Ridge Championships: All Saints Sweeps Boys, Girls Team Titles

By MATT COTE

NYT REGIONAL MEDIA GROUP

WINTER HAVEN | The All Saints swim team did something it had never done before at the Ridge Championships swim meet at Rowdy Gaines Pool.

 

It swept Winter Haven.

 

"It's the first time at this event we have ever won," All Saints boys and girls coach Stacy Walsh said. "We've never taken home Ridge for boys and girls."

 

The Saints only won two events all night.

 

Mabry Craddock won the Girls 1 meter diving with a score of 183.45, and the All Saints team of Maxwell Hewett, Steven Moore, Travis Methot and Aaron Hendricks won the boys 200-yard freestyle relay.

 

"I don't think they could do it without everybody," Walsh said. "You get the points from some of the younger kids you have, but what's good for me is that I have sixth graders through 12th graders. So I've got sixth graders competing against seniors."

 

On the girls side, All Saints scored 403 points, beating second-place Winter Haven by 12 points. On the boys side, All Saints scored 512 points to edge the Blue Devils by 19 points.

 

"Where we got the points was in the second, third, fourth, fifth places," Hendricks, All Saints team captain, said. "Its fantastic. We're a small team and we've never been competitive with Winter Haven on this level. I've been on the team for seven years and this is the first time we've really come to fruition as better than Winter Haven, which is awesome."

 

Winter Haven won a total of 12 events at the meet, but still fell to the Saints.

 

"Winter Haven has obviously been an amazing rival to have throughout all of this," Hendricks said.

 

The Blue Devils team of Emilee Curran, Alexandra Kemp, Bethany Dawson and Connor Van Meter won the girls 200-yard medley relay, and their counterparts on the boys side, Jordan Kendall, I.V. Simmons, Luke Kendall and David Lambert won the boys event.

 

That same boys team won the boys 400-yard freestyle relay to end the meet.

 

Lambert also took home the 100 freestyle and the 50 freestyle. Simmons won the 200 yard IM. James Voisard won the 1-meter diving for the Blue Devils.

 

Van Meter won the girls 50 freestyle.

 

Luke Kendall won the 100 butterfly, and Jordan Kendall won the 500 freestyle and the 100 yard backstroke.

 

Emilee Curran won the Girls 100 backstroke.

 

Sierra Defoe of Lake Region won the 200 freestyle.

 

Ian Stewart of Auburndale rounded out the winners for Polk County, taking the 200 freestyle.