South Putnam returns to pool with two wins over North Putnam

North Putnam's Carter Thomas (front) won the closest race of the night against South Putnam's Wyatt Kendall in the 100 free Tuesday night, winning with a time of 52.47 to Kendall's 52.97, though the Eagles would come away with wins in both team duals, 104-63 in the boys' meet and 99-52 in the girl's meet.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

BAINBRIDGE – When last they were in the pool competitively, South Putnam took both sides of the Putnam County Swimming and Diving Meet while North Putnam was runner-up on the boys’ side and the girls narrowly third behind Greencastle.

Taking the Tiger Sharks out of the equation Tuesday night, the Eagles still held sway in over the Cougars, winning the boys’ meet 104-63 while the girls won 99-52.

“It was a strong night for the swim teams at North Putnam,” South Putnam head coach Anna Kendall wrote. “Both the girls’ and boys’ squads rolled into Bainbridge after a tough block of winter break training and strolled out victorious over a talented Cougar squad.

“We salute the North Putnam seniors on their senior night. The Cougars have had a lot of success over the past four years and their strong senior class has been a driving force behind that.”

Jonah Taylor led South Putnam’s charge on the night as the only individual on either side to win four events, individually claiming the 100 fly (1:05.06) and the 100 back (1:08.26) while joining Wyatt Kendall, Brent Cunningham and Keaton Chew to win the 200 medley relay (1:51.83) and finished the night with a win in the 400 free relay (3:53.73) with Kendall, Chew and Logan Johnson.

Kendall won the 200 IM (2:25.34) while Cunningham won the 100 breaststroke (1:10.22) and joined Johnson, Luke Hutchison and Landon Chew to win the 200 free relay (1:45.94).

“The boys, in their first meet since reclaiming the Putnam County crown, found a win tonight over the defending WIC champs, giving our fellas some additional momentum as they continue to grind toward the conference and sectional meets,” Kendall noted.

Carter Thomas and Ethan Harrison swept the individual freestyle events for North Putnam, the former winning the 50 free (24.01) and the 100 free (52.47) while Harrison won the 200 free (2:02.87) and the 500 free (5:43.49).

In the girls’ meet, Kallie Pastore and Megan Bumgardner had three wins each for South Putnam, the former winning the 200 IM (2:28.19) and 100 free (59.15) while the latter won the 100 fly (1:12.55) and the 100 back (1:09.12), later combining with Elise Kendall and Josey Helton to win the 400 free relay (4:18.33).

Bella Fanning beat out Helton to win the 100 breaststroke (1:22.47), the latter winning the 50 free (29.60) while Fanning, Carley Dickenson, Stevie Keenan and Molly Trammell combined to win the 200 free relay (2:10.01).

Alaina Chew also won three events on the night to lead the Cougars, winning the 200 free (2:16.16) and the 500 free (5:58.55) while being joined by Addie Jones, Lilly Gaddis and Adelia Thomas in winning the 200 medley relay (2:21.91).

“Our girls, the back-to-back county champs and reigning queens of the WIC, did exactly what good teams do: they took care of business despite feeling the weight of some intense recent training yardage,” Kendall added. “Our young swimmers continued their rapid improvement and our veterans continued to work toward lifetime bests.

“This is a great group of dedicated young people, and we’re happy to see their hard work and commitment rewarded with performances like these.”