There’s a new math story problem in Indiana swimming this morning--it’s shave+taper+racing suits+guts=FANTASTIC opening night for the Yorktown Tigers! The YHS swimmers swept through the Fishers Sectional field in last night’s prelims, nailing down 6 of the 11 top seeds decided on Thursday night.
The 21st ranked YHS girls opened the night in style, roaring to a season-best 1:50.25 in the 200 Medley Relay. That’s FASTER than the IHSAA State Cut and just .36 off the Yorktown school record. The performance by junior Caroline Grasso, junior Jessica Extine, freshman Lauren Elston, and senior Larah Beaver earned the quarter the top seed in Saturday’s championship final. The girls will head to the State Meet if they can hold on and win the event on Saturday. They’ll also head for the Nat if they don’t win, but equal or surpass the State Cut. I’ve said it several times before this season--this group of girls is capable of going under 1:48, and they just might HAVE to in order to be champions. Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern will give Yorktown all it can handle 24 hours from now.
Freshman Katelyn Grasso, senior Kirsten Nickoli and Caroline Grasso kept the momentum going in the 200 Free. The younger Grasso sister dropped more than two seconds with a 2:09.91; Nickoli cut nearly four-and-a-half seconds with a 2:11.13; and the older Grasso sister lowered her best time by more than two seconds to finish with a 2:03.89.
More major time drops came in the 200 IM. Senior Chelsea lowered her previous best by almost seven seconds (2:31.21); junior Kersea Gable posted a drop of more than nine seconds to finish in 2:29.65; and Elston served notice that she’s a threat to win it all Saturday, trimming her seed time by more than four seconds to post a 2:14.61.
The 50 Free kept the excitement going for the green and white. Junior Macey Taylor put up a solid 29.15; junior Ashley Sexton dropped nearly a second-and-a-half (26.20); and defending Sectional champ Extine staked her claim to a possible repeat title, earning the top seed with her best time of the season (24.50).
Elston put on another dazzling show in the 100 Fly, cutting more than 1.5 seconds off her seed time with a 1:00.35. Fellow freshman Bailey Windell slashed her seed time by more than four seconds (1:12.53), and 9th grader Katy Brown’s 1:24.28 surpassed her seed time by more than a half-second.
In the 100 Free, freshman Katie Keller shattered the one-minute barrier for the first time with a cut of nearly three-and-a-half seconds (58.42); Sexton’s first trip under 60 flat this season (57.31) lowered her season-best by almost four seconds; and Beaver (the event defending champ) cruised to the top seeding Saturday with a season-best 53.72. Beaver competed in a regular, dual meet tank suit instead of a racing suit, and unshaved. She has a LOT left in her arsenal for the rest of the State Tournament run. Kelsi Hall’s YHS record of 51.49 is in serious jeopardy tomorrow.
The Yorktown distance group shone brightly last night in the 500 Free, where seconds were dropping like flies! Katelyn Grasso hit the water first and knocked more than 11 seconds off her best time with a 5:46.94. In the next heat, Nickoli and Windell took Katelyn’s lead and did it one better. Nickoli’s 5:43.33 was a whopping 14 seconds faster than her seed time. And Windell stood behind the Super Bailey name on her practice cap, drilling the scoreboard with a four-second time drop to advance with a 5:42.67.
Yorktown’s four stud-ettes also staked their claim to a potential crown in the 200 Free Relay. Extine, Caroline Grasso, Elston and Beaver surpassed the State Cut and grabbed the #1 seed for the championship final, racing to a 1:39.13. That’s nearly 1.7 seconds faster than their previous best in 2011-12, but based on their splits last night, these fine young ladies have a LOT more octane in their collective tank. Put them on the block BETWEEN Fishers and HSE on Saturday, throw in the adrenaline of a championship race, and YHS fans might be treated to a blazing fast time in the final!
Perhaps the greatest performance of the night by the Yorktown girls came in the 100 Back. Beaver was in cruise control down the stretch to easily earn the top seed with a State Cut time of 58.67. Caroline Grasso earned second in the prelims at 59.86 (a drop of nearly 1.5 seconds). And Keller made it a Tiger trifecta with the best time of her life (by more than two seconds), finishing with a 1:03.82. That’s a 1-2-5 performance in the event, and it would earn Yorktown an incredible 51 points if they can make those positions stand up on Saturday. To put that in perspective, winning a relay is only worth 40 points at this meet.
Extine showed the crowd that she isn’t just a sprint freestyler and flier--she has chosen NOT to swim the 100 Fly this time around. And that gamble paid off handsomely last night. Extine’s breakout was spectacular, and she exploded through the first 50 on her way to the top seed in the 100 Breast. Jess’ 1:08.82 lowered her lifetime best in the event by nearly two seconds. Gable put the “able” into the event, dropping more than two seconds with a 1:16.04. Chelsea Watters lowered her seed time by more than four seconds to finish in 1:18.18.
Yorktown also put up a solid performance in the final race of the night, the 400 Free Relay. Sexton, Gable, Katelyn Grasso and Keller swam to their best effort of the season, taking the #4 seeding for Saturday in 3:56.44. They can go even faster on Saturday.
As I wrote earlier this week, Yorktown needs a near-perfect, top-to-bottom effort to seriously threaten Fishers and HSE for the team championship. The Lady Tigers earned the start they needed Thursday night. With even BETTER swims tomorrow, and a little luck, they’re gonna make a SERIOUS run at the first swimming Sectional championship in Yorktown High School history.
