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Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey
Central Alabama Championships
Vestavia Hills' Anna Reece Handey in the Central Alabama Championships on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey.
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Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey
Central Alabama Championships
Vestavia Hills' Ivy Comfort in the Central Alabama Championships on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey.
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Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey
Central Alabama Championships
Vestavia Hills' Bennett Lowther in the Central Alabama Championships on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey.
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Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey
Central Alabama Championships
Vestavia Hills' Andrew Hilsmier in the Central Alabama Championships on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey.
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Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey
Central Alabama Championships
Vestavia Hills' Shepherd Rubin in the Central Alabama Championships on Nov. 13, 2025, at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Handey.
The Central Alabama Championships were held last Thursday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The event included 27 high school swimming and diving teams in the girls division and 31 in the boys division.
Vestavia Hills won both the boys and girls Class 6A-7A divisions. The girls are undefeated for the season and the boys won all but one of their meets.
The meet had two overall girls winners, both of them eighth graders: Anna Reece Handey from Pizitz Middle (competing for Vestavia Hills) and Anne Russell from Berry Middle (competing for Spain Park). They each scored 40 points. Handey won the 100-meter breastroke and 200 individual medley, while Russell won 200 freestyle and 100 fly.
Ivy Comfort, another eighth grader from Pizitz, won the girls diving competition.
From Vestavia Hills, Andrew Hilsmier (won 100 fly and 100 back), Bennett Lowther (won 50 and 100 free) and Shepherd Rubin (won 200 and 500 free) all scored 40 points each.
The swimmers and divers that qualified for the state meet will compete in Huntsville this Friday and Saturday.
Other notable wins for Vestavia Hills:
Girls
Angela Zhang: won 500 free, second place 200 free
Rilie Reid: second place 50 and 100 free
Emily Jin: third place 50 free
Kathryn Fulton: third place 500 free
Boys
Wyatt Farrell: second in the 200 IM and 100 breast
Parker Jordan: won diving competition
Girls relays
200 medley: won with Jin, Elle Lourie, Handey, Reid
200 free: won with Zhang, Lourie, Reid and Jin
400 relay: second with Fulton, Zhang, Olivia Zhang and Handey
Boys relays
200 medley: won with Rubin, Farrell, Lowther and Hilsmier
200 free: finished third with Tucker Hicks, Farrell, Austin Phillips and Julian Aldana
400 free: won with Rubin, Hicks, Lowther and Hilsmier
