The Cheney girls swim team gave an impressive performance at the state championships in Federal Way last week, bringing home 12th place overall and smashing a 28-year-old school record in the process.
The team earned their spot out of 30 schools competing, and their ninth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay broke a Cheney record dating back to 1990. The relay team, comprised of freshman Janie Richards, freshman Jade Gere, junior Echo Mecklenburg and senior Courtney Hansen, completed the swim in 1:58:53 seconds.
“It was really, really exciting to break that record, and we came close to breaking another record in the 400-freestyle relay,” head coach Jennifer Hochwalt said. “We barely missed that one and I think we’ll get it next year.”
Richards, Gere, Hansen and junior Izzy Williams teamed up to come in seventh in that 400-frestyle relay in 3:50:34.
The 200-freestyle relay team of Williams, Mecklenburg, senior Abby Wood and freshman Tilly Baldwin came in 14th in 1:50:35, while Richards came in fifth in the 100-backstroke in 1:00:84, shaving nearly 4 full seconds off of the team record in that event over the course of the season.
Gere brought home a 10th-place finish in the 100-freestyle and placed 16th in the 100-breaststroke in 1:13:17.
Senior Juliette Richards had what Hochwalt called a “huge, huge swim,” getting into the 500-freestyle on a wild card and swimming it in 5:43:87. She placed 14th, but dropped a full 10 seconds off the team record for that event.
“It was a very exciting meet,” Hochwalt said. “It’s the highest place we’ve had in a couple of years, and we had more individuals place than in a long time,”
Over the next few months, Hochwalt will be analyzing what worked and what didn’t to help the girls succeed next year, she said. But for now, she’s concentrating on gearing up for the boys’ season and getting them started for the year.
“The boys’ season starts today, so I’m focusing on that right now,” she said Tuesday.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)