Lakeside, Hot Springs swimmers star at district
ARKADELPHIA — A dozen state qualifiers led the Lakeside and Hot Springs swimming teams Friday in the 5A-1A South district meet held at Henderson State University.
Neither team was among the leaders for the overall district titles. Lakeside coach Brad Launius said several team members were unable to compete due to illness.
Magnolia placed first in the girls’ standings with
456 points, followed by Arkadelphia in second place with 268. Lakeside placed third with 233 points and Hot Springs finished fifth with 35.
Arkadelphia took first place in the boys’ standings with 374 points, followed by Bauxite with 269 and Magnolia with 246. Hot Springs placed fourth with 109 points, followed by Lakeside in fifth with 103.
Lakeside junior Nicole Burek, sophomore Mason Vondenstein and sophomore A.J. Navarro each won two individual events. Burek was also a member of the
200-yard medley relay team to win first place.
Hot Springs freshman Emma Campas was the only swimmer for the Trojans to win an event. Junior Anthony Reiter took second place in the 50-yard freestyle for the best finish on the boys’ team.
Burek won the 200-freestyle event with a time of
2:10.04, with Sallie Matthews swimming a second-place time of 2:28.89 for Arkadelphia. Burek also won the
100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:13.87, followed in second place by Ella Williams, of Magnolia, with a time of 1:24.74. Lakeside’s Sidra Hanson placed ninth in the event with a time of 1:45.69.
The first-place 200-yard medley relay team consisted of Burek, sophomore Lydia Cevela, freshman Aly Navarro and senior Sarah-Marie Linneman. They swam a time of 2:13.88, ahead of second-place Magnolia’s 2:17.31.
Linneman won first place on her own in the 100yard freestyle, with a time of 1:01.39. Matthews finished second at 1:06.
The relay team of Burek, Linneman, Aly Navarro and junior Britney Loy took second place in the 200yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:01.18. Magnolia took first at 1:59.34.
Linneman also took second place in the 100-yard backstroke to Rylee Barnett, of Magnolia, who swam a
1:07.40. Linneman finished in 1:08.27, ahead of Isabella Harrison’s third-place time of 1:14.58 for Bauxite. Campas placed fourth at 1:16.85, Cevela was fifth at 1:18.89 and Aly Navarro was seventh at 1:24.44.
Campas took first place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:30.43. Emma Grace Ellington, of Magnolia, place second at 3:04.49.
Vondenstein took first place in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley.
His time in the backstroke was 0:57.67, with William Matthews placing second for Arkadelphia at 1:01.87. Vondenstein won the medley with a time of 2:09.11. Bailey McCook, for Magnolia, placed second at 2:33.62.
Navarro won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, with Reiter close behind in both events. He won the 50-yard event with a time of 0:25.03 and Reiter placed second at 0:25.85.
The winning time in the 100-yard event was 0:57.44. Owen Phillips, of Arkadelphia, and Austin Pate, of Bauxite, placed second and third at 0:58.23 and 0:59.32, respectively. Reiter was fourth at 0:59.33 and Lakeside freshman Alex Browning ninth at 1:07.92.
The Hot Springs team of Reiter, seniors Jake Tester and Zach Brown, and junior Garrett Collier placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of
1:57.6. Magnolia, Arkadelphia and Bauxite took first, second and third place, respectively, at 1:47.37; 1:48.63 and 1:49.89.
Reiter qualified at Bishop Park in Bryant on Dec. 7 in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke for the state competition. Freshman Ryan Nieman qualified at Bishop in the 100-yard backstroke and on Jan. 20 at Hendrix College at the Conway Invitational for the
200-yard individual medley. Reiter, Tester, Brown and Nieman qualified Jan. 11 at Bishop Park for the state
200-yard freestyle relay.
Campas qualified for state on on Dec. 7 for the 100yard backstroke. She qualified at Bishop Park again on Feb. 1 for the 100-yard backstroke.
The 5A-1A State Championships will be held Feb.
23-24 by Bentonville High School. Athletes are only allowed to compete in two individual events and two relays per meet. Some athletes are unable to compete in all of the state events for which they qualified.
Burek and Linneman will compete in four events each at state.
Burek qualified in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle and the 200yard individual medley. Launius said she will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke at state.
Linneman qualified for state in the
100-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley. Launius said she will compete in the 100yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley.
Burek and Linneman qualified with Cevela and Aly Navarro on the 200-yard medley relay with Loy as an alternate. The state-qualifying 200-yard freestyle relay team consists of Burek, Linneman, Aly Navarro and freshman Aishani Singh. Cevela and Loy are alternates.
Vondenstein qualified for the 50yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke and
200-yard individual medley state events. Launius said Vondenstein will compete at state in the 100-yard backstroke and
200-yard individual medley.
A.J. Navarro qualified in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200yard freestyle. Navarro will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle state events.
Aly Navarro also placed sixth in the
50-yard freestyle event Friday at district with a time of 0:33.93. Loy placed seventh at 0:34.90 and Hanson placed
10th at 0:36.23.
Browning took fifth place at district in the 100-yard breaststroke event at
1:25.76.
Subsequent finishers included Brown, Hot Springs, seventh place,
1: 30.65; David Bartlett, junior, Hot springs, eighth place, 1:34.39; and Collier, Hot Springs, ninth place, 1:37.04.
Tester placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle event at district with a time of 0:29.80.
Hot Springs is coached by Gary Van Zandt.