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Greencastle girl swimmers win county
ROACHDALE -- Greencastle claimed eight events and placed second in seven others to take the Putnam County Girls' Swim Meet title Thursday night 276-181-106 over second place South Putnam and hosts North Putnam in third.
Faith Liveoak netted two wins for the Tiger Sharks in the 200 and 500 free, while Emily Wheeler won both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Rosio Gomez won the 100 butterfly and Rachel Custis won the 100 backstroke.
The 200 medley relay team of Custis, Wheeler, Gomez and Alison Howard took first, as did the 200 free relay team of Howard, Gomez, Liveoak and Sarah Beams.
Greencastle head coach Kent Menzel said the squad is falling into place at the right time.
"The girls swam very well and we're just about where I wanted them to be. Technically, we were very strong on the front half and we're not quite able to bring some of the races home with the times we were looking for," Menzel said.
"But that's where we want to be right now," he continued. "We're half-rested and we get to rest a bit in the next seven days. I think everyone will be where they need to be.
"Faith Liveoak, one of our seniors, was particularly strong tonight, and hand a fun time in her 200 and 500. I'm very excited for her swims next week."
Menzel said he got a breakthrough performance out of freshmen Kristen Stevens and Rebecca Moore on the night. He also had some nice things to say about his relay teams.
"Our medley relay team of Custis, Wheeler, Gomez and Howard were right on top of things and our 200 free relay team of Gomez, Beams, Liveoak and Howard swam well tonight also," Menzel said.
"By the 400 free relay, we were a little tired and the team from South Putnam, they just had a great swim. My hat's off to them. It was a very strong performance and they had a well-deserved win," he added.
South Putnam won three events on the evening. Courtney Sullivan won the diving competition, while Kaelynn Cox claimed the 100 free. The Eagles also won the 400 free relay with the squad of Cox, Lyndsie Beasley, Morgan Deszi and Josalynn Farmer.
South Putnam head coach Matthew Edwards said the previous week was challenging, but worthwhile with the unity of the squad strengthened.
"It's great. It's more than we hoped for. The last week has been kind of rough with injuries, including one who couldn't swim tonight," Edwards said.
"They did a great job of coming together as a team. They were confident, supported each other and it showed with their effort tonight and the finishes."
"Courtney Sullivan, a freshman and first-time diver, was county champion. She had her best meet and topped her best score by a Long shot. Kaelynn Cox moved up a few spots to come in and win the 100 free," Edwards added.
"The 400 free relay at the very end just did a superb job of coming together, had a great start and all held their places with a great finish. Coach Anna and I couldn't be more proud."
Hosts North Putnam also had a winner, with Caroline Byrd taking the 50 free. Elizabeth Alford finished second in the 200 free while the 200 free relay team of Byrd, Alford, Alexandra Moore and Rebecca Muse also placed second.
North Putnam head coach Tony Gray was as pleased as anyone with the performance of his squad.
"I was really, really happy with the girls. They've been working hard. They believe in this taper thing we've been talking about, since no one's really been on a taper before," Gray said.
"Caroline came through with a first place. She'd been beaten by that girl by three-and-a-half seconds the last time they swam. Elizabeth Alford got second in the 200 free. She's dropped twenty-one seconds in the last three weeks. It's just amazing," Gray added.
"Our 200 free relay team was less than a second away from Greencastle. They smoked us by 14 seconds the last time we swam them, and I think we pushed them a little bit tonight. We're really ecstatic about that," he added.
With the county meet completed, the squads finally get to talk about the one thing they haven't been able to for most of the season: the sectional next Thursday at Plainfield.
Each coach had a different outlook on the week leading up to the meet.
"They're really excited," Gray said. "We've put the blinders them. We're not letting them worry about what could have been and what could be. We told them about the sectional change and we didn't allow it to be discussed since."
"If they started worrying about what was going to happen, they would take away from what they're trying to do. That word hasn't been brought up in this pool since the night we announced it," Gray added.
"But, the girls are excited. They're not worried about what place they get or what place the team gets. They're worried about stopping that stopwatch two or three seconds quicker and they're fired up after tonight, so we're going to give it our best shot."
Edwards said the time before sectional will be about getting both mentally and physically ready.
"We're going to use our time wisely. We've only got a week and we've got to make sure that everyone's mentally and physically prepared, try to be as strategic as we can in practice. We've got to make sure our starts and technique are there," Edwards said.
