Meet Results
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Sophomore
Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Albrecht Thzer Gymnasium) set three individual school records and the Alaska women's swim team picked up its first victory of the season with a 111-94 win against Fresno Pacific Friday night at the Patty Center Pool.
“Tonight was the best single swim meet this program has had in the last six years which means ever,” head coach
Scott Lemley said. “Fresno Pacific is a very good team. They finished second to Cal Baptist last year at NAIA Nationals.”
Heller began her historic evening with a win in the 200 freestyle. She hit the wall in one minute, 54.16 seconds, breaking
Felina Rosadiuk's 2009 record of 1:54.18. She followed that up with both the pool and school record in the 100 butterfly. She surpassed
Abbey Jackson's 2009 record (57.47) with a program-best time 57.37 in the event.
“Bente had the meet of her life,” Lemley said. “She's never swum the 200 freestyle before. It's an event which intimidates her. In her very first 200 free she broke
Felina Rosadiuk's varsity record and achieved an NCAA "B" time standard. Then Bente broke her own pool record in the 100 fly and broke our varsity record which has stood for two and a half years.”
The Nanooks also saw a pool and Alaska record fall in the 200 free relay, as the team of Heller and freshmen
Gabi Summers (Cheyenne, Wyo./Central),
Margot Adams (Anchorage, Alaska/Frontier Charter) and
Danielle Lyons (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan/St. Mary's) won the race in 1:38.08, besting the 2009 record of 1:38.75. Heller's 50 free split time of 24.12 broke the pool record which would be set later in the meet.
Lyons also won a pair of individual events, as she took both the 200 individual medley and the 100 free with times of 2:13.29 and 54.20. Sophomore
Ashley Crowe (Billings, Mont.) picked up a victory in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:47.08.
Fresno Pacific set four pool records Friday, including two from Cheyenne Coffman. She first set a new mark in the 50 free with a time of 24.19
(until Heller broke it with her split time in the final event) and finished off in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.97.
“Their best swimmer has her Olympic Trials cuts in a couple of events and it showed,” Lemley said. “She broke the pool record in the 50 free winning that event fairly easily and then broke the pool record in the 100 back by a lot.”
Kendall Swanson also set a Patty record in the 100 breaststroke when she hit the wall in 1:07.83. Coffman and Swanson, along with teammates Lauren Malthaner and Danielle Lavery, won the 400 medley relay to open the meet with a time of 4:00.57, setting a new pool record.
The Nanooks and Sunbirds are back in action tomorrow at noon with another 11-event meet. Admission is free to all spectators.
