By Nick Nunn
Staff Writer

This past weekend, the Morgan County Marlins swim team competed at the 23rd Annual Lanier Aquatics Winter Invitational.
The 116 events spanned three days, beginning on Friday afternoon and ending Sunday night.
Andy Dunston, the Marlins’ head coach, described how the team was able to cope with the long hours at the event.
“It was a very long weekend of swimming, with Saturday being the longest day,” said Dunston. “The swimmers who qualified and stayed for the finals round that night finished their last races about 13 hours after they first walked through the doors.”
The lengthy days weren’t the only obstacles that the swimmers had to overcome this weekend.
“This is never an easy meet, and they all overcame a lot of adversity: the pool water was quite cold and was best described by one of my swimmers as ‘paralyzing’, the venue was at times crowded, and the competition was very fierce.”
Despite the less-than-perfect conditions at the event, Morgan County’s swimmers were still able to do well in many of the races.
In addition to placing in the top ten in seven of the Girls 10 & Under individual races, Smith Cathey and Karalynn were members of the Morgan County relay teams that placed second in the 200-Yard Free Relay and fourth in the 200-Yard Medley Relay.
Continuing her streak of exceptional performances, Mary Claire Cardwell placed third in the Girls 13-14 100-Yard Backstroke, fifth in the 100-Yard Breaststroke, seventh in the 200-Yard Individual Medley, and eighth in the 50-Yard Freestyle.
Coach Dunston also wanted to mention the team’s ability to compose themselves professionally at larger events, such as the Lanier Aquatics Winter Invitational.
“I am extremely proud of all of our swimmers and families,” began Dunston.
“All of the swimmers competed exceptionally well, and carried themselves with dignity and professionalism throughout the weekend. I could not ask any more out of such a talented group of young swimmers.”
The next event on the schedule for the Marlins is the Senior Short Course State Championship, which will take place Dec. 7-9 at Georgia Tech.

Printed in the December 6, 2012 edition