CHS relay team makes history at states

CARY -- jgreen@newsobserver.com

In the decade-plus history of the Clayton High School swim teams, the Comets have had several individuals post solid finishes – but never had a relay team finish inside the top-10 at the state meet.

That all changed at this year’s Class 4-A State Swimming and Diving Championships at Triangle Aquatic Center.

Clayton’s boys’ 200-yard freestyle relay team, made up of Austin Fentress, Alex Simpson, Nolan Quinn and Brett Bailey, finished with a 1:31.28 – good enough for seventh in the state, the highest finish ever for a Comets’ relay team.

“Their best time of the season was at the state finals and that’s the way it should be,” said Clayton first-year coach Marty Ringgold. “We were consistently 1:35 or 1:36 in the 200 free, but at the regionals we went 1:33 and then we hit 1:31 at states. We were really shaving some time off at the end and that excited everybody.”

Going into states, Ringgold said he would have been happy breaking into the top 10.

“None of us wanted to go home after the prelims in the morning,” he said. “When we saw our time (1:31.3) we were excited and watched the next heat swim, then looked at the scoreboard and saw we had beaten two of the eight teams, so we knew we were in the top 10. We were ecstatic when we found out we were in the finals and not just the top 10.”

The three seniors (Fentress, Quinn and Simpson) wanted to close out their high school careers on a high note. “Then they dropped their time again in the finals and finished seventh, going further than any expectations we had at the beginning of the season. What a fun ride it was,” Ringgold said.

The reason for the relay team’s success was the strength of all four of them. Fentress was the anchor, Bailey had a solid start and Quinn and Simpson and solid and consistent in every stroke and are exceptional swimmers, Ringgold said.

Experience also played a factor. Fentress, Simpson and Quinn swam all four years with the Comets while Bailey has completed three years for CHS in the pool.

Fentress, Quinn and Simpson also accentuated their skills by training and swimming with Marlins of Raleigh, a year-round satellite team from the Riverwood Athletic Club.

“And Brett had swam year around before, so I knew we had a great base to build with,” Ringgold said. “The attitude from the very beginning with this group was that we were going to practice hard and see how fast we can swim. They practiced hard, their work ethic was outstanding, and the results showed.”

Ringgold, in his first year as the CHS swim coach, got plenty of help – from MOR coach John Fischetti, Riverwood program director and current Corinth Holders coach Maureen Blandford, former Comets’ coach Dawn Norris and the parents, particularly Rhonda Bailey, who helped organize timers.

“Maureen bent over backward getting us pool times and answered my 1,000 questions. Dawn calmed my nerves when I was stressing over some issue; she was great.

“Big thanks to John for coaching the year-round folks and getting them where they are today. Without his work we would not have been as successful as we were,” Ringgold said.

The new coach also lauded his parents. “They were really wonderful,” he said. “They knew I didn’t know anything about coaching swimming, but they were extremely supportive of me and the program. They volunteered their time to work each meet and Rhonda organized timers so I could do other things.”

The coach also thanked all of his swimmers, especially the boys’ and girls’ seniors, for making him feel welcome.

“I was very nervous at the beginning of the season because of my lack of experience, but with the outstanding senior leadership I had, my worst fears soon disappear,” Ringgold said. “I had a blast this season and hope my swimmers did too.”