SL finishes 12th at state swim finals

Mon, Nov 23, 2009    to del.icio.us

Spring Lake's girls swimming team turned in its best finish in school history at the Division 3 state finals on Saturday.

Behind a pair of all-state performances from senior Maria Kieft, the Lakers finished tied for 12th overall with Haslett High School, as both schools scored 62 points. East Grand Rapids was the run-away winner of the meet held at Eastern Michigan University with 416 points.

"I am very proud to be this team's coach," head coach Penny Zacek said. "They all competed well at the state meet, which can be a little intimidating especially for first-time participants."

Kieft placed third in the 100-yard backstroke with a stellar time of 59.83 seconds, and was also eighth in the 50 freestyle, clocking in at 25.57 seconds.

Lakers' junior diver Becca Mumby placed 11th overall with a score of 340.85, and was only 10 points out of eighth place — the cut-off for all-state honors.

"Our goal this year was to make it to the state meet, so finishing 11th is great for Becca," Spring Lake diving coach Barb Brackett said. "I'm very proud of her finish and all the hard work she put into this meet. We're looking forward to next season already."

Other Lakers who finished in the top 16 included a school record-breaking performance by Riley Thyfault in the 100 butterfly (14th, 1:03.00); and Lydia Gleason in the 100 breaststroke (15th, 1:12.03).

"I was a little concerned going into the meet that there might be a little letdown after the excitment of our first-ever conference championship," Zacek said. "But the girls were focused in the pool and on the board."

Spring Lake's 200 medley relay of Kieft, Gleason, Laura Lukkari and Meg Bouman, also earned all-state recognition by placing eighth with a time of 1:55.50. The Lakers' 400 freestyle relay finished 16th.

GH FINISHES 24TH

Saline's 244 points topped the field at the Division 1 state finals at the Holland Aquatic Center, with Grand Haven placing tied for 24th with 17 points.

The Bucs' top finisher at the meet was Currin Hall, who placed 11th in the 100 butterfly. She touched the wall in 59.05 seconds.

Gretchen Spoelman placed 14th in the 100 breaststroke at 1:09.61, and the Bucs' 200 medley relay team placed 13th. It consisted of Hannah Meade, Spoelman, Hall and Emily Dean.