Posted: 11/12/03

Forest Lake swimmer finishes 6th at sections

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

This is what they had been training for all season, the Section 7AA Championships. The Forest Lake girls swimming battled hard as they set a mind boggling 15 personal best records.

ìNothing can make a coach prouder than seeing such effort, heart, and significant time drops,î head swimming coach Rochelle McKenzie said. ìThese girls gave everything they had.î

Duluth East won the event with 391.5 points, as Forest Lake finished sixth with 196 points.

Senior Shannon Esler set a personal best time in the prelims in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:09.91. In the finals she almost matched that time as she finished in 2:10.27, good for eighth.

The next event, the 200-yard individual medley, senior Sarah Zierke set a personal best time in the prelims with a time of 2:27.18, but then swam even faster in the finals. Finishing in 2:25.74, Zierke finished seventh.

The 50-yard freestyle saw three personal best times. Junior Hannah McKenzie finished in 28.27 in the prelims which was her personal best in the event. Senior Jynelle Gorkaís time of 26.95 was not only a personal best, but also good enough for 13th place. Nelson was the fastest with a time of 25.29, also a personal best, to finish second. Nelsonís time qualified her for the state meet too.

The 100-yard butterfly was another event that saw Forest Lake swimmers set personal best. Senior Kim Moss swam her fastest 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:10.88, finishing 16th. Senior Hannah Sparks finished 19th with her personal best time of 1:12.33. Nelson broke the school record in the event in the prelims when she broke Connie Pierreís record of 1:02.69 that was set back in 1992. Nelsonís time of 1:02.43 did not stand long as she swam even faster in the finals, finishing in 1:01.88, and in third place. Nelsonís finish also qualified her for state in the event.

ìAmanda [Nelson] had a fantastic weekend qualifying for state in two events,î McKenzie said. ìShe did a wonderful job this year and I wish her luck at state.î

Gorka had another personal best time in the 100-yard freestyle with her time of 58.63, a time that was 0.96 seconds faster than her previous time.

The 500-yard freestyle saw two more personal best times. Freshman Carrie Peterson finished 19th with her time of 6:13.69, 3.52 seconds faster than her previous personal best time. Freshman Frances VanSloun trimmed an astonishing 10.32 seconds off of her personal best time when she finished in 5:58.67 in the prelims. She came back with a time of 6:00.73 in the finals to finish 11th.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Zierke, McKenzie, Hannah Sparks, and Nelson finished seventh with a time of 1:50.42.

The 100-yard backstroke was the next event, and three more Forest Lake personal best times were set. Sophomore Allison Garrity shaved 0.42 seconds off her previous best time to finish in 1:13.12 in the prelims. Eighth grader Mary Walters set her personal best time in the prelims as well, finishing in 1:09.48, 3.42 seconds faster than her previous mark. Walters finished 16th with a finals time of 1:10.54. Esler had yet another personal best time at the meet as she finished third with a time of 1:05.47. Eslerís time was 0.44 seconds off of qualifying her for state.

ìThis was Shannon [Eslerís] first year swimming the backstroke, and to be that close to state is phenomenal,î McKenzie said.

The meet ended with the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Esler, McKenzie, Carrie Peterson, and Gorka finished in 4:08.86, placing them eighth.

Diving

The diving team had a strong meet of their own.

Freshman Chelsie Nelson and Junior Katie Clark competed in their first sectional meets and finished in 17th and 19th place.

Freshman Janel Duffy improved from last year where she finished 17th. Having thought they forgot about her after the first cut, she realized she had placed higher than she anticipated, placing fifth, just one place away from a trip to state.

ìJanel is well on her way to making a place at the state meet, maybe as soon as next year,î diving coach Deb Welch said. ìBeing only a freshman this year leaves her time to improve.î

Junior Brianna Hubbard led the way for Forest Lake, finishing second, and earning her second trip to state in as many years. Hubbard was in first the whole meet until the very last dive when Brittany Jumner of Andover edged her out.

ìBrianna showed a great deal of concentration throughout the eveningís meet,î Welch said.
Hubbard finished 16th at last years state meet, and Welch says she thinks she can finish in the top eight this year.

The state meet runs Thursday thru Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. For more information visit www.mshsl.org.

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