For the 15th year in a row, the Panthers dominated the annual county swim meet to remain the county champions, an achievement senior Johanna Goldblatt is proud of.

“It was a proud moment for me, not just to gain the title again, but to know that I am ending my high school career the right way,” Goldblatt said.
The Panthers defeated McIntosh, Whitewater and Fayette County Jan. 16 at Summit YMCA in Newnan.

“At the end of the meet we had to wait 40 minutes to receive the final results,” coach Robin Huggins said. “The touch pads in the pool were broken, so we had manned timers compile their results into a computer for every event. It was nerve-wracking.”

The Panthers won by 25 total points, followed by McIntosh. Whitewater finished third followed by Fayette County.

“I was proud of the team for working so hard,” Huggins said. “Kylee Bogumill and Donna Blaum broke county records.”

Bogumill is a freshman who placed first in the women’s 200 yard freestyle with a record-breaking time of 1:59.32, replacing the previous time of 2:00.02 by .30 seconds. Blaum, a sophomore, swam the women’s 50 yard freestyle in 24.75, breaking the old record of 24.93 by .22 seconds.

“I was so excited when I broke the 50 free record,” Blaum said. “I really wanted to keep the victory streak going. The whole team made it happen.”
Starr’s Mill opened its doors 18 years ago in 1997, and since then, the swim team has taken home the county trophy 15 times. Some of the freshmen on the team weren’t even born the last time the Panthers did not hold the title.

“[Continuing] the 15-year streak has been a combined effort by both the girls’ team and the boys’,” coach Derek Abrams said. According to Abrams, senior John Michael Hall played a key role in securing the victory during the county championship when he pulled ahead of the other swimmers in the final leg of the men’s 400 yard freestyle relay. “As soon as my body hit the water, I wasn’t nervous anymore. All I could think about was swimming harder than the other guys.”

With senior leaders like Goldblatt and Hall, the swim team remains optimistic about its chances for success at the Feb. 7 state finals at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Several swimmers have already qualified for state, including Bogumill, the freshman record-breaker.

“Making it to state as a freshman is an honor,” Huggins said. “Most swimmers don’t make the list until their junior or senior year.”

Although the swim team is well-trained and disciplined, it lacks divers to compete in the four diving events at the state meet. Swim teams without divers automatically lose points in those events. However, Huggins said, this does not completely cripple her team’s chances of winning.

“Teams with divers have a greater potential to score points since they can enter more events,” Huggins said. “There are no facilities near us where we can practice diving, so it is a non-issue. It is possible for us to win state since we train our swimmers to recover the points we lose in the four diving events.”

Swimmers qualify for state based on their speed, endurance and times from weekly meets. According to Abrams, Goldblatt and Hall have already qualified for state along with junior Junhan Lee, sophomore Nick Palmer and freshman Trey Lewis. Senior Ana Hammond, Blaum and sophomore Rachel Goldblatt also qualified. For the Goldblatt sisters, it will mark their last competition together at a high school meet.

“I’m really looking forward to competing in state,” Johanna Goldblatt said. “I want to place first in the 100 yard backstroke. That would be the perfect way to end my high school swimming career.”

Rachel Goldblatt will be swimming alongside her sister in both the 200 and 400 yard freestyle relays.

“It’s great to have someone at home and at practice who can keep me motivated,” Rachel said about her sister. “I hope she’s able to swim at her best. She deserves to be rewarded for all her hard work.”