Swimmers stay perfect in BRC

• Shannon Moe

Wildcat sophomore Shannon Moe swims the breaststroke portion of the 200 yard individual medley on her way to winning the race with a time of 2 minutes, 32.78 seconds in the Cats’ Big Rivers Conference dual meet against Eau Claire North last Tuesday at the high school pool. The Cats posted nine first place finishes in as 127-59 win over the Huskies. Bob Burrows photo

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The Wildcat girls’ swimming and diving team improved to 2-0 in Big Rivers Conference dual meets with a 127-59 victory over Eau Claire North Sept. 13 at the high school pool.

The Cats posted nine first place finishes, including all three relays, and took the top three spots in the 500 yard freestyle and diving to spur them to victory.

“This marked the third meet in five days for half of the team, and everyone continued in their quest for improved times,” head coach Lynn Huiskamp said. “The varsity line-up was varied again as I search for who has the extra determination to shine in a few events.”

The Cats showed plenty of determination in the 500 freestyle, with Maria Mishek winning the event in 6 minutes, 17.39 seconds, Maura Watson second in 6:23.71 and Julia Rydberg third in 6:29.57.

“I was very impressed with all three of these girls’ splits and pacing,” Huiskamp said. “I believe all of them know they have the ability to push the pacing faster from the start and still have the conditioning to finish strong.”

In the diving competition, Sierra Becker took first with a new pool record score of 241.65, Rose Tashjian was second with 175.4 and Britta Grebner placed third with 171.55.

“Not only did Sierra, Rose and Britta take one-two-three, and not only did their scores start at about the point where they left off last year, but Sierra smashed the six-dive pool record,” diving coach Roxie VanDeWater said. “What an impressive start to what should be an amazing year.”

In the relay events, Kate Barnes, Katie Kidd, Sofia Carlson and Leah Morrow teamed up for a first place time of 2:03.08 in the 200 medley relay, while Emma Langer, Shannon Moe, Carlson and Mandy Hedeen won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:50.11.

In the 400 freestyle relay, Morrow, Langer, Maria Mishek and Hedeen combined for a first place time of 4:10.55, while Barnes, Hannah Barringer-Kenny, Emily Jilek and Watson took second in 4:22.3.

Carlson and Morrow swept the top two spots in the 50 freestyle with Carlson winning in 27.17 seconds and Morrow second in 27.27. Hedeen and Langer also took first and second, respectively, in the 100 freestyle with Hedeen touching the wall in 1:00.55 and Langer in 1:03.18.

Moe won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:32.78 while Langer was third in 2:34.5.

“Moe really showed her strength in the last half of the race, outgunning everyone except Langer in the freestyle leg,” Huiskamp said.

Kidd added a first place time of 1:18.38 in the 100 breaststroke.

“I see Katie working harder and smarter this season and have no doubt the payoff will go on all season for her,” Huiskamp said.

Huiskamp noted that all three Wildcats in the 100 butterfly posted season-best times. Barnes finished second with a time of 1:04.96, Carlson was third with 1:09.61 and Moe finished fourth in 1:10.57.

The Cats return to action Thursday, Sept. 22, at Chippewa Falls. Saturday they will compete in the Eau Claire North Invitational. Thursday, Sept. 29, they return home to host Hudson at 6:30 p.m.

Tags: sports, swimming, wildcats, wisconsin, prep