Amber Drudge was a busy swimmer Saturday.

After she placed second to Wawasee's Laura Karns by less than a tenth of a second, Drudge went on to compete in three other events and qualify for the state competition in each of them.

"Amber lost a heartbreaking race in the 50 free," said Tippecanoe Valley coach Steve Doerscher. "A lot of kids would have given up, but she came back to win the 100 free. She bounced back and found the determination it took to win. I think that broke the ice and got the other girls pepped up for the relays.

"Amber has been disappointed in the past, but I think her experience really helped her today."

After Drudge placed first in the 100 freestyle, she went on to lead the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams to first-place finishes as well.

"I didn't know about the last race," said Doerscher. "I wasn't sure if the girls would have enough strength to swim well, but they found it. I still can't believe it."

If qualifying for the state finals was not enough for Valley, each state qualifier set a school record.

"All three state qualifiers set school records," said Doerscher. "I am very proud of my kids. We got good swims from everybody. I couldn't ask them for a better performance.

"The last two years we have qualified in one relay event, but this is the most we have ever had."

Along with the Valley swimmers advancing to the state, two other area swimmers will make the trip to the state competition as well. Laura Karns of Wawasee and Katie Beehler of Warsaw will compete in the state swim meet as well.

Karns placed first in one of the closest races of the day, the 50 freestyle. Karns finished the event in 28.58 seconds, while Drudge touched the wall in 25.63 seconds.

"Laura did an excellent job in the 50 freestyle," said Wawasee coach Roger Karns. "She was very focused and swam well. Our entire team swam well.

"This is without a doubt the toughest sectional I've seen in some time. The winning times are better, but what is more impressive is that the sixth-place times are better. There was a pretty impressive field of swimmers in this sectional."

Beehler qualified for the state competition in the 100 backstroke. She defeated Diana Coughlin of the Culver Girls Academy by nearly two seconds.

"Overall, the girls swam hard," said Warsaw coach Eric Moehler. "I am very proud of what the girls did today and all year. We were a little disappointed today because we wanted to win the sectional as a team. Bremen and Plymouth swam tremendously.

"Our sectional is getting a lot faster, and the times are awesome."

Julia Warnken of NorthWood competed in the Penn Sectional and placed first in the 200 indivisual medley and the 100 butterfly. She will advance to the state competition along with the first-place finishers from the Warsaw Sectional.

The qualifying swimmers will compete in the state preliminaries Friday, and the top 16 will advance to the state finals Saturday.

WARSAW SECTIONAL

GIRLS FINALS

Team Results -ÊPlymouth 240, Bremen 214, Warsaw 182, Wawasee 155, Tippecanoe Valley 147, Culver Girls Academy 132, Huntington North 107, Rochester 98, Manchester 45, Wabash 23

Individual results

200 Medley Relay -Ê1. Plymouth, 1:59.15; 2. Wawasee; 3. Bremen; 4. CGA; 5. Rochester ; 6. Warsaw; 7. Huntington North; 8. Manchester

200 Freestyle -Ê1. Schramm (B), 2:00.36; 2. Sturtevant (P); 3. Vanlandingham (TV); 4. Robbins (HN); 5. Thallemer (War); 6. Ryan (B)

200 Individual Medley -Ê1. Martha (CGA), 2:16.17; 2. Beehler (War); 3. Kolbe (B); 4. Grossnickle (R); 5. Lyon (Waw); 6. Hollenbaugh (P)

50 Freestyle -Ê1. Karns (Waw), 25.58; 2. Drudge (TV); 3. Jennings (B); 4. Dietz (P); 5. Mertes (P); 6. Gast (TV)

Diving -Ê1. Eiler (R); 2. Vanherk (P); 3. Fall (P); 4. Howe (HN); 5. Bolinger (HN); 6. Keirn (War)

100 Butterfly -Ê1. Coughlin (CGA), 1:03.62; 2. Robbins (HN); 3. Blubaugh (P); 4. Molitor (HN); 5. Barlow (War); 6. Lyon (Waw)

100 Freestyle -Ê1. Drudge (TV), 56.12; 2. Karns (Waw); 3. Mertes (P); 4. Dietz (P); 5. Jennings (B); 6. Anglin (TV)

500 Freestyle - 1. Schramm (B), 5:19.91; 2. Sturtevant (P); 3. Brubaker (Wab); 4. Vanlandingham (TV); 5. Ryan (K); 6. Thallemer (War)

200 Freestyle Relay -Ê1. Tippecanoe Valley, 1:46.17; 2. Plymouth; 3. Bremen; 4. Warsaw; 5. Wawasee; 6. Huntington north; 7. Rochester; 8. CGA; 9. Manchester

100 Backstroke -Ê1. Beehler (War), 1:02.83; 2. Coughlin (CGA); 3. Blubaugh (P); 4. Brubaker (Wab); 5. Neill (War); 6. Hollenbaugh (P)

100 Breaststroke -Ê1. Molitor (HN), 1:09.88; 2. Grossnickle (R); 3. Martha (CGA); 4. Kolbe (B); 5. Rantz (Waw); 6. K. Hueni (B)

400 Freestyle Relay -Ê1. Tippecanoe Valley, 3:51.33; 2. Plymouth; 3. Bremen; 4. CGA; 5. Warsaw; 6. Manchester; 7. Wawasee; 8. Rochester

Warsaw finishers - (200 freestyle) 9. Noggle, 11. Youse; (200 individual medley) 9. Cook; (50 freestyle) 8. Beckett, 9. Ummel; 12. Barlow; (100 butterfly) 7. Cook, 9. Neill; (100 freestyle) 11. Ummel, 12. Beckett; (500 freestyle) 12. Cook; (100 backstroke) 8. Cook; (100 breaststroke) 11. McCammon

Wawasee finishers - (200 freestyle) 10. Brissette; (50 freestyle) 7. Butt; (Diving) 7. Auer; 8. Judy; (100 butterfly) 10. Harper; (500 freestyle) 8. Brissette; (100 backstroke) 7. Drake; 10. Judy

Valley finishers - (100 freestyle) Gast; (100 backstroke) 12. Anglin; (100 breaststroke) 7. Weller

Manchester finishers -Ê(Diving) 11. Airgood; (500 freestyle) 7. McKenzie [[In-content Ad]]