Columbus East High School

The Columbus East girls and boys swim teams were in action Saturday morning at the H2O’s Swimming Complex, hosting a triple-dual that featured conference opponent New Albany along with Trinity Lutheran. The Olympian girls faced a challenging morning, dropping their meet against New Albany. East still found positives in the pool, led by Baylee Benefield, who turned in a strong performance to win the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:37.56. On the boys side, Columbus East delivered a split decision on the day, earning a decisive victory over one opponent while coming up just short against New Albany in a tightly contested meet. Several Olympians put together standout performances to pace the boys team. Mason Bean was dominant in the distance events, sweeping the 200-yard freestyle in 2:05.13 and the 500 freestyle in 5:59.24. Josh Pendleton also posted a pair of wins, taking first in the 200 individual medley (2:06.73) and the 100 butterfly (57.10). Ryan Turner added sprint victories in both the 50 freestyle (25.49) and the 100 freestyle (56.90). East’s depth was on display in the relays as well, with the Olympians claiming wins in the 200 medley relay (1:59.05) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:38.75). The home meet gave the Olympians valuable race experience and highlighted key individual performances as both programs continue their push through the season.