jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend Panthers Emilee Hall and Ellyson Somers each won two events and competed on two winning relays in Thursday's Great Bend Swimming Invitational. They competed with a state-qualifying 200 freestyle relay (1:52.76) with Aubrey Snapp and Zoe Jerke.
The Panthers won eight events and scored 578 points to win their first swim meet of the spring after missing recent practice time.
Hall swept the 100 butterfly (1:15.12) improving by six seconds and 200 IM (2:39.91). Hall was masterful in the 200 IM, which employs the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.
"The IM has always been one of my favorite events because you get a little bit of everything," Hall said. "If you're not strong in one stroke, you can shine in another one. I was happier with the butterfly because of my time cut. I'm flexible in my events I compete in."
Somers won the 100 breaststroke (1:25.3) and 200 freestyle (2:21.41).
"The 100 breaststroke was my favorite event today," Somers said. "That was my first time I've got so swim it. I was happy with my time. It was nice to win a meet today. It's exciting to gain some confidence. The missed practice time affected us more as a team. We need to practice together."
Jerke won the 100 backstroke with a state consideration time (1:11.77) and Ruth Williams won the 500 freestyle (7:14.07). The Panthers also won the 200 medley relay (2:08.72) with Jerke, Somers, Ruth Williams and Hall competing. The medley relay is within a second of earning a state qualifying time.
Runner-up finishes were earned by Snapp, 50 freestyle (28.55); Ava Gregg, 100 breaststroke (1:26.58) and 500 free (7:29.14) and Jerke, 200 freestyle (2:24.31).
Great Bend coach Kari Carper was pleased the Panthers have overcome missed practice time due to spring break and poor pool conditions that didn't allow practice.
"Being back in the water helped a lot. The missed practice affected us big time. It's played a factor in our mental game. It was very hard as a team," Carper said. "We're in good place now and they're ready to fight hard with a great attitude. I was happy with how we performed with more than 50 percent of our events with time improvement. That's our goal."
GREAT BEND INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES—1—Great Bend A 578; 2—Dodge City 470; 3—Holcomb, 261; 4—Great Bend B 258; 5—Liberal 205
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
200 freestyle relay—1—GB A1, 1:52.76 (SQ) (Aubrey Snapp, Zoe Jerke, Ellyson Somers, Emilee Hall); 3—GB A2, 2:06.54 (Grace Dougherty, Ava Gregg, Kamryn Johns, McKenna Cape); 6—GB B1, 2:23.18 (Reggie Huslig, Brittan Webb, Emily Hernandez, Sydney Kruckenberg); 7—GB B2, 2:31.24 (Alyvia Mingenback, Alayna Irwin, Ellie Lutt, Teagan Mason)
200 medley relay—1—GB A1, 2:08.72 (Jerke, Somers, Ruth Williams, Hall); 4—GB A2, 2:27.87 (Kamryn Johns, McKenna Cape, Katelyn Mermis, Taylor Lindberg)
400 freestyle relay—1—Holcomb 4:28,92; 3—GB A1, 4:48.39 (Lindberg, Madison Huslig, Mermis, Williams); 5—GB A2, 4:59.27 (Grace Dougherty, Johns, Kyndall Blessing, Gregg); 7—GB B1, 5:01.86 (Sidney Gilkison, Anna Campbell, Mason, Kruckenberg); 8—GB B2, 5:46.94 (R. Huslig, Hernandez, Lutt, Mingenback)
50 freestyle—1–Stoppel, Holcomb, 28.52; 2–Snapp, 28.55; 6—Cape, 31.51; 7—Johns, 32.08; 11—Campbell, 37.2; 12—Gilkison, 37.56; 13—Irwin, 38.24; Lutt, 41.84
100 backstroke—1—Jerke, GB, 1:11.77; 3—Mermis, 1;20.61; 4—Blessing, 1:21.71; 5—Lindberg, 1:27.26; 8—Mingenback, 1:37.15; 10—Mason, 1:52.18; 11—Maddy Stoskopf, 1:59.94
100 breaststroke—1—Somers, GB, 1:25.3; 2—Gregg, 1:26.58; 3—Dougherty, 1:32.39; 4—Webb, 1:45.38
100 butterfly—1—Hall, GB, 1:15.12; 4—R. Huslig, 1:32.32; 5—Mermis, 1:33.85
100 freestyle—1—Brink, Holcomb, 1:03.19; 3—Lindberg, 1:10.36; 6—M. Huslig, 1:11.38; 7–Blessing, 1:13.41; 10—Mingenback, 1:25.78; 11—Irwin, 1:27.82; 12—Hernandez, 1:30.62; Lutt, 1:53.09
200 freestyle—1—Somers, GB, 2:21.41; 2—Jerke, 2:24.31; 5—Dougherty, 2:48.31; 7—R. Huslig, 2:50.3; 8—Webb, 2:52.65; 10—Mason, 3:13.38; Hernandez, 3:13.2; Stoskopf, 3:30.61
200 IM—1—Hall, GB, 2:39.91; 3—M. Huslig, 2:54.97; 4—Williams, 2:56.68; 6—Haleigh Ringo, 4:06.83
500 freestyle—1—Williams, 7:14.07; 2—Gregg, 7:29.14; 7—Kruckenberg, 8:16.68; 8—Gilkison, 8:49.34; 9—Campbell, 9:06.92
