Sat Mar 20 2010
VERSAILLES – With the threat of snow in the forecast, coach Kelly Caldwell had some simple instructions Friday for her swimmers at the Region 3 swim meet preliminaries – swim like you’re in the finals.
That’s just what Franklin County’s Zach Burnett and Robert Sell and Western Hills’ Sydney Sell did.
Then, when less snow than expected fell Friday night, the three swimmers had to do the same thing Saturday and for the most part they did.
All three swimmers qualified for next weekend’s state swim meet at the University of Louisville’s Ralph Wright Natatorium.
Burnett won the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, and Sydney Sell won the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
Robert Sell was second in the 100-yard backstroke to automatically qualify for state.
The top two finishers in each event qualify for state, as do the next fastest 24 times from around the state.
The regional meet took place at the Falling Springs Recreation Center.
If the finals had been snowed out Saturday, the times from Friday’s preliminaries would have been used to determine the state qualifiers.
“Yesterday we asked them to race fast and be in the top two in case of snow,” said Caldwell, who coaches all three local high school teams.
“And they did it,” she added. “Zach did it, Robert did it, and Sydney did it. Then when it didn’t snow you think can they come back and do the same thing the next day?”
Burnett, a senior, had the top time from the preliminaries in the 200 freestyle and the second-fastest time in the 100 butterfly. He qualified for state in both events last year and will be making his fourth straight trip to the state meet.
“I had the relay and 200 free real quick before the 100 fly,” Burnett said. “I had about 15 minutes between events, and I was nervous I might not have enough time to recover and get ready to go in the 100 fly.
“I was just so excited I think my want to win kind of overrode everything else,” he said.
Burnett won the 100 butterfly with a time of 55.64 seconds. His winning time in the 200 freestyle was 1 minute, 53.43 seconds.
“I was feeling confident in the 200 free just because my best time was a good five seconds better than what I was seeded as well as what everyone else was seeded,” Burnett said.
And the finals-like swims on Friday didn’t take a toll on him Saturday.
“I don’t think it made a big difference,” Burnett said. “I was really excited yesterday and probably would have swam about the same anyway.
“I also wanted to swim fast yesterday for the mental aspect,” he added. “When you’re seeded first or at least second it says to everyone else to watch out. That’s a big part of the mental aspect. A lot of swimmers are in the ninth and 10th grades, and they haven’t been swimming as long.”
Sydney Sell, a seventh-grader, came into the regional meet as the top seed in both of her individual events. She won the 100 freestyle in 55.71 and the 100 backstroke in 1:01.46.
“I felt good while I was swimming,” Sell said. “My goal was to make state in everything.”
About the only goal she didn’t reach was her time in the 100 backstroke.
“I wanted to get the mark for the regional record,” she said, “but I got a 1:01.” The regional record is 1:00.06 set last year by Woodford County’s Kelsey Bobzien.
Robert Sell was seeded second in both of his individual events after Friday’s preliminaries.
He took second in the 100 freestyle in 51.80 seconds, 2/10ths of a second out of first, and Sell was third in the 100 backstroke in 57.15 seconds, just 2/100ths out of second place.
“I was 2/100ths of a second from qualifying for state,” the sophomore said, “and I didn’t like that, but in the back I made it so that was good.”
Sell said the hardest part about Saturday’s finals was the time between events.
“I think it was the fact we had less time to rest,” he said.
“Robert being third in the free is probably the only disappointment,” Caldwell said, “but his time was the fastest he’s ever swum that event.
“I think he’ll still get in (the state meet) based on his time,” she added, “but I hate it for him not to be an automatic qualifier.”
Three other WHHS swimmers were in the finals Saturday.
Alexis Stiens was sixth in the 100 butterfly, and Kendall Stiens was fourth and Sydney Bratcher was fifth in the 500 freestyle.
Western Hills’ girls also had two relays in the finals – Madison Harbin, Alexis Stiens, Anna Hawkins and Sell were third in the 200 medley relay, and Bratcher, Alexis Stiens, Hawkins and Sell were third in the 400 freestyle relay.
The Lady Wolverines finished in a tie with Scott County for fourth place in the team standings with 140 points. Woodford County won the girls team title with 332 points, followed by Elizabethtown with 189 points and Shelby County at 143.
“Kendall Stiens, a sixth-grader, was fourth in the 500 free and that’s outstanding,” Caldwell said. “Alexis Stiens finished with a good swim in the finals of the butterfly, and Katherine (Caldwell) swam in two consolation regional finals as a sixth-grader.
“I was proud of my boys relay,” she added. “Robert Reed, Christopher Franklin, Ryan Halligan and Jim Church (of FCHS) did an outstanding job.”
The results from Saturday’s finals for the local swimmers, including the consolation and championship finals, are listed below. The top six places swam in the championship finals, and those finishing seventh through 12th swam in the consolation finals.
GIRLS
200-yard medley relay – 3. WHHS (Madison Harbin, Alexis Stiens, Anna Hawkins, Sydney Sell) 2:02.32.
200-yard freestyle – 12. Madison Harbin (WH) 2:21.54.
50-yard freestyle – 8. Heather Ayer (FC) 28.49.
100-yard butterfly – 6. Alexis Stiens (WH) 1:09.13, 10. Katherine Caldwell (WH) 1:12.91.
100-yard freestyle – 1. Sydney Sell (WH) 55.71, 7. Anna Hawkins (WH) 59.81.
500-yard freestyle – 4. Kendall Stiens (WH) 6:06.09, 5. Sydney Bratcher (WH) 6:06.80, 10. Katherine Caldwell (WH) 6:24.25.
100-yard backstroke – 1. Sydney Sell (WH) 1:01.46, 9. Anna Hawkins (WH) 1:08.87, 11. Heather Ayer (FC) 1:11.68.
100-yard breaststroke – 8. Alexis Stiens (WH) 1:18.
400-yard freestyle relay – 3. WHHS (Sydney Bratcher, Alexis Stiens, Anna Hawkins, Sydney Sell) 4:03.67.
BOYS
200-yard medley relay – 9. FCHS (Robert Sell, Ryan Halligan, Zach Burnett, Christopher Franklin) 1:57.42.
200-yard freestyle – 1. Zach Burnett (FC) 1:53.43.
100-yard butterfly – 1. Zach Burnett (FC) 55.64.
100-yard freestyle – 3. Robert Sell (FC) 51.80.
200-yard freestyle relay – 10. FCHS (Ryan Halligan, Reed Roberts, Robert Sell, Zach Burnett) 1:44.77.
100-yard backstroke – 2. Robert Sell (FC) 57.15.
400-yard freestyle relay – 11. FCHS (Christopher Franklin, John Church, Reed Robers, Ryan Halligan) 4:47.42.
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