Four athletes from Southern Eagle Aquatics (SEGA) will compete in the semi-annual Georgia Swimming state championship meets throughout July.
Georgia Swimming, a local division of USA Swimming, the governing body for competitive swimming in the US Olympic Movement, will host an age group championship for 14 & under athletes July 15-18 at Georgia Tech, and a senior state championship (all ages) at the University of Georgia July 23-25. Both competitions will take place in the 50-meter pool, the same pool length utilized in the Olympic games.
For the age group championship meet, Jada Fedrick (10, Cobbtown) has qualified in the 50 & 100 freestyle, 50 butterfly, and 100 breaststroke; Kenny Grifith (11, Brooklet) will compete in 9 events (50, 100, 200, and 400 freestyle; 50, 100, and 200 butterfly; 200 & 400 Individual Medley); Cade Tysinger (14, Statesboro) will swim in the 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle. Mary Gen Williams (17, Metter) will compete in the 50 breaststroke at the Senior State championships.
“Jada has qualified for the age group state meet in her first season competing in USA Swimming, and she loves to race,” said head coach Beau Caldwell. “She’s been a terrific addition to our team!”
Caldwell noted of Tysinger, “Cade will be returning for his 3rd AG State meet and has made significant improvements each season in his qualifying and performance. Each season he’s able to stay ahead of the curve and add to his lineup, breaking through faster qualifying standards for older ages.”
Griffith, also competing in his 3rd AG State meet, will have the busiest schedule out of the SEGA athletes, competing in 9 events, the maximum allowed per qualifier. “Kenny’s commitment each day at practice matches that of someone with his meet workload. He’ll get a chance to compete against the top athletes in his age-group over several different disciplines,” Caldwell said.
Williams, like Tysinger, has had to re-qualify for championship meets each season against ever changing qualifying times.
“Once again, Mary Gen has earned her way to a new meet through reinventing some stroke techniques and adjusting priorities along the way to get there. She sets high standards for herself and follows through on achievement,” Caldwell said of the Trinity Christian School rising senior.
Since its inception in 2019, SEGA has had athletes qualify for each contested Senior State championship and 3 of 4 contested Age-Group state championships.
SEGA is a registered team within USA Swimming and US Masters Swimming, offering competitive swimming opportunities for youth and adults. Practices are held at Splash in the Boro pool and offered nearly 11 months out of the year. For interest and inquiries, email swimsega@gmail.com or visit us on Instagram @swimsega.