No excuses, no regrets, NO LIMITS!
B-E-L-I-E-V-E!
GO TIGERS!
The 21st ranked YHS girls opened the night in style, roaring to a season-best 1:50.25 in the 200 Medley Relay. That’s FASTER than the IHSAA State Cut and just .36 off the Yorktown school record. The performance by junior Caroline Grasso, junior Jessica Extine, freshman Lauren Elston, and senior Larah Beaver earned the quarter the top seed in Saturday’s championship final. The girls will head to the State Meet if they can hold on and win the event on Saturday. They’ll also head for the Nat if they don’t win, but equal or surpass the State Cut. I’ve said it several times before this season--this group of girls is capable of going under 1:48, and they just might HAVE to in order to be champions. Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern will give Yorktown all it can handle 24 hours from now.
Freshman Katelyn Grasso, senior Kirsten Nickoli and Caroline Grasso kept the momentum going in the 200 Free. The younger Grasso sister dropped more than two seconds with a 2:09.91; Nickoli cut nearly four-and-a-half seconds with a 2:11.13; and the older Grasso sister lowered her best time by more than two seconds to finish with a 2:03.89.
More major time drops came in the 200 IM. Senior Chelsea lowered her previous best by almost seven seconds (2:31.21); junior Kersea Gable posted a drop of more than nine seconds to finish in 2:29.65; and Elston served notice that she’s a threat to win it all Saturday, trimming her seed time by more than four seconds to post a 2:14.61.
The 50 Free kept the excitement going for the green and white. Junior Macey Taylor put up a solid 29.15; junior Ashley Sexton dropped nearly a second-and-a-half (26.20); and defending Sectional champ Extine staked her claim to a possible repeat title, earning the top seed with her best time of the season (24.50).
Elston put on another dazzling show in the 100 Fly, cutting more than 1.5 seconds off her seed time with a 1:00.35. Fellow freshman Bailey Windell slashed her seed time by more than four seconds (1:12.53), and 9th grader Katy Brown’s 1:24.28 surpassed her seed time by more than a half-second.
In the 100 Free, freshman Katie Keller shattered the one-minute barrier for the first time with a cut of nearly three-and-a-half seconds (58.42); Sexton’s first trip under 60 flat this season (57.31) lowered her season-best by almost four seconds; and Beaver (the event defending champ) cruised to the top seeding Saturday with a season-best 53.72. Beaver competed in a regular, dual meet tank suit instead of a racing suit, and unshaved. She has a LOT left in her arsenal for the rest of the State Tournament run. Kelsi Hall’s YHS record of 51.49 is in serious jeopardy tomorrow.
The Yorktown distance group shone brightly last night in the 500 Free, where seconds were dropping like flies! Katelyn Grasso hit the water first and knocked more than 11 seconds off her best time with a 5:46.94. In the next heat, Nickoli and Windell took Katelyn’s lead and did it one better. Nickoli’s 5:43.33 was a whopping 14 seconds faster than her seed time. And Windell stood behind the Super Bailey name on her practice cap, drilling the scoreboard with a four-second time drop to advance with a 5:42.67.
Yorktown’s four stud-ettes also staked their claim to a potential crown in the 200 Free Relay. Extine, Caroline Grasso, Elston and Beaver surpassed the State Cut and grabbed the #1 seed for the championship final, racing to a 1:39.13. That’s nearly 1.7 seconds faster than their previous best in 2011-12, but based on their splits last night, these fine young ladies have a LOT more octane in their collective tank. Put them on the block BETWEEN Fishers and HSE on Saturday, throw in the adrenaline of a championship race, and YHS fans might be treated to a blazing fast time in the final!
Perhaps the greatest performance of the night by the Yorktown girls came in the 100 Back. Beaver was in cruise control down the stretch to easily earn the top seed with a State Cut time of 58.67. Caroline Grasso earned second in the prelims at 59.86 (a drop of nearly 1.5 seconds). And Keller made it a Tiger trifecta with the best time of her life (by more than two seconds), finishing with a 1:03.82. That’s a 1-2-5 performance in the event, and it would earn Yorktown an incredible 51 points if they can make those positions stand up on Saturday. To put that in perspective, winning a relay is only worth 40 points at this meet.
Extine showed the crowd that she isn’t just a sprint freestyler and flier--she has chosen NOT to swim the 100 Fly this time around. And that gamble paid off handsomely last night. Extine’s breakout was spectacular, and she exploded through the first 50 on her way to the top seed in the 100 Breast. Jess’ 1:08.82 lowered her lifetime best in the event by nearly two seconds. Gable put the “able” into the event, dropping more than two seconds with a 1:16.04. Chelsea Watters lowered her seed time by more than four seconds to finish in 1:18.18.
Yorktown also put up a solid performance in the final race of the night, the 400 Free Relay. Sexton, Gable, Katelyn Grasso and Keller swam to their best effort of the season, taking the #4 seeding for Saturday in 3:56.44. They can go even faster on Saturday.
As I wrote earlier this week, Yorktown needs a near-perfect, top-to-bottom effort to seriously threaten Fishers and HSE for the team championship. The Lady Tigers earned the start they needed Thursday night. With even BETTER swims tomorrow, and a little luck, they’re gonna make a SERIOUS run at the first swimming Sectional championship in Yorktown High School history.
No excuses, no regrets, NO LIMITS!
B-E-L-I-E-V-E!
GO TIGERS!
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