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Darien Apuron sets a new school record in the 100Fly. Photo courtesy Apuron Photography
On Saturday, October 8, the Miner Swim Team attended the Saturday Night Fever Swim Meet held at Chandler High School. With the Division III State Championship Meet less than a month away, it was a great opportunity for the Miners to qualify individual swimmers and relays.
Miner swimmers made the most of the opportunity. Nearly every swimmer swam personal best times. Coaches were especially pleased with the way that both the Boys and Girls Freestyle Relays swam. “All four of our Freestyle Relays swam spectacular races under the lights” Coach Alex Gort added.
Only the fastest 16 relay teams will be allowed to participate at the Division III State Championship Meet in November. The Girls 200 Freestyle Relay Team of Darien Apuron, BaiLee Hill, Raya Woods, and Gianna Sweeney swam a season’s best time of 2:01.62 which is not fast enough to qualify for State yet, but getting very close. The Boys 200 Freestyle Relay Team of Colbey Stratton, Michael Primero-Predgo, Michael Garcia, and Robert Sweeney swam an outstanding time of 1:41.96 which is likely good enough to get them to the State Championship. The Girls 400 Freestyle Relay team of Gianna Sweeney, Darien Apuron, Bonnie Bridges, and Raya Woods swam a season best time of 4:35.15 to keep ranked in the top 16. The Boys 400 Freestyle Relay had already posted a great time at qualifying meet in September, but showed that they have the firepower to finish in the top 8 at State. The relay team of Colbey Stratton, Michael Primero-Predgo, Michael Garcia, and Robert Sweeney swam a time of 3:47.22 which was 9 seconds faster than their September time.
In addition to great relay swims, Miner Swimmers had many great individual performances. The fastest 24 swimmers in each event will compete at the State Championship Meet. Robert Sweeney had two very good swims in the 200 Freestyle (2:03.95) and 500 Freestyle (5:45.34), both of which will most likely be good enough to swim at State. Colbey Stratton swam the 100 Butterfly in a time of 1:00.81 which will get him a spot at the State Meet.
Some of the most outstanding swims came from the Sophomore Girls. Darien Apuron had already qualified for the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke, while Gianna Sweeney had already qualified for the 200 IM, 100 Breaststroke, and 100 Freestyle. Darien Apuron swam a very good 200 Individual Medley (IM) to get a time of 2:27.14 which is good enough for a top 10 ranking in the State. Coach Alex commented on his excitement with the fact that Miners could have two girls (Apuron and Sweeney) ranked in the top 10 in the IM “The 200 IM is the all-around event in swimming and to have two Miners ranked so high is quite an accomplishment”. Apuron went on to swim an incredible 100 Butterfly to better her school record to 1:04.48 and also rank her in the top 10.
Gianna Sweeney competes in the 100 Breaststroke. Photo courtesy Apuron Photography
Gianna Sweeney looked to expand her choices by swimming the 50 and 500 Freestyle events. Sweeney swam both races in school record times; 26.58 in the 50 Freestyle and 5:46.94 in the 500 Freestyle. Both times were good enough to qualify for State and will give Sweeney the luxury of having choices when it comes to selecting her events for State.
The next competition for the Miners will be the TGS Hawks Swim Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Amphitheater pool at 9 a.m.
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