TACOMA, Wash. - The Nanooks wrapped up their trip to the University of Puget Sound on Sunday, competing in the third and final day of the Logger Invitational. Alaska would take second in the invite, recording 992 total points, while Simon Fraser would finish first.
"Impressive performance by the Alaska swimming team this weekend," said head coach Ksenia Gromova following the conclusion of the invite. "The Nanooks broke the 200 freestyle relay program record that stood for nine years and are only 1.6 seconds away from breaking the 400 freestyle relay record that we hope will fall at conference. The ladies are very close to the NCAA provisional cuts in both freestyle relays. We got three NCAA B cuts and over a dozen personal bests. Dorka Dancsok won three out of her 4 events. The team placed second with a lead on the first day. The team finished much higher than last season, with 992 total points compared to 650 last year. We had lot of great swims, with many swimmers ranking in the top six within our conference. Our freshmen did a phenomenal job their first tapered college meet: Janci Pangburn got third in both 50 and 100 free ranking third in 50 freestyle in conference. Cosima Schmiedel got second in 200 butterfly ranking 5th in conference. Our returners also did an amazing job - senior Adeline Berry had a personal best in the 200 medley relay and college best time in her 100 butterfly. Senior Tori Shoemaker went her personal best in her Mile, ranking herself second in conference. Dorka Dancsok is ranked second, third and fourth in her events. Charlotte Fletcher-Stables is ranked second and fourth."
The 'Nooks began the day with the 1650 freestyle, which saw Tori Shoemaker lead the Nanooks with a 17:24.23 and finish fifth. Payton Wojciechowicz followed one spot behind her teammate, posting a 17:56.36. Kylee Carter recorded a time of 20:52.57 to finish 16th in the event. Next up was the 50 butterfly, which saw Adeline Berry (26.51) and Cosima Schmiedel (26.73) finish in sixth and eighth, respectively.
Charlotte Fletcher-Stables took second in the 200 backstroke with a 2:04.42 and Jordan O'Connor finished just under a second behind her in third in 2:05.41. Janci Pangburn placed third in the 100 freestyle in 51.63; she would also hit an NCAA B cut in the event. Ali Pecore and Sam Bristor followed in fourth and fifth place in the event with times of 52.29 and 52.70, respectively. Eva Markovic took 12th in the B-Final in 55.11.
Dorka Dancsok finished .68 seconds behind the first-place finisher in the 200 breaststroke, posting a time of 2:21.77. In the B-Final for the event, Charisma Watkins took ninth (2:31.13), Mayumi Schaetzle took 10th (2:31.62), Naomi Burgan took 12th (2:35.12) and Sariah Rodgers took 16th (2:45.28). Schmiedel was .23 seconds from placing first in the 200 butterfly, as she finished in 2:08.35; meanwhile, Berry took seventh in 2:16.97. Kaidence Sampsel came in 11th with a 2:33.67.
The invite concluded with the 400 freestyle relay. The Nanooks collected second place for their top finish, as the team of O'Connor, Pecore, Bristor and Pangburn went 3:28.63 in the event.
The Nanooks notched four first-place finishes during the invite, with Dancsok winning the 200 IM (2:06.70), 400 IM (4:34.53) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.62), while Fletcher-Stables took first in the 50 backstroke (26.19).
"All in all it was such an exciting and stimulating meet," said Gromova, "Our swimmers are flirting with program records, top 3 to 4 conference finishes and getting themselves qualified for NCAAs. Myself and their other coaches will do their best training and tapering them for conference and NCAA's. I can't wait to see what this team can achieve! I'm beyond proud of our lady Nanooks!"
Final Standings
- Simon Fraser - 1118
- Alaska - 992
- Whitworth - 723
- Southwestern Oregon CC - 384
- Puget Sound - 360
- Simpson - 20
This concludes the 2024 portion of the schedule. The Nanooks return to action on January 17-18 with two dual meets against Westmont at the Patty Center Pool.
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