M-S Swimmers set school records at Urbana Invitational
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour’s short-handed girls’ swimming team – just six swimmers and one diver were available – set two school records and five other personal bests on Saturday (Oct. 7) in the Urbana Invitational.
Diver Bella Almaroad shattered the one-meter mark for 11 dives with a score of 291.55. The previous record, 269.45, was established in 2019 by Carly Raver.
Almaroad placed second in the event.
Talynn O’Donnell won two events, including the 100-yard backstroke with a school-record time of 1 minute, 2.44 seconds.
She broke a mark that was set in 2021 by Olivia McMurry (1:03.36).
O’Donnell was also victorious in the 200-yard freestyle (2:02.48).
Other personal bests were registered by Caroline Mills in two events, and Lainey Howard, Christina Peng and Claire Waggoner in one each.
Mills was third in the 200-yard freestyle (2:08.53 by 3.0 seconds) and fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:46.24 by 5.4 seconds).
Howard lowered her all-time best in the 200-yard individual medley by 1.7 seconds to 2:23.54. Howard recorded a runner-up finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:15.51).
Other personal bests were by Waggoner and Peng. Waggoner was seventh in the 50-yard freestyle (28.79). Peng logged a personal best in the 50-yard freestyle, based on her leadoff leg in the 200-yard medley relay (36.55).
Kayleigh Holt and Waggoner also registered top-seven performances in individual events.
Holt was seventh in the 100-yard backstroke (1:18.02) and Waggoner was seventh in the 100-yard freestyle (1:06.84).
The Bulldogs’ 400-yard relay foursome combined for a first-place finish in 3:57.93. The unit consisted of O’Donnell, Mills, Waggoner and Howard.
The M-S 200-yard freestyle relay took third in 1:56.59. The swimmers were O’Donnell, Peng, Holt and Mills.
The meet champion was Normal University High with 588 points. Runner-up Centennial collected 387 points. Fifth-place M-S wound up with 245 points.
M-S returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 12) in a quadrangular meet at Urbana.
