A week after a dominating showing at the district swim meet, the Douglas County Stingrays continued their momentum at the state championships and the Griffin Swim Meet.

The Stingrays took nine swimmers to the Georgia 14-and-Under Long Course Championships as they compiled 638 points to place ninth overall out of 32 teams. Swimmers Chloe Miller, Kamaria Mahone and Emily Meilus won individual titles and swam on a championship relay team in the 10-and-under age group.

Miller, 10, won state titles in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly events. Mahone, 10, captured the gold in the 50 freestyle and Meilus, also 10, won the 100 backstroke title.

Emma Gwin joined the threesome to help captured the 200 freestyle title.

“The entire long-course state team swam outstanding,” Stingrays coach Judy Prokopiak said. “I use to be surprised at what they can do, but now I have come to expect them to do real well at big meets. The swimmers have continually improved throughout the season.”

With 199 points, Miller was awarded the high-point trophy for the 10-and-under age group division. In 10 individual events at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center; Miller had nine personal-best times. Meilus finished sixth in individual scoring with 157 points while accumulating personal-best times in the 10 events she swam.

Mahone was eighth overall in points with 135 while having seven personal-best times in eight events.

“I think all the swimmers peaked at the right time,” Prokopiak said. “It all came together at the state meet. Our plan worked out.”

With no daily access to a 50-meter pool, Prokopiak and her staff used a variety of drills to prepare the team for the meet.

“We had to become creative in how we train them,” she said. “

Miller finished second in the 50 free and was third in the 400 free and 100 free events. She finished in the top 10 in all 10 events she swam in while achieving an AAAA time in six of the events.

Mahone also had a spectacular showing in the long-course championship. In addition to winning the 50 free, Mahone also finished second in the 100 back and third in the 50 back. She had AAAA times in the 50 free (31.60 seconds), 50 back (36.28) and 100 back (1:19.52)

In addition to the 100 back championship, Meilus was second in the 50 back and had a fourth place finish in the 100 free.

With a time of 2:12.57 in the 200 freestyle relay, the Stingrays tied Swim Atlanta for the championship. The time qualifies as a National Reporting Time, which ranks them among the top relay teams in the nation. The foursome was second in the 200 medley relay.

Thomas Moore, 9, was the youngest member of the team to score. He placed 19th in the 50 breast with a time of 48.98 seconds.

Chad Martin, 12, finished 13th in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:42.9 for his best finish at the three-day meet.

Moore and Martin teamed with Kadeem LaFargue and Jack Moore to finish 14th in the boys’ 12-and-under 200 medley relay.

Prokopiak noted that Gwin, a first-year competitive swimmer had a good meet. She swam in six events and had a personal-best time in five of them.

“For a novice, she really pulled her own,” Prokopiak said. “She really stepped up and had some good swims. She did real well on the both relay teams.”

Several swimmers attended the Griffin Invitational last weekend. Grabbing high-point honors in Griffin were Jesse Crews (15-and-over age division), Bailee Spivey (13-14), Danielle Me (7-8) and Gina Colombo (11-12).

Elizabeth Evans was second in the 15-and-over swim group.

Ashley Alexander and Jenna Tysor tied for third in the 9-10 age group while Sean Morin was third in the 15-and-over division.

Many Stingray swimmers will wrap-up the 2008-09 season this weekend at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) championships in Carrollton.

“These kids are ready,” Prokopiak said. “I think they are excited about the final meet of the season.”

The team will take most of the month of August off before returning for a training session.

Anyone interested in joining the team should contact Prokopiak at jProkopiak@douglascountystingrays.org or visit the website www.douglascountystingrays.org.