DUNLAP - The Northridge Raiders may have dominated the Northern Lakes Conference Championships Saturday at Concord High School, but they weren't the only storyline.
Blowing away the competition with 380 points, the Raiders won six of 12 events on a day which saw six meet and four pool records set.
"This is just a talented group, with all the individuals and Northridge as a team," Warsaw coach Terry Aukeman said of the meet. "You have individuals on each team that are winners, then you have Northridge winning the relays. So, it's just a really fast meet."
One of the individual winners was Wawasee's Brittany Robinson.
Not only did the freshman win the 50 free and 100 fly, with times of 23.95 and 56.50, respectively, but she also set meet and pool records in each event.
"I was really proud of myself, because I've been struggling with my strokes lately," she said. "So, to be able to come back and do those times, swimming fairly untapered - I'm pretty happy with it."
Against Warsaw Monday, Robinson swam the 50 free in 24.81 and the 100 fly in 58.79. Then, during Thursday's prelims, she went 24.27 in the 50 and 58.03 in the fly.
So, it would appear that as the level of competition increases, her times decrease.
"When you get these level of athletes in a pool, you never know what the outcome is going to be," Wawasee coach Julie Robinson said. "Any given day, it can change. They are highly competitive, and you don't know what the results are going to be."
On top of watching as a coach, Julie Robinson was also watching Brittany Robinson through a mother's eyes. But following a 10-second pause to search for an answer for seeing a daughter perform so well, she resorted to a coach's response.
"I didn't expect those times," she said. "For any of my athletes to perform at that level right now, is just really cool."
Those times rank Brittany Robinson pretty high in the state.
According to the IHSAA Web site, which was updated Sunday, Robinson's 100 fly time is the third-fastest in the state, behind Mishawaka Marian's Sarah Boylen (56.24) and Homestead's McKenzie Bagan (55.96). Her latest 50 free time is also the seventh-fastest.
"I didn't really feel like (I was going that fast)," Brittany Robinson said. "I was really surprised when I saw the scoreboard and my times."
Although Robinson was the Wawasee story, her coach was also pleased with the rest of her team.
Tallying 130 points, Wawasee took fifth place, helped out by senior Eleaya Rodes placing third in diving with 275.30 points, despite a rough finals performance.
"We are not into our taper that much, and the girls are dropping times," Julie Robinson said. "So, it was really exciting for me.
"I am not going to count these girls out for anything," she added. "They've been doing so well. They met my expectation level many days ago. I am just proud of them, and can't believe how well they're doing."
Warsaw placed fourth at the meet with 147 points, and Aukeman was also pleased with the effort he saw in the pool.
"I thought we swam very well," he said. "Thursday night (during prelims), I especially thought we did well, qualifying people for today. Even today, some people went right on their times from Thursday night, and a couple broke times."
Warsaw sophomore Leah Moore placed fourth in the 100 fly and fifth in the 200 IM, while junior Audrey Petro was a fourth-place finisher in the 100 free and took fifth in the 50 free. Junior diver Paige Mortakis also finished fifth at the meet.
Both teams are now off for two weeks until sectional competition, when Warsaw hosts its own and Wawasee is back at Concord for Feb. 5 prelims and Feb. 7 finals.
"I'd even like to have a three-week rest," Aukeman said about the layoff. "I'd like more, and I think a lot of other coaches would too. It's going to be nice going from now until sectionals. That's pretty much all we're going to focus on."
