Dunbar, Lexington Catholic claim titles in Fayette County Swim Championships

A pair of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School seniors boosted the Bulldogs to an impressive day at the Fayette County Swim Championships at Transylvania University on Saturday.

Lauren Denham won the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard butterfly and contributed to Dunbar’s wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays as the Bulldogs scored 276 points to win the girls’ meet.

Chase Mattingly helped lead the Dunbar boys to a second-place finish with victories in the 200 and 500 freestyles as well as the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

Lexington Catholic won the boys’ competition with 328 points. Dunbar was second with 259.

Dunbar captured the combined championship with 535 points. Lexington Catholic’s dominant boys’ performance, combined with its fourth-place girls’ finish added up to 520 points and second place in the combined standings.

Following Dunbar and Catholic in combined points were Lafayette (435), Tates Creek (370), Henry Clay (309), Sayre (201), Lexington Christian (143) and Bryan Station (84).

The Tates Creek girls pushed Dunbar to the limit, scoring 240 points for second place. Senior Mallory Shake won the 50 and 100 freestyles and was part of the Commodores’ winning 200 medley relay team. Shake was also on Tates Creek’s 200 freestyle relay squad, which finished fourth.

Behind Dunbar and Tates Creek in girls’ points were Lafayette (196), Lexington Catholic (192), Henry Clay (135), Sayre (126), Lexington Christian (100) and Bryan Station (26).

Lexington Catholic’s boys won with depth. Its only event victories came in the 200 medley relay, the 50 freestyle (Jeffrey Schriefer-Flores) and the 100 backstroke (Matt Menke), but the Knights scored points with multiple swimmers in every individual event, including second-place finishes in six of them. Catholic was also runner-up in the 400 freestyle relay.

Following Lexington Catholic and Dunbar in boys’ points were Lafayette (239), Henry Clay (174), Tates Creek (130), Sayre (75), Bryan Station (58) and Lexington Christian (43).

In the 1-meter diving competition, Mackie Redford and Jennings Redford of Lexington Catholic swept the top two spots for the girls. Jonah Dunn of Lafayette and Reid Noonan of Lexington Catholic were the top two boys’ divers.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Dunbar, Lexington Catholic claim titles in Fayette County Swim Championships."