"We've just got to be meticulous and make sure we play our cards right. I think we're all looking forward to it. It's a change of location and we swim against a lot of tough schools. It's something new and we're ready to go," Edwards added.
Menzel summed it up: "We'll be more rested next week and we've kind of had our eyes on that meet all year long, so we're excited for it and looking forward to getting in the pool at Plainfield."
At North Putnam
Putnam County Girls Swim Meet
Greencastle 276, South Putnam 181, North Putnam 106
200 Medley Relay -- 1. Greencastle (Custis, Wheeler, Gomez, Howard) 2:11.67; 2. South Putnam (Farmer, Deszi, McHugh, Trisler) 2:19.16; 3. North Putnam (Wolf, Muse, Byrd, Moore) 2:25.38; 4. Greencastle (Moore, Hansen, Peters, Stevens) 2:28.01; 5. South Putnam (Gerhardus, Kiste, Shaw, Boetjer) 2:47.50
200 Free -- 1. Liveoak (G) 2:23.18; 2. Alford (N) 2:31.36; 3. Moore (G) 2:37.00; 4. Boetjer (S) 2:42.32; 5. Mason (G) 2:46.06; 6. Miles (N) 2:53.91; 7. Wolf (N) 2:54.90
200 IM -- 1. Wheeler (G) 2:43.06; 2. Gomez (G) 2:51.43; 3. Trisler (S) 3:09.19; 4. Kiste (S) 3:13.23; 5. Hansen (G) 3:15.77
50 Free -- 1. Byrd (N) 28.72; 2. Howard (G) 28.83; 3. Farmer (S) 29.49; 4. Beasley (S) 29.56; 5. Peters (G) 30.70; 6. Muse (N) 31.58; 7. Stevens (G) 31.68; 8. Moore (N) 31.73; 9. Shaw (S) 35.39
Diving -- 1. Sullivan (S) 156.30; 2. Seahorn (G) 145.65; 3. Fauvergue (G) 130.15; 4. Williams (G) 96.90
100 Fly -- 1. Gomez (G) 1:13.66; 2. Beams (G) 1:18.53; 3. Howard (G) 1:19.68; 4. Trisler (S) 1:22.68; 5. Shaw (S) 1:52.59
100 Free -- 1. Cox (S) 1:04.06; 2. Custis (G) 1:04.43; 3. Beasley (S) 1:06.57; 4. Alford (N) 1:08.28; 5. Muse (N) 1:10.38; 6. Moore (G) 1:10.62; 7. Boetjer (S) 1:10.92; 8. Moore (N) 1:14.53; 9. Mason (G) 1:14.80
500 Free -- 1. Liveoak (G) 6:30.84; 2. Deszi (S) 6:43.63; 3. Beams (G) 7:13.62; 4. Peters (G) 7:19.68; 5. Volland (N) 8:29.86
200 Free Relay -- 1. Greencastle (Howard, Gomez, Liveoak, Beams) 1:59.63; 2. North Putnam (Byrd, Moore, Muse, Alford) 2:00.93; 3. South Putnam (Beasley, Boetjer, Cox, Farmer) 2:02.11; 4. Greencastle (Cassida, Wood, Hansen, Mason) 2:25.04; 5. South Putnam (Gerhardus, Kiste, Shaw, Trisler) 2:25.86
100 Backstroke -- 1. Custis (G) 1:15.05; 2. Deszi (S) 1:16.72; 3. Stevens (G) 1:25.22; 4. Cox (S) 1:25.48; 5. Wolf (N) 1:27.4; 6. Cassida (G) 1:28.04
100 Breaststroke -- 1. Wheeler (G) 1:21.33; 2. Hansen (G) 1:28.46; 3. McHugh (S) 1:30.05; 4. Byrd (N) 1:30.85; 5. Kiste (S) 1:37.37; 6. Miles (N) 1:43.33; 7. Gerhardus (S) 1:47.43
400 Free Relay --1. South Putnam (Beasley, Cox, Deszi, Farmer) 4:29.52; 2. Greencastle (Custis, Liveoak, Beams, Wheeler) 4:31.10; 3. Greencastle (Peters, Mason, Stevens, Moore) 4:57.56; 4. North Putnam (Alford, Livesay, Wolf, Volland) 5:22.10
Next Meet: The county swim teams compete at the Plainfield sectional next Thursday.