Results
Beloit, WI – Swimmers for both the women’s and men’s teams won two events each in the regular season final for the Prairie Fire, a double dual at Beloit College.
Senior Tory Kassabaum (Webster Groves, MO, Webster Groves) placed first in the 100 butterfly and the 200 backstroke, and she was also part of the Fire’s 2nd place 400 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams.
Senior Tyler O'Neill (Bloomington, MN, Perpich Center for Arts Education) won the 100 backstroke and the 200 breaststroke and helped the men’s team place second in the 400 freestyle relay.
The Knox women defeated Beloit 77-44 and lost to Carroll 60-58. The Pioneers came away with the victory over the Prairie Fire by winning the final relay.
The Knox men’s team lost to Beloit 59-48 and fell to Carroll 60-46.
The swimming teams set 18 season best times at the meet. They included a 10 second drop by junior Zoey Kudla (Ypsilanti, MI, Greenhills ) in the 400 IM, a 10 second drop by first-year Susannah Lodge-Rigal (Bloomington, IN, Bloomington) in the 500 freestyle, a 15 second drop by first-yearKathleen Magill (Bellbrook, OH, Bellbrook) in the 500 freestyle, and a 19 second drop by senior Alan Ning in the 400 IM.
Other winners for the women’s team were seniors Laura Blue (Ann Arbor, MI, Pioneer) and Bess Cooley (Shorewood, WI, Shorewood), along with Lodge-Rigal. Blue won the 1650 freestyle and Cooley the 400 IM. Cooley also finished second in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Lodge-Rigal placed first in the 500 freestyle.
Kudla, meanwhile, scored a couple of second place finishes – in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
Junior Patrick Inness (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) joined O’Neill as an event winner for the men’s team. Inness won the 200 freestyle and was the runner-up in the 100 freestyle.
Senior Jeff Wickman (Naperville, IL, Naperville North) added a second in the 200 backstroke.
“People are swimming well and have put in a lot of hard work so I’m excited to see how we’ll swim in two weeks,” coach Jonathan Powers said.
Powers is referring to the 2012 Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by Lawrence University February 17-19.
“I’m so proud with the effort people have put in. People are stepping up looking to how they can help the team at (the) conference (meet),” Powers said.
Three Prairie Fire women’s swimmers have a combined 12 top 10 MWC times. Six belong to Kassabaum in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 1000 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, and the 100 butterfly.
Cooley has five top 10 times, including #3 in the 200 breaststroke and #4 in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM.
Lodge-Rigal has the eighth fastest time in the 1650 freestyle.
On the men’s side, O’Neill turned in the ninth fastest time in the conference in the 100 breaststroke on December 9, 2011 at Illinois College.
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