Coming off of a solid meet against Doherty, Coronado’s girls swim team lost to the Pine Creek Eagles by 35 points on Tuesday, 1/9.

The team began the day with the bang, taking both first and third in the 200 medley relay. The winning team of Leanne Telle, 9, Lindsey Murray, 12, Stephanie Boyd, 9, and Erin Field, 9, posted a strong state-qualifying mark and was anchored by a blazing fast 25.69 50 free by Field. Elle Gray kept the momentum for the Cougars going in the 200 free, where she PR’ed by 16 seconds and claimed second for the team. In the next event, the 200 IM, Boyd made a quick turnaround from her first event to take second overall. The most spectacular team effort of the day came in the next event, the 50 free, where Mia Shaeffer, 11, posted a smashing 26.09 to win the event, Chloe Cassens, 12,  swam a 27.65 to claim second, and Leanne Telle followed closely behind in third.

The Cougars also showed off their prowess in the 100 butterfly, Erin Field claiming second place with a time of 1:16.35, and Lindsey Murray getting third in 1:17.59. Another third came from Chloe Cassens in the 100 free before Mia Shaeffer pulled in another second in the 500 free. The Cougars continued that momentum into the 200 free relay, where Boyd, Telle, Field, and Shaeffer produced a strong, state qualifying mark for first place, and another team pulled off a third place finish.

However, it was in the next events where the Cougars lost significant steam, however. In the following event, the 100 back, Pine Creek managed to secure first through fourth place, earning them 13 points. Erin Field rallied in the next event, the 100 breast, for second place, and a team claimed third in the 400 free relay, but the deficit from Pine Creek’s strong freestyle and backstroke performances ended up leaving the Cougars in the dust, 75-110.

The Cougars will compete at the Colorado Springs Metro League Championships hosted by Fountain Fort Carson on 2/2/18 at 4 P.M. There they will take on stiff competition and hope to qualify even more athletes for State! Captain Lindsey Murray hopes even more individuals will be able to produce fast times there, as it is the last chance to qualify. The team has “put in the hard grunt work all season, and now [we are] just perfecting things like starts, turns, breathing, and technique”.

Good luck women’s swim and dive!