Hopkinsville’s bid to repeat as Region I boys’ swim champions ended with a third place finish Saturday at the Paducah Athletic Club.
Chase Atkins and Koby Batts each won an individual title, and the 400-yard free relay team repeated as region champs.
Swimmers placing in the top 15 for Hopkinsville were:
Chase Atkins won the boys 200-yard free and finished third in the 500-yard free
Koby Batts won the 100-yard fly in a time of 56.28 seconds
Jadyn Hicks second in the 500-yard free
Bryce Robinson second in the 200-yard IM, second in the 100-yard breaststroke
Spencer Walker third in the 50-yard free, second in the 100-yard free
Ryker Glathar fourth in the 200-yard free, fifth in the 500-yard free
Bryce Hanson fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke
Mark Poindexter 12th in the 50-yard free, 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke
The 400-yard free relay team of Chase Atkins, Koby Batts, Jadyn Hicks, and Spencer Walker won in a time of 3:28.02
The 200-yard medley relay team of Koby Batts, Bryce Robinson, Jadyn Hicks, and Spencer Walker finished second
The 200-yard free relay team of Koby Batts, Bryce Hanson, Chase Atkins, and Bryce Robinson finished third
Hicks was disqualified after winning the 200-yard freestyle race for what meet officials called a sportsmanship issue for slinging his equipment after exiting the pool. Hicks said he was frustrated with his time, and Hopkinsville coach Keith Marquess said Hicks had even congratulated the other swimmers before leaving the pool.
“Jadyn is one of the most Christian kids on our team and always displays good sportsmanship,” Marquess said. “Another swimmer was DQ’ed for the same thing, so they were consistent in applying the rule.”
Hopkinsville was denied a repeat as a region champion. Madisonville took the title with 416 points. The loss of the first place points in the 200-yard freestyle bumped Hopkinsville to a third place finish (296) behind Murray (306).
“The DQ hurt, but we had several other areas where we could have made up those points. It’s just a numbers game, and we only had eight people swimming Saturday,” Marquess said.
Hopkinsville will take at least four swimmer and two relay teams to the Pannell Swim Shop/KHSAA State Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 22 at the Ralph Wright Natatorium on the University of Louisville campus.
