EHS swimming and Diving strong in final regular season meet
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Led by a State-qualifying performance by Morgan Goad in the backstroke, the Emporia High girls swimming and diving team completed its final regular season with a third-place finish at the Manhattan Invitational on Wednesday.
Goad was the story of the day for the Lady Spartans, as she finished second in the 100-yard backstroke — her time of 1 minute, 5.99 seconds was just .69 seconds behind Washburn Rural’s Hannah Molden — to best the time needed to qualify for State (1:06.17).
Goad had been close to the State-qualifying mark all season long, and her breakthrough race was a source of pride for EHS coach Bob Yevak.
“She had the swim of the meet,” Yevak said. “I am so proud of Morgan. She deserves this.”
Goad was the highlight of what was a productive day for the entire EHS squad.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Hilary Larson and Caitlin McGuire finished third and fourth, respectively, while Whitney Starr came in sixth.
Larson also finished as Emporia’s top swimmer in the 100-yard freestyle, placing third in a time of 58.91 seconds. McGuire came in fifth (1:00.68) and Summer Wilson finished seventh (1:04.23).
Four EHS swimmers claimed top-10 places in the 200-yard free, led by Jennie Loucks in sixth place (2:29.46), followed by Cali Schelling in seventh (2:37.22), Jenessa Selby in eighth (2:49.41) and Whitney Brooks in ninth (2:51.36). Selby’s time was a career best.
Jade Gaskill was the top finisher for EHS in the 500-yard free, taking ninth in a time of 7:08.
Two first-timers competed in the 200-yard individual medley for the Lady Spartans, as Gaskill and Kristen Ranalli finished seventh and eight, respectively, in their inaugural competition in the event.
Loucks and Michelle Thompson finished back-to-back in the 100-yard breaststroke in sixth and seventh, respectively, and Schelling claimed seventh place in the 100-yard butterfly (1:20.32).
In the diving competition, Hayley Fry placed second with a final score of 164.55 behind Washburn Rural’s Taylor Martindale (179.55). Alli Armitage finished right behind Fry in third place with a final score of 161.75, while Aubrey Armitage placed eighth (123.70).
Emporia’s top finish in the relays came from the 200-yard freestyle relay team of McGuire, Loucks, Kathryn Scherich and Starr, as the quartet claimed second place in a time of 1:53.38, a little less than a second behind champion Washburn Rural (1:52.50).
The other two relay teams in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay each picked up third-place finishes.
Overall, the Lady Spartans finished with 305 team points, while Washburn Rural took the team title with 438 points. Manhattan was second (395) and Hayden was fourth (110).
“We swam really well, especially the younger kids,” Yevak said. “(Now it’s) time to get ready for League.”
The Centennial League swimming and diving meet will take place May 10-11 in Manhattan.