GA Southeastern Meet of Champions & GA Best of The South Championships
- March 9-12, 2023 & March 10-12, 2023
- Augusta Aquatic Center, Augusta & McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results on MeetMobile: “2023 Southerstern Swim Meet Of Champions” & “2023 Swim Atlanta Best of the South”
The Southeastern Meet of Champions and the Best of the South Championships wrapped up early last month in Georgia. Both meets attracted top club swimmers of all ages from Georgia and surrounding areas.
Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club took home the combined team title at the Southeastern Meet of Champions, while host team Swim Atlanta dominated at the Best of the South with 6395 points overall.
Team Scores – Southeastern Meet of Champions:
- Chattahoochee Gold Swim Club – 1829
- Aiken-Augusta Swim League – 1723
- Gwinnett Aquatics – 1284
Team Scores – Best of the South Championships:
- Swim Atlanta – 6395
- Mecklenburg Swim Association – 4470.5
- Team Greenville – 2046
15-year-old Baylor Stanton of Gwinnett Aquatics had an outstanding showing at the Southeastern Meet of Champions, collecting five individual wins. He set huge personal bests in the freestyle events, highlighted by a 9:05.98 in the 1000. That time ranks him 59th all-time in the 15-16 age group, and qualifies him for Nationals this summer.
Stanton also dropped over five seconds in the 500 free (4:24.01) and a second and a half in the 200 free (1:37.19). His performance in the 200 moved him to 93rd all-time, while he climbed to 95th in the 500. In addition, Stanton clipped his best 100 fly and 50 free times by a few tenths, clocking times of 48.76 and 20.65.
On the girl’s side of the Southeastern Meet of Champions, 16-year-old Olivia Stewart captured five victories. She swam a best time by over two seconds in the 200 breast to log a 2:16.29 in finals. Her other wins included the 200 IM (2:05.53), 100 breast (1:02.11), 200 free (1:52.67), and 100 free (52.03), with all but the 100 breast marking best times.
Meanwhile at the Best of the South Championships, 17-year-old Katie Christopherson from Swim Atlanta recorded four personal best times en route to winning six events. Christopherson, a Virginia commit, dropped over a second in the 200 IM to hit a 1:55.49. That time would have made the B-final of the 200 IM at NCAAs this year, coming in at 15th in prelims.
In addition to the 200 IM, Christopherson swam a best time of 4:16.88 in the 200 IM, dropping nearly seven seconds from her season best last year. Rounding her best times was the 100 free (49.08) and 100 IM (54.05).
Georgia commit Tomas Koski put up a handful of best times also. He dropped a couple tenths in the 100 free to record a 43.27, while in the 200 free he set a best time by about a second for a 1:33.85. Koski’s 200 freestyle would have made him Georgia’s 4th-fastest performer this past season.
Ben Irwin, who will head to the Naval Academy this fall, had a fantastic race in the 200 fly. He set a personal best by over two seconds to record a 1:43.68, which would have been the fastest time for Navy this year by over a second.
Another outstanding swimmer at the Best of the South Championships was 12-year-old Austin Klemmer from Swim Atlanta, who won all nine of his individual events. Highlighting his weekend was the 100 fly, where he set a best time by nearly a second to post a 56.60. He also hit best times in the 100 IM (58.43), 50 fly (25.95), 100 back (58.88), and 50 back (27.33).