The Troy Tiger Sharks swim team had a strong showing at the ARPA State Swimming and Diving Championships on July 24-25.

The team participated in 14 events and had five entrants finish in the top 10 in the state.

“I’m tremendously proud of all of the kids,” said coach Shane Tatum. “They were all able to drop their times from district. They put in a lot of hard work, and it really paid off for them.”

Thomas Dent had two sixth-place finishes in freestyle swimming, with one coming in the 50-yard race and the other in the 100-yard race.

Dent also finished seventh in the state in the 50-yard butterfly event.

Sarah Cathryn Snellgrove had the team’s other two top 10 finishes, as she finished seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle.

Snellgrove also finished 13th in the 50-yard backstroke event.

While Dent and Snellgrove may have been the only Troy swimmers to finish in the top 10, the rest of the team also performed admirably.

Cole Coppage had two top-20 finishes, finishing 11th in the 50-yard freestyle and 19th in 25-yard freestyle.

Emily Dent had the only other top-15 finish, finishing 15th in the 50-yard butterfly event.

Jared Petty and Justin petty rounded out the team’s individual competitors, finishing 22nd in the 50-yard freestyle and 24th in the 50-yard backstroke, respectively.

The team also competed in three team relays, with the eight and under boys freestyle relay team finishing 16th in the state.

The 9 and 10-year-old girls freestyle relay team finished 21st in the state, while the eight and under freestyle relay team finished 22nd.

Tatum said he hopes the team’s success will lead to the growth of the swimming program.

“This year was real big,” Tatum said. “It gives us momentum going forward. We’re trying to get a year-round program started, so hopefully our showing at state will help to spark interest in swimming here in Troy.”