MARIETTA - The Lassiter girls were in good standing to defend their Cobb County Championship title after Friday night's opener at the Mountain View Aquatic Center, but it may be more difficult for the Lassiter boys to reciprocate.

The Trojans' 400-yard freestyle relay team was disqualified in the preliminary race for having two swimmers in the water at the same time, facing the same direction. That meant a swimmer who had just finished his race didn't get out of the water until his teammate succeeding him made his first turn.

Had Lassiter not been disqualified, it would have been the No. 1 seed in the 400 freestyle. Walton's top relay team claimed the honor instead.

"Unfortunately, it's a rule, and they called it," Lassiter coach Glenn Meeden said. "We're out of that race, we're not going to get the double points, and that's frustrating. We did have strong performances, and they're still in the hunt. I told them to finish strong because you never know what can happen."

The Lassiter boys will be represented well in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. They will also have multiple top-eight finishers in most individual events.

Jimmy Yoder will be the No. 1 seed in today's 200 freestyle final, while Drew Cuttic will be No. 3 in the 50 freestyle. Henry Loong and James Goodin both finished in the top 10 in the 200 individual medley and Zach Bunner and Mike McCarthy are in the top eight in the 100 butterfly.

Bunner, McCarthy, Jackson Marine and Timothy Chapius placed in the top 10 in the 100 backstroke.

The Lassiter girls set themselves up by becoming the top seeds in the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay, and the No. 2 seed in the 200 freestyle relay.

Sammie Bosma is the favorite to win the 100 freestyle and Shannon O'Malley is the No. 1 seed in the 100 breaststroke.

Ansley Crenshaw and Jordan Drake are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds of the 100 butterfly, respectively, while the Lady Trojans also have four swimmers in the top 10 of the 200 IM, led by No. 2 Courtney Ciesielski, and another four swimmers in the top 10 of the 50 freestyle.

The Walton boys could seriously challenge the Lassiter boys for the crown this season after winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and '08. Depth in the top 10 may be the one thing holding the Raiders back.

The Raiders will be the top seeds in two of the three relays, which will be a plus. Ben Shepperd is favored to win the 50 freestyle, while Brian McClintock is in line to win the 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke for the second straight year. Kirk Malcolm is seeded No. 2 in the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke.

As strong as the Lassiter girls appear to be, Walton's girls may still be a threat seeded in the top three in all three relays. Erin Reisinger is heavily favored to win the 100 backstroke and is the No. 2 seed behind teammate Jessica Graber in the 50 freestyle. Aven Jackson is the No. 2 seed in the breaststroke.

"I honestly think it's going to be close," Walton coach Sharon Loughran said. "We had disappointing swims and we had great swims. I think both teams are lining themselves up well. It will be close, close, close."