Murphy – The Cherokee County Aquatic Club held their first home meet of the summer at the Murphy Health & Fitness pool.
The aquatic club hosted Smoky Mountain Aquatic Club from Waynesville on July 1. Kicking off the meet were the relay events, but the Cherokee County team didn’t have anyone competing in the relays.
The first event with Cherokee County swimmers was the ages 8 and under 25-yard freestyle, where PJ Hernandez came in third place with a time of 30.05 in the boys event. Opi Whitney came in first in the girls event with a time of 25.58. After his swim, they both got to ring the bell, signifying a new personal-best time in the event.
In the girls 9-10 50-yard freestyle, Lorelei Whitney came in first place, while Oceana Vaughn came in seventh place. Whitney’s time was 35.71, while Vaughn’s time was 54.93.
In the boys 9-10 50-yard freestyle, Elijah Whitney came in first place with a time of 38.91.
Maxx Colandrea came in second place in the boys 50-yard freestyle in the 11-12 age group with a time of 32.99. Estelle Vaughn got first place in the girls 13-14 50-yard freestyle with a time of 34.13.
In the boys 13-14 50-yard free style event, Matteo Colandrea came in first with a time of 31.48. Nico Kissel came in third with a time of 48.09.
The girls 15-18 50-yard freestyle was won by Fern Crayton with a time of 29.18. Less than a second behind her was Sophia Evans in second place.
In third place was Ada Lovelace, then in fourth was Brianna Ramirez-Jaime. Jenny Ramirez-Jaime rounded out the top five in fifth place.
Elijah Whitney swam a new personal-best time in the boys 9-10 100-yard individual medley. He swam the IM in 1:39.31.
Also swimming in IM events were Estelle Vaughn and Ada Lovelace. Vaughn came in first in the girls 13-14 200-yard IM with a time of 3:27.14. Lovelace came in first in the girls 15-18 200-yard IM with a time of 3:32.99.
Following the individual medley events were the backstroke swims.
Opi Whitney came in first place in the girl 8 and under 25-yard backstroke with a time of 28.25. PJ Hernandez came in third place in the boys 8 and under 25-yard backstroke with a time of 36.15, his new personal-best in the event.
In the girls 9-10 50-yard backstroke, Lorelei Whitney came in second place, while Oceana Vaughn came in seventh. Whitney had a time of 43.83, while Vaughn’s time was 1:04.66.
Matteo Colandrea came in first place in the boys 13-14 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:21.96. Nico Kissel came in third place and set a new personal-best time of 2:26.13.
To wrap up the backstroke events, Ada Lovelace took first place in the girls 15-18 100-yard with a time of 1:40.32. Brianna Ramirez-Jaime came in second with a time of 1:43.84, while Jenny Ramirez-Jaime came in third with a time of 1:58.81.
Kicking off the breaststroke events, Opi Whitney came in second in the girls 8 and under 25-yard breaststroke with a time of 37.70, setting a new personal-best time.
In the girls 9-10 50-yard breaststroke, Lorelei Whitney came in third with a time of 50.33. In boys 9-10 50-yard breaststroke, Elijah Whitney came in first with a time of 53.52.
Maxx Colandrea set a new personal best in the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 43.69, as he came in second place in the boys 11-12 age group.
Estelle Vaughn came in first place in the girls 13-14 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:42.28. Matteo Colandrea came in first in the boys 13-14 100-yard breaststroke.
Wrapping up the breaststroke swims was the girls 15-18 age group. Fern Crayton picked up her second event win of the meet with a first-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke. Her time was 1:23.55.
Sophia Evans came in second place with a time of 1:36.47, Brianna Ramirez-Jaime came in second with a time of 1:48.14 and Jenny Ramirez-Jaime came in fourth with a time of 2:02.18.
In event 61 of the meet, Opi Whitney set a new team record in the girls 8 and under 50-yard freestyle with a time of 55.87. Her record breaking time won her the event for her third event win of the meet.
In the boys 8 and under 50-yard freestyle, PJ Hernandez came in first with a time of 1:14.20.
Lorelei Whitney came in first place with a time of 1:24.79 in the girls 9-10 100-yard freestyle. Oceana Vaughn came in sixth in the event with a time of 2:13.26.
Elijah Whitney came in first place in the boys 9-10 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:26.13.
In the boys 11-12 age group, Maxx Colandrea came in first place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:12.86.
In the girls 13-14 age group, Estelle Vaughn came in first in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:22.19. In boys 13-14, Matteo Colandrea came in first and Nico Kissel came in third in the 100-yard freestyle. Colandrea’s time was 1:11.88, while Kissel’s time was 1:55.10.
To wrap up the 100-yard freestyle events, Fern Crayton earned her fourth first-place finish of the meet. Her time was 1:04.30 in the girls 15-18 100-yard freestyle.
Sophia Evans came in second place with a time of 1:07.10 and Ada Lovelace came in third with a time of 1:19.13. Brianna Ramirez-Jaime came in third with a time of 1:32.96, setting her new personal-best time in the event. Jenny Ramirez-Jaime came in fifth with a time of 1:44.43.
The final disciple swam at the meet was butterfly, where two county athletes swam.
In the boys 13-14, Nico Kissel, set a new personal-best time of 2:22.60 in the 100-yard butterfly coming in first. Also coming in first place was Sophia Evans in the girls 15-18 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:34.40.
The Cherokee County Aquatic Club will continue to attend meets throughout the summer as the fall season quickly approaches.