Nine swimmers move on to section finals

AUSTIN — Nine Red Wing swimmers advanced to the finals of the Section 1A meet Wednesday after the preliminary meet.

Wingers senior Abbey Schnaith had the best overall time in the 100-yard freestyle at 53.8 seconds, five one hundredths off her seed time. Schnaith owns the section record with a time of 53.04.

Schnaith also finished with the second best time in the 100 back with a time of 1:01.37.

The top 16 swimmers in each event qualify for the finals which were held Friday in Austin. Swimmers who win an event or swim faster than a state cut time reach the state meet.

“The girls saw a lot of time drop which has been something they have not seen much of during the regular season,” Red Wing coach Kevin O’Brien said. “Some girls got new personal bests and some got personal bests for this season.”

Amy Nemanich, Ashley Thompson and Ingrid Olson all qualified in two events for the finals.

Nemanich had the fourth-best time in the 500 free with a time of 5:46.12. Nemanich also qualified for the 200 free with a time of 2:08.13.

Thompson placed fifth overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:32.27 seconds and also qualified for the 200 individual medley with a ninth-place finish in 2:26.81 minutes.

Olson took 14th in the 100 back with a time of 1:08.53 to reach the finals and also placed 13th in the 50 free with a time of 26.45 seconds.

Hannah Kolsky also qualified for the finals in 500 free with a time of 6:00.66, which placed her 15th overall.

Sydney Steger swam in the finals of the 100 back with Schnaith after she finished eighth overall and shed 1.27 seconds off her seed time with a time of 1:06.84.

Jess Koslosky advanced in 1-meter diving after placing 11th in the prelims.

Hannah Walch also made the finals in the 100 fly with a time of 1:09.06, good for ninth place.

Melissa Goranowski also qualified for the finals in the 100 breaststroke with a 13th-place finish. Goranowski finished in 1:18.18, more than two seconds faster than her seed time.

“Our stroke work from the beginning of the season has paid off with the girls keeping good stroke technique during their races, helping them drop time,” O’Brien said.

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