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Southside Seals honor top county swimmers

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

The Southside Seals inducted a new member to the Fayette County Swimming Hall of Fame on Wednesday evening and also honored some of the top high school swimmers in the area, crowning two of them the Outstanding Swimmers of the Year.

Ryan Mallam was inducted as the 10th member of the Fayette County Swimming Hall of Fame. He swam for the Tara Tarpons and Swim Atlanta for USA Swimming competitions and also distinguished himself as a state champion, regional champion, Junior Nationals qualifier and U.S. Open qualifier. He won region championships in the 200 yard breaststroke, the 200 meter freestyle, the 200 meter breaststroke and the 200 meter individual medley. He received an NCAA swimming scholarship to the University of South Carolina, where he was a four year letterman and a consolation finalist at the Southeastern Conference Swimming Championships.

After his collegiate career, Mallam returned to Fayette County and serves as an assistant coach for the Southern Crescent Aquatic Team (SCAT). In addition to coaching, he is also attending law school.

The Outstanding Male Swimmer for 2004-2005 was Noah Copeland. Copeland, a recent Starr’s Mill graduate, was the GHSA 2005 runner up in the 100 and 200 yard freestyle and an automatic All-American selection in those events. He holds six school records and was undefeated in four years at the Fayette County high School championships. Copeland was also a Junior National Champion in 2005 in the 200 yard freestyle, a finalist in the 100 yard freestyle and a U.S. Open qualifier. He will continue his swimming career at Georgia Tech.

The Outstanding Female Swimmer for 2004-2005 was Lauren Cartwright. Cartwright, a rising junior at Starr’s Mill, was the 2005 GHSA state champion in the 200 yard individual medley and the high point award winner at the 2005 state championship. She also achieved All-American status in two events during the season. As a member of SCAT, she is a state champion, regional qualifier, Junior National qualifier and U.S. Open qualifier.

Finalists for the 2004-2005 Outstanding Swimmers of the Year included Nicole Roddenberry, Vincent Tortora and Chris Lee. Roddenberry is a rising junior at McIntosh, who was the 2005 GHSA runner-up in the 100 yard butterfly and an All-American in that event.

Tortora, a graduate of McIntosh High School, helped lead the team to a third place finish in the state championship (the highest for any team in Fayette County history) while placing second in the 500 yard freestyle, third in the 200 yard freestyle and participating in two third place finsihing relay events.

Lee, a McIntosh graduate, was a finalist in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles, while also serving as a member of two third place relay teams.

Tortora will continue his swimming career at the University of Kentucky and Lee will continue his career at Georgia Tech. Tortora, Lee and Roddenberry are also members of SCAT and have racked up numerous accolades while swimming for the team.