Swimmers step up

Johnson, Hildebrandt lead Wildcat charge at sectional

By Bob Burrows

The improvement shown by the Wildcat girls swimming and diving team this year has been slow but steady. And that improvement reached another level last Saturday when the Cats finished third at the WIAA Division 2 sectional meet and qualified two individuals and a relay team for this weekend's WIAA State Swimming and Diving Championships in Madison.

The Cats' third place team finish at the 14-team sectional is a vast improvement over last year's seventh place finish. And while Jessica Johnson was the lone Cat to qualify for state last year, this season the sophomore will be joined by some of her teammates, including senior diver Kelly Hildebrandt.

"For what we've had to deal with this year, these girls have done the absolute best that they could," head coach Darin Harden said. "Getting up at four in the morning for an hour-and-a-half practice, then going to school all day, they really showed the dedication and team spirit it takes. Swimming is a big individual sport, but as a team everybody has to contribute. And every one of them worked as hard as they could. I'm really proud of each and every one of them.

"For not having our own facility, this really showed the dedication of all 18 girls on this team," he added. "Getting this many girls to qualify for state is unbelievable."

Johnson earned her second trip to state in two years by winning two events and setting a new school record in the process. Her time of 1 minute, 59.06 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle broke her own mark set earlier this year. She also qualified for state in the 500-yard freestyle with a first-place time of 5:24.24.

"Jessie really went after that 200," Harden said. "She started strong and raced real competitive. The whole field was really close in time and everybody had to go after it. Jessie wanted it more than anyone else."

Hildebrandt advanced to the state meet with a first place score of 325.0 in diving. She led a strong Wildcat performance in the event that included a second place score of 304.7 by sophomore Morgan McCardle and a fourth place score of 268.8 by senior Chelsea Olson. Harden said the three divers put the Cats in good position early in the meet.

"I was really happy with the diving," he noted. "All three divers dove exceptionally well and gave us a nice beginning to the meet."

Johnson and Hildebrandt also teamed up with freshman Maria Pfuehler and junior Britta Stunkard in the 200-yard medley relay for a fifth place finish in that event with a time of 2:02.49. Harden and the Cats found out on Sunday that the time was good enough to earn an extra qualifying spot at state, just getting in under the state qualifying standard of 2:02.66. McCardle and Olson will join the four as alternates in Madison on Friday.

"They really looked good," Harden said about the relay team. "I was surprised with our place and qualifying for state. That's an extra plus for River Falls swimming, but they definitely deserve it."

Harden pointed to other strong performances that allowed the Cats to finish third overall as a team, specifically the 400-yard freestyle relay combination of Johnson, McCardle, Stunkard, and Pfuehler in the last race of the day.

"At the beginning of the race the girls knew we were three points out of third place," he explained. "Jessie set a good pace for us and the rest of the girls really pushed themselves. It gave us the points we needed to finish in third."

Harden said he is optimistic about Friday's state meet in Madison. Johnson has the second fastest qualifying time going into both of her events, and, he added, Hildebrandt and the relay team have just as good a shot as anybody else.

"The group we have going looks pretty good," he noted. "Jessie is looking really good in her two races. Kelly will have to dive really well. And with the relay team, we're really close to everybody else in our heat so we could finish well in that race."

State diving competition begins at 2:30 p.m., Friday, at the University of Wisconsin Natatorium in Madison. Swimming competition is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.