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McCook swimmers, divers going strong into GNAC meet
HASTINGS - The McCook High School Swim and Dive Team competed in their final regular meet of the year Friday in Hastings, coming away with second place team finishes for both the boys and girls’ teams.
MHS Senior Alexis Tucker and junior Leah Spencer both claimed first in each of their signature events. Alexis won the 200 yard freestyle in 2:04 and the 100 yard butterfly in 1:06. Leah finished first in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.13 and in the 100 free in 55.32.
Also in the girls 100 free, Sophomore Izzy Renner finished under the one minute mark, earning her third place with a time of 59.67.
Very few McCook swimmers posted their fastest times of the year, but the Bison are still swimming competitive times as the season nears the end, Coach Jon Graff said.
“We were a bit off at the meet because practices were hit and miss the past week,” Graff said, “but we still competed really well.”
He cited Alexis, who was a bit slower that her personal best time in the 200 free but is still posting times near the school record. “It is good to see her at that pace as we near the end of the season and prepare for the championship meet at the end of the month,” Graff said.
He is hoping that a good week of practice will lead to a good showing at the final meet of the year, the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference swim meet. In fact, he is hoping to win the GNAC title, which he believes has never been done by the McCook team, girls or boys.
The divers will compete Friday evening for the GNAC title at the Hastings YMCA, while swimming events take place Saturday. This is also the last chance for swimmer and divers to qualify or improve their times for the state championship meet which is Feb. 24-26 in Lincoln.
Other top 3 finishes for McCook at Friday’s meet in Hastings included:
Boys 200 free, Kevin Bantam, third, 2:08.19
Boys 50 free, Ethan Spencer, third, 24.85
Girls 100 fly, Hannah Crowe, third, 1:28.90
Boys 100 fly, Caleb Wilkinson, third, 1:06.04
Boys 100 free, Ethan Spencer, second, 54.82
Girls 500 free, Kailynn Rodewald, second, 5:54.23
Boys 500 free, Deacon Kinne, second, 6:03.67
Girls 100 breaststroke, Karragan Shaw, third, 1:24.62
Diving featured just a six dive meet with MHS Sophomore Caleb Shaw claiming first place with a score of 163 for the men.
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KEARNEY - The MHS divers had an extra meet over the weekend, traveling to Kearney on Saturday for a dive-only meet.
MHS Senior Ethan Graff was the top McCook diver, finishing with 290 points. It was not his best score but good enough for third place overall and a good warmup for GNAC and the state meet, which he qualified for earlier in the season.