Results
Eureka, IL – The Prairie Fire swimming teams swept the competition on Saturday at the 2012 Eureka College Sprint Meet.
Knox had an exceptionally strong showing, winning 12 of the 24 events and, according to coach Jonathan Powers, setting 17 season-best times.
The Prairie Fire women’s squad finished with 112 points, well ahead of second place Robert Morris University’s 42. Fellow Midwest Conference member Illinois College was third with 32 points, followed by Principia College’s 22 and host Eureka College with 11 points.
The Fire men’s team garnered 82 points. Illinois College placed second with 59, Principia was third with 50 and Eureka finished fourth with 28.
One swimmer from each Prairie Fire team won two events while seven different swimmers posted first place finishes.
Senior Rachel Clark (Newton, IA, Newton) won the 50 and 200 freestyle races and finished second in the 100 freestyle. Junior Patrick Inness (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) did the same for the men’s team by winning the 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle and placing #2 in the 100 free.
The Prairie Fire also won the two 200 yard medley relay races, earning 14 points for each victory. The first winning foursome was seniors Tory Kassabaum (Webster Groves, MO, Webster Groves), Tyler O'Neill (Bloomington, MN, Perpich Center for Arts Education), and Anne Heberle (Lodi, CA, Tokay) along with Inness. The other victorious Knox 200 yard medley relay team included seniors Jeff Wickman (Naperville, IL, Naperville North), Bess Cooley (Shorewood, WI, Shorewood), Alan Ning (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) and Clark.
“This meet is always a lot of fun with shorter events and co-ed relays,” Powers said. “People had the opportunity to swim (events) they normally don’t and they did well. A lot of people scored points for us and that helped contribute to two big wins.”
The Prairie Fire’s other event winners were Kassabaum in the 100 freestyle, Cooley in the 50 butterfly, O’Neill in the 100 IM, Ning in the 100 butterfly, and Heberle in the 100 butterfly.
Knox placed 1, 2, 3 in the women’s 100 freestyle and 2, 3, 4 in the women’s 50 backstroke. The men’s team also finished 2, 3, 4 in the 50 backstroke.
The Prairie Fire will see Eureka College and Illinois College again on January 28 as IC hosts a meet with the three schools beginning at 1:00 p.m.
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