As if that representation was not enough -- 12 Bartow athletes swam at the meet at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center -- the performances at state added to the sensational season. Seven races witnessed times that were lower than their state-qualifying predecessors.
For Woodland, the 200 boys medley team swam a 1-minute, 45.69-second race compared to 1:50.50; the 200 boys freestyle team swam its race in 1:33.48 as compared to 1:36.11; and the 400 boys free team finished in 3:26.50, besting its qualifying time of 3:38.22.
Cartersville's 200 girls medley team also trimmed its time by finishing its race in 2:05.00 compared to a state-qualifying time of 2:07.39.
The Lady Purple Hurricanes' Elise Hart improved from 1:01.89 to 58.97 in the 100 butterfly. The freshman finished with a time of 59.95 in the 100 backstroke, better than her qualifying time of 1:04.82. Hart's 10th-place finish in the backstroke gave her the highest finish of any Bartow swimmer at state. She also qualified for the 200 individual medley, 50 free and 100 free -- though she did not compete in those races.
Adairsville's Tyler Ann Herron also improved her state-qualifying time, going from 1:12.19 to 1:10.59 in the 100 breaststroke.
Below is The Daily Tribune News' All-County Swimming Team, including Cartersville's Hart, the Girls Swimmer of the Year, and Woodland's Travis Culp, the Boys Swimmer of the Year.
200-yard Medley Relay
-- Woodland: Travis Culp, Sky Jones, Zach Naelitz, Jason Wood: The Wildcats finished 25th at the state meet with a 1:45.69, which set the school record by 4.5 seconds. The team won the county championship and finished in the top 12 at the region invitational.
-- Cartersville: Elise Hart, Emily Williams, Madeline Braid, Chloe Hobgood: The Lady Hurricanes' team came in two seconds faster in this event at state -- where it finished 36th -- with a time of 2:05.00.
200-yard Freestyle
-- Culp, Woodland: Culp finished in the top six at region and in the top 20 at the Metro Atlanta invitational. He was the county champion in this event and also earned the county swimmer of the meet for the boys. Culp had a top time of 1:56.04 during the season.
-- Alison Warren, Woodland: Warren won the county meet with her top time of the season, a 2:24.07.
200-yard Individual Medley
-- Naelitz, Woodland: Naelitz won at the county meet and was in the top 12 at region. He had a top time of 2:27.62.
-- Hart, Cartersville: Hart won in the county championship in the 200 IM with a time of 2:23.10. She qualified for state, but did not swim in this event.
50-yard Freestyle
-- Shane Walters, Cass: Walters set the school and county record in the 50 free with a time of 23.05. The Darton College signee won the event at county and qualified for state as well.
-- Tyler Ann Herron, Adairsville: Herron won the 50 free at the county meet. She had a top time of 25.51 and qualified for state, where she was disqualified for a false start in the event.
100-yard Butterfly
-- Naelitz, Woodland: Naelitz was a county champion and finished in the top 12 at region in the 100 fly. His top time was 59.67.
-- Hart, Cartersville: The 100 fly was among the five events where Hart qualified for state. She won the county meet with a 1:03.66.
100-yard Freestyle
-- Wood, Woodland: Wood was the county champion in the 100 free and had a top-six finish at region and a top-20 finish at the Metro Atlanta invitational. His time of 50.62 is the second-fastest 100 in Bartow history.
-- Erin Williams, Cartersville: Williams, a member of two state-qualifying relay teams, won the 100 free at county with a time of 1:04.49.
500-yard Freestyle
-- Culp, Woodland: Culp was the county champion in the 500 free, in the top six at region and the top 20 at the Metro Atlanta invite. He had a top time of 5:20.04.
-- Braid, Cartersville: Demonstrating great endurance in the longest race in the pool, Braid won the 500 free at county, finishing in 6:35.35.
200-yard Freestyle Relay
-- Woodland: Culp, Justin Coetzee, Naelitz, Wood: The Wildcats swam this event in 1:33.48 for an 18th-place finish at state; that time set a school record by 1.2 seconds. The team was county champion and was in the top six at region.
-- Cartersville: Erin Williams, Emily Williams, Hobgood, Hart: The Lady Canes were victorious in this event at county and also qualified for state, where they were 46th. The best time of the season for this team was 1:53.95.
100-yard Backstroke
-- Austin Hancock, Adairsville: Hancock took the county meet, placed in the top 12 at region and in the top 20 at the Metro Atlanta invitational. His best time of the season was 1:00.49.
-- Hart, Cartersville: While she did not swim this race at county, the Lady Canes' frosh would go on to qualify for state, where she had a top-10 finish in 59.95.
100-yard Breaststroke
-- Walters, Cass: Walters won this event at the county meet and placed in the top 12 at region. His top time was 1:11.64.
-- Herron, Adairsville: Herron won the county meet with a time of 1:12.74. At state, she bounced back from a DQ in the 50 free to place 20th in the 100 breaststroke, which she finished in 1:10.59.
400-yard Freestyle Relay
-- Woodland: Culp, Coetzee, Naelitz, Wood: The Wildcats shattered the school record by 12.5 seconds with a time of 3:26.50, good for 14th at state. The team won the county championship and finished in the top six at region.
-- Woodland: Kayla Bryant, Ashley Owen, Lexi Davis, Kaiti Meade: The Lady Wildcats grabbed a county championship in this event. During the season, their best time was a 4:09.09.
Honorable mention -- Adairsville: Garrett Alford, Kayla Broughton, Jessica Cochran, Eric Craig, Erin Davis, Annie Hill, Katlyn Robinson, Cole Wallace, Kassidi Woodcum; Cartersville: Gus Rutledge; Cass: Drew Eldridge, Patrick Johnson, Jared Purdy, Collin Rediger; Woodland: Jack Bucher, Bronson Castro, Samantha Patterson, Mathew Wisby, Cody Zaring.