MIDDLEBURY — While the 23rd-ranked Northridge High School girls swim team was winning its 12-straight Northern Lakes Conference title Saturday, the Warsaw and Wawasee coaches were still pleased with their teams. The 2013 NLC Championships were won by the host Lady Raiders with 413 points, with Concord (363), Goshen (325), No. 16 Wawasee (314) and Warsaw (268), rounding out the top five. “One word – fantastic,” Warsaw coach Nate Long said. “We had 20 out of 24 make it into today's finals (out of the Thursday's prelims). Everybody swam outside of themselves today. There's no other way to say it.” Of the 12 events, Northridge finished first in five events, Concord won three, Wawasee took two and Goshen and NorthWood each won one. Wawasee's wins were achieved by sophomore Breanna Robinson in the 100 free and freshman Kayla Hershberger in the 500 free. Robinson's time of 51.65 seconds in the 100 free was a new pool record, but Hershberger's 5:27.95 was seven seconds faster than her prelim time, leading to the unexpected win. “We've been telling Kayla the last three to four weeks, with her practice times, we were like, ‘Kayla, there's no reason you're not swimming 5:20,’” Wawasee coach Julie Robinson said. “So, I just walked over to her before the race and said, ‘You know what, it's anybody's race. Go out there, have fun and see what you can do.’” Along with Hershberger's big drop from the prelims to the finals, Warsaw junior Cynthia Juarez dropped 10 seconds in her second-place finish with a time of 5:29.93. “(The coaches) and I were talking (Friday) about how 10-second drops aren't unheard of, and what do you know, it happens,” Long said. Along with Juarez's runner-up finish in the 500 free, junior Ashley Van Wormer was second in the 100 breast and the 200 medley relay of junior Malorie Rheinhardt, Van Wormer, senior Jessica Sweatland and junior Margot Rheinhardt also finished second, leaving Long feeling good about the meet as a whole. “There was no tapering at all for this swim meet,” he said. “To come in and do what we're doing is just ‘whoa’. It's way too exciting.” On top of winning one event each, Hershberger and Robinson were also runners-up in the 200 IM and 200 free, respectively, as well as joining freshman Mikala Mawhorter and sophomore Kendra Miller on the second-place 200 free relay. “They all stepped up,” Robinson said. “Every one of my kids had lifetime bests. They had lifetime bests on Thursday (at prelims), then had huge drops again (today). I thought they did amazing.” The most anticipated race of the day was the 200 free, which pitted the state's top two swimmers, according to Indiana High School Swimming Coaches Association, in Robinson and Northridge senior Brittney Walters. Walters won the race in 1:50.75, followed by Robinson's 1:50.83, which both eclipsed meet and pool records. Walters also held the previous meet record of 1:51.39, which she set last season when she beat Robinson. However, two weeks later at the sectional, Robinson avenged the loss with a two-second win, finishing first in 1:50.33. Robinson went on to finish second at the state meet, so the loss at the conference meet didn't affect her too much. “She wasn't upset with the 200 free at all,” her mom/coach said. “To go 1:50 right now, she was thrilled. Her end goal is to go 1:48, 1:49 at state. She feels very comfortable being able to do that, going 1:50 now. Last year, it was upsetting because she wasn't expecting (a loss), but this year going that time, she was very happy with the race.” Robinson and Walters will meet again in two weeks at the Northridge Sectional, with prelims taking place on Jan. 31, followed by the finals on Feb. 2. However, the sectionals are just a stepping stone to Breanna Robinson's ultimate goal. “Bre's not even really looking at sectionals right now,” Julie Robinson said. “With her time, it's about state qualifying, win or lose. She's really focusing on state. She hasn't even really started in with her taper at all. That's why she was so happy. To be swimming tired, completely untapered and to go 1:50.” While Wawasee is at Northridge for sectionals, Warsaw hosts its own, and will likely claim its fourth-straight title, although Long isn’t thinking that far ahead just yet. “This sets us up very well,” Long said. “I won't say anything more than that.”
