Warsaw took first place in six events and won the girls swimming sectional title Saturday, outdistancing two-time defending champion Culver Academies and Rochester. The Lady Tigers scored 394 points to Culver’s 313 and the Lady Zebras’ 291. The Lady Tigers started off well, with the quartet of Laurel Kuhl, Delaney Wihebrink, Brenna Morgan and Laurel Moeller winning the 200 medley relay. Morgan won a pair of individual races, taking the 50 and 100 freestyles. Wihebrink won the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, and Kuhl was first in the 500 free. “We had a lot of first- and second-place finishes. It would have been great to see a new 200 medley relay and 200 free relay record but I can't complain with the times we put up,” Warsaw coach Anthony DeBrota said. “We had lifetime bests in nearly every event. “Our turns were strong, and our finishes were fast. I think the team started to drag some around the 500, but they still swam and dove great from start to finish.” Of those four swimmers, only Morgan is a senior, something that bodes well for the future of the Lady Tiger program, according DeBrota. “It’s good to see a young group of girls (to have this kind of success) and we hope what they can do is remember how we were today,” he said. “I think with these girls, because of how long they’ve been swimming together, through the (YMCA) program as well, that we have a bright outlook for next year, too.” Moeller had a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke, and the 200- and 400-freestyle relay teams also finished second. Olivia Herman took third in the 50 free, and Warsaw got fifth-place finishes from Taylor Gunter in the 200 IM?and Madelyn Ray in the 100 breaststroke. Tippecanoe Valley was ninth and Manchester 12th in the sectional team standings. The Lady Vikings got a sixth-place finish from Tiphanie Hodge in diving, with Olivia Livengood taking seventh in the 100 butterfly and eighth in the 200 freestyle. Kinzie Prater was seventh in the 500 freestyle and 13th in the 50 free. Mayde Fear qualified for the consolation round in the 50 free and 100 backstroke, finishing 16th in both races, and the Valley 200 freestyle relay team finished eighth. Manchester’s 200 medley relay team won the consolation race. Skye Fierstos was eighth in the 50 freestyle, and Cora Barnett was 16th in the 100 butterfly.
Wawasee Fourth at Northridge Wawasee’s Paige Miler advanced to the state meet with first-place finishes in the 200 and 500 freestyle races at the Northridge Sectional, setting pool and meet records in the process. The Lady Warriors finished fourth in the meet behind Concord, the host Lady Raiders and Elkhart Central. Shelby Adams set a new school record in the 100 breaststroke, finishing fifth, and a career-best time in the 200 IM, where she took seventh. State Finals Saturday The state finals begin at 6 p.m. Friday with preliminaries at the IUPUI?Natatorium in Indianapolis. Semifinals are at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the championship races at 1 p.m.
