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Lemley on Wednesday's Preliminaries
Heller on Wednesday's Preliminaries
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MANSFIELD, Texas - The Alaska Nanooks women's swim team had a 'mixed bag' of results as head coach
Scott Lemley simply put during Wednesday's preliminary races at the 2012 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships at the Mansfield ISD Natatorium.
The Nanooks were entered in three events with one individual coming away with a new varsity record and a spot in tonight's consolation final.
Sophomore
Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Albrecht Thzer Gymnasium) completed the 50 freestyle in 23.46 seconds, which broke her previous varsity record of 23.57 (Feb. 9 at PCSC Championships). She placed 10th amongst the six heats (46 swimmers) and will compete in the consolation final tonight.
“My 50 freestyle was good I guess,” Heller said. “It was kind of bumpy and wavy but I'll get another shot at it, so it will be better.
“It was a varsity record it was her lifetime best and it got her in the consolation final,” Lemley said. “She will be an All-American. It was a high point.”
Freshman
Danielle Lyons (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan/St. Mary's) was the first Nanook in the pool on Wednesday in the 200 individual medley. She hit the wall in 32nd out of 51 competitors with a time of 2:08.79.
“[Danielle] really carried the brunt of the meet on her shoulders to be the first one in the water,” Lemley said. “She swam what we call tight. She was nervous.”
In relay action, the foursome consisting of Heller, freshman
Genevieve Johnson (Fresno, Calif./University), freshman
Margot Adams (Anchorage, Alaska/Frontier Charter) and Lyons completed the race in 1:45.08, but the tandem was disqualified due to an early start in the freestyle portion. Had the team's time stuck, it would have placed it eighth and garnered a spot in the championship final.
Heller also commented on how the contingent from Alaska is doing in Mansfield. “We're a small group but we're a group of good friends, so we enjoy it and we get along very well and support each other,” Heller said.
Finals are set to begin at 6 p.m. local time. Heller will race her 50 free following the completion of the men's and women's 1000 frees and 200 IM's.
