Local swimmers to compete at State
Anderson County senior swimmer, Donovan Rainey, returns to the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Championship for the fourth year in a row. Rainey will compete in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststoke. (photo:File Photo )
Donovan Rainey will make her fourth consecutive appearance at the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Championships, set for Friday and Saturday in Nashville.
Rainey will represent the Lady Mavericks in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke at the state meet.
“It should be a good meet,” Anderson County coach Stephanie Coker said. “This is her fourth year going to state, and it’s always great and always fun.
“It’s fun even when swimmers don’t go all four years because you get to see them compete at the pinnacle of their season. For her, it’s her fourth trip, so she’s really excited.”
Keller qualifies for state in 500 free
Clinton High School junior swimmer Ryan Keller has earned the opportunity to compete on one of Tennessee’s biggest stages.
Keller qualified for the Tennessee Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships, set for Feb. 6-7 in Nashville. He will swim in the 500-yard freestyle after hitting the state qualifying mark at the recent Knoxville Interscholastic Swim League Championships at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
A latecomer to the sport, Keller becomes Clinton’s first state qualifier since Isaac Childers made the cut two seasons ago.
“It was Isaac, our last state qualifier, who got him into swimming,” CHS assistant coach Laura Knott said. “He’s a natural swimmer, and we’re all really proud of him.
“He’s worked extremely hard, and he’s with the Anderson County Aquatics Club, so he’s really put in the work. He’s been a hard worker from the get-go, and he’s one of those athletes where it really shows. He made the cut at our last meet.”
Wildcats’ quartet heads to state
swim meet
Oak Ridge High School will send four swimmers to the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Championships this weekend in Nashville, and head coach Alicia Williamson hopes her athletes both compete well and savor the moment.
“I’d like to see them all finish in the top 16, but more than anything, I want them to perform well and be happy with their times,” Williamson said.
The Wildcats will be represented by two seniors and a pair of sophomores at the two-day meet, which begins Friday.
Senior Mason Greenhalgh, one of Tennessee’s top cross country runners and a track state champion in distance events, will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
“Mason is amazing,” Williamson said. “I came in, and we had a meet in November, and he threw down three state cuts. I hadn’t seen him since the state meet in 2025.”
Senior Micah Brown will swim the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Dorian Volcansek qualified in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
That trio will be joined by sophomore Jasper Springer for two relays. The Wildcats earned state-qualifying times in both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay.
