At first glance, nothing stands out about the Great Bend High School girls’ swim team’s fourth-place finish at the Great Bend Invitational on Friday evening.
However, Lady Panthers head coach Steve Beaumont said he saw improvement in his team at Kirkman Activity Center.
“I think the encouraging thing there is placing ahead of Salina South,” Beaumont said. “We’ve placed behind them the other two times we’ve faced them this season. In the first meet of the season, they were ahead of us, and at the Salina invite, they were ahead of us. We were third and they were second.
“That’s encouraging. I think as a team we’re swimming well.”
Manhattan won the meet with 409 points. Andover took second (373), and Newton finished third (343).
Great Bend scored 279 points to finish ahead of Salina South (250).
Hannah Hildebrand led the Lady Panthers, winning the 50-meter freestyle (26.76 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (1:05.35).
Brianna Schartz turned in a Class 5A state-qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke (1:20.75), taking sixth place.
“Schartz making her qualifying time in the breaststroke was something that we really wanted to get done,” Beaumont said. “Now we can relax a little bit, and not put pressure on herself to do it the next two meets.”
Great Bend travels to Newton on Thursday for a swim meet, starting at 3 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING
Great Bend Invitational
GIRLS
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center
Friday
Team scores
1. Manhattan, 409; 2. Andover, 373; 3. Newton, 343; 4. Great Bend, 279; 5. Salina South, 250; 6. Salina Central, 213; 7. McPherson, 148; 8. Dodge City, 81; 9. Hays, 72; 10. Thomas More Prep Marian, 2
Great Bend results
200 medley relay — 1. GBHS “A” relay (Michaela Cape, Brianna Schartz, Hannah Hildebrand, Sylvia Ofoma), 2:05.35; 10. GBHS “B” relay (Katy Jerke, Brenna Haines, Kalyn Blessing, Sarah Mauler), 2:21.08; 16. GBHS “C” relay (Anna Frizell, Georgia Zimmerman, Jessica Freund, Rachel Bussen), 2:33.35
200 freestyle — 7. Allison Damm, 2:16.44; 13. Kylee Spray, 2:28.77; 14. Jerke, 2:32.81
200 individual medley — 12. Haines, 2:47.92; 14. Maddie Vesta, 2:50.50; 19. Freund, 3:03.88
50 freestyle — 1. Hildebrand, 26.76; 8. Cape, 28.53; 12. Ofoma, 29.34
100 butterfly — 7. Vesta, 1:10.24; 17. Blessing, 1:24.20; 23. Karah Stewart, 1:39.72
100 freestyle — 13. Spray, 1:06.50; 22. Amber Basden, 1:16.26; 26. Estella Schumacher, 1:22.65
500 freestyle — 5. Damm, 6:14.14; 11. Haines, 6:41.52; 19. Frizell, 7:37.40
200 freestyle relay — 9. GBHS “A” relay (Spray, Jerke, Ofoma, Damm), 1:57.97; 11. GBHS “B” relay (Vesta, Schartz, Bussen, Blessing), 2:03.42; 17. GBHS “C” relay (Jordan Otten, Heather Schneider, Stewart, Freund), 2:20.01; GBHS “D” relay (Taylor Huslig, Magdiel Rodriguez, Maddie Unruh, Michaela Bieker), 2:35.58
100 backstroke — 1. Hildebrand, 1:05.35; 4. Cape, 1:10.50; 19. Mauler, 1:27.26
100 breaststroke — 6. Schartz, 1:20.75; 9. Blessing, 1:24.41; 16. Huslig, 1:30.88
400 freestyle relay — 6. GBHS “A” relay (Damm, Spray, Cape, Hildebrand), 4:15.37; 12. GBHS “B” relay (Vesta, Jerke, Ofoma, Haines), 4:40.76; 14. GBHS “C” relay (Basden, Bussen, Frizell, Mauler), 5:00.43; GBHS “D” relay (Zimmerman, Carly Boyd, Schumacher, Otten), 5:20.18
