The Tallassee swim team splashed its way to a great start.
To open the 2023 season, Tallassee hit the road to Vestavia Hills and competed in the Vestavia/Hoover Sprint Splash. The Tigers were joined by 25 other teams from across the state.
Amongst a lot of competition, Tallassee proved to be one of the best to make the trip as the women’s team finished in fifth place overall while the men’s team placed seventh.
“I thought we did really well,” Tallassee coach John Mask said. “I was tickled. The kids swam really hard. We had a few kids out because they were at the Night of Bands, but overall I was really pleased with their effort. It was a long trip up there and back home, and we were happy with how they all swam.”
In the individual races, it was none other than Macey Stewart who shined for the Tigers.
Stewart is a household name across the AHSAA swimming community as she has won seven state championships during her high school career.
With all eyes on her, she didn’t disappoint in the season opener as she won the gold in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the 50-meter freestyle.
“She’s just phenomenal,” Mask said of Stewart. “Even on her worst day, so to speak, she’s going to perform well. Even if she doesn’t feel well, she’s going to fight and still finish towards the top in any race. Some people have it and some don’t, but she definitely is a natural competitor and she’s going to push herself.”
Ivy Davis also had a good day individually for the women as she finished fifth in the 50-meter butterfly.
In the team 200-meter freestyle relay, Tallassee’s group of Stewart, Davis, Allison Johnson and Ella Chavedo placed sixth. In the medley relay, the same group finished fourth.
Both of the men’s freestyle and medley teams also placed well.
In both the freestyle and the medley, the team of Camden Mask, Tyler Hart, Brady Adams and Adam Aldridge finished seventh.
Mask also had a really good day individually. He finished in the top three in two races as he won the gold medal in the 50-meter breaststroke and bronze medal in the 100 individual medley.
That follows a really good summer where Mask greatly improved in the individual medley. Back in July, Mask won state at the Alabama Recreation and Park Association championships.
The Individual medley race requires swimmers to swim 25 meters in each of the four different strokes. So, he had to swim 25 meters doing each of the butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle.
The breaststroke is Mask’s best race, but he has improved greatly over the other four races and that is evident after this summer and the team’s first race.
“I believe just overall, Camden has gotten so much better,” John Mask said. “He’s always been a breaststroker, but he’s getting better everywhere. Certain things come easier to certain people, and the breaststroke is his best. He works really, really hard.”