Tigers finish seventh at conference

Staff

Published Monday, October 31, 2005

AUSTIN - The Albert Lea girls' swim team did not quite meet its goal at the Big Nine Conference Swim Meet held in Austin over the weekend, but they still turned in several strong swims.

The Tigers - who were looking for a top five finish - placed seventh with 171 points.

Faribault won the conference meet with 342 points followed by John Marshall with 279.5 and Mankato West was third with 277.

Once again, it was the relays that led the way for the Tigers who began the day with a fourth place showing in the 200 medley relay posting a time of 1:59.21.

Albert Lea followed that up with a fifth in the 200 free relay and an eighth in the 400 freestyle relay.

The Tigers were able to better their seed time in two of the three events.

Samantha Cole had a pair of seventh place finishes and Whitney Walters had another to give the Tigers their highest individual finishes of the day.

Cole swam a 26.66 in the 50 freestyle to claim her first seventh place showing as she finished just ahead of teammate Jackie Elwood who touched the wall in ninth.

Amanda Walters finished 13th to give her team three swimmers in the top 15.

Cole would add her second seventh place finish in the 100 butterfly with a mark of 1:05.98.

Whitney Walters took seventh in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.65 finishing less than a tenth of a second out of fifth place.

Elwood finished just outside of the top 10 with a time of 59.49.

Whitney Walters would add an 11th place showing in the 200 free followed by teammate Rachael Hagen in 12th.

Hagen was also the Tigers' top finisher in the 500 free coming to the wall in 6:01.04 to take 13th overall.

Leah Matheson was eighth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:16.25, while Amanda Walters was 11th in the 100 backstroke.

Kaeli Wayne took 17th in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:33.72.

“We had our ups and downs but it was a great meet,” said Albert Lea head coach LaChelle Sandon.

“Now we know what we need to work on for sections.”

Cole, Whitney Walters and Elwood each earned all-conference honors while Amanda Walters was an honorable mention.

Results (Albert Lea only)

200 Medley Relay - 4. Albert Lea 1:59.21

200 Free - 11. Whitney Walters 2:12.23, 12. Rachael Hagen 2:12.40, 30. Mallory Carstens

2:21.92, 33. Emily Klick 2:23.45

200 IM - 17. Kaeli Wayne 2:33.72, 20. Leah Matheson 2:34.67, 32. Heather Carlson 2:44.58, 35. Andrea Lares 2:52.64

50 Free - 7. Samantha Cole 26.66, 9. Jackie Elwood 26.83, 13. Amanda Walters 26.91, 23. Nicole Larson 28.09

Diving - 28. Katie Walechka 74.15

7. Cole 1:05.98, 20. Carlson 1:12.22, 35. Lares 1:20.72

100 Free - 7. W. Walters 57.65, 11. Elwood 59.419, 28. Larson 1:03.31

500 Free - 13. Hagen 6:01.04, 27. Carstens 6:28.18, 30. Klick 6:29.54, 37. Jillian Walechka

7:15.21

200 Free Relay - 5. Albert Lea 1:46.57

100 Backstroke - 11. A. Walters 1:08.99, 14. Wayne 1:09.71, 33. Jasmine Hanson 1:22.10

100 Breaststroke - 8. Matheson 1:16.25, 16. Grace Thomas 1:18.24, 27. Blair Schreiber

1:21.99, 35. Emily Gaudian 1:27.01

400 Freestyle Relay - 8. Albert Lea 4:06.08

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