Results
Jacksonville, IL – The Prairie Fire swimming teams earned a win and a tie at a triangular meet hosted by Illinois College on Saturday.
The Knox women’s team was edged by IC 48-45 and defeated Eureka College 74-12. The Knox men’s squad tied Eureka 29-29 and was outscored by the Blueboys 58-16.
The Prairie Fire combined for six first place finishes and 14 other top three performances at the meet.
First-year Chris Walsh (Boulder, CO, Shining Mountain Waldorf School) led the way with wins in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. First-year Sam Chen (Englewood, CO, Cherry Creek) placed second in the 100 breaststroke and sophomore Niko Kontos (Northbrook, IL, Glenbrook South) was third in the 100 freestyle for the Prairie Fire men.
The men’s team also finished second in the 200 medley relay and third in the 200 freestyle relay. Swimming a leg in each were Walsh, Chen, Kontos, and sophomore Nick Polizos (Hoffman Estates, IL, Barrington Community).
The individual winners for the Prairie Fire women were sophomore Susannah Lodge-Rigal (Bloomington, IN, Bloomington) in the 1650 freestyle, sophomore Madeline Troy (Naperville, IL, Naperville North) in the 500 free, and senior Zoey Kudla (Ypsilanti, MI, Greenhills School) in the 100 backstroke.
The Knox women’s team also won the 200 freestyle relay, swam by the foursome of Lodge-Rigal, Troy, sophomore Colleen Shelly (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg), and first-year Maddie Boehm (Kenosha, WI, Harborside Academy). Kudla, Shelly, Troy, and Lodge-Rigal helped the Prairie Fire place second in the 200 medley relay.
Kudla and Troy added second place finishes in the 400 IM and the 1650 freestyle, respectively, and junior Marie Anderson (Pleasant Hill, CA, Athenian School) placed second in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke. In addition, sophomore ShirJia Bielefeld (Weston, WI, D C Everest) was second in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 200 freestyle.
In addition, three Knox women’s swimmers finished second in events during the meet. Shelly was the runner-up in the 50 freestyle, Bohm in the 100 butterfly, and junior Kaylie Prince (Westminster, CO, Standley Lake) in the 100 freestyle.
Coach Jonathan Powers hoped the results would have been more favorable for the Prairie Fire.
"We weren’t 100 percent because of illness and I-Fair, but I feel bad for the team because if I had done one or two different things with the line-up, the women could have beaten IC and the men would have beaten Eureka."
The Knox swim teams close out the regular season with dual meets at Beloit College on February 2 at 1:00. The 2013 Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted by Grinnell College, follow on February 15 and continue through February 17.
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