name Team Scores
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girls' individualsPl. Name Team Scores
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