Platte County won four events and just missed the team title at its largest home meet held over the weekend.
Raymore-Peculiar scored 387 points and just edged the Pirates, who finished with 379 points Saturday, Dec. 16 at Platte County Community Center North. There were 11 teams total at the Pirate Invitational.
Platte County freshman Shannon Banark remained just off of automatic qualifying cuts for the Missouri State Swimming and Diving Championships’ 200-meter individual medley and 100 butterfly while winning both events. She also posted a new consideration cut in the 100 freestyle as the lead leg of the third-place 400 freestyle relay, which also included Emilia Wisniewski, Lindsey Swindler and Sage Nichols.
The 400 freestyle relay set a season-best at 4 minutes, 12.92 seconds and bettered its consideration cut for Platte County, which also finished third in the 200 medley relay (Banark, Swindler, Bailey Newell and Natalie Wolbert).
Newell, a senior and returning state qualifier for Platte County, also won the 100 backstroke, and her time of 1:08.89 was just off of a consideration cut. The top non-automatic qualifying times which will be used to ensure a full 32-entrant field for each event at state. The Pirates also benefited from a 1-2 showing in 1-meter diving for Abigail Newman (329.75) and Emily Kruse (299.85) — the lone entrants.
Newman currently has the No. 1 state qualifying score in 1-meter diving for Class 1.
Flyer Invitational
Park Hill South won three events and improved some state qualification marks during a trip over the weekend to St. Louis, Mo. The Panthers also came away with the team title in a strong field of 11 teams.
Paige Riekhof (200 freestyle), Georgia Clark (100 backstroke) and Taylor Young (1-meter diving) were individual winners Saturday, Dec. 16 for Park Hill South, while the 200 medley team of Riekhof, Georgia Clark, Emma Clark and Nadya McCullough finished second behind Cor Jesu Academy but posted the top Class 1 time so far this season (1:54.20).
Riekhof’s 200 freestyle mark of 1:55.86 was a season-best and also the top Class 1 time, and she posted a season-best 58.99 while finishing second in the 100 butterfly. Georgia Clark made a state cut in the 200 individual medley, finishing second, while winning the 100 backstroke but coming up just shy of her season-best.
The night before, Park Hill South took the top spot in a small three-team meet. Amelia Lee (50 freestyle), Young (1-meter diving), Laurel Burns (100 freestyle), Abbie Day (500 freestyle), Riekhof (100 backstroke) and Georgia Clark (100 breaststroke) were the Panthers’ individual winners, and they swept the three relays.
Day posted a consideration state cut in the 500 freestyle.
Raymore-Peculiar 102, Platte County 65
Banark made it six consideration cuts in six different individual events during a dual Tuesday, Dec. 12 in Raymore, Mo.
Platte County won four of 11 events with the star freshman accounting for two. She posted top times in the 100 freestyle (57.27) and 100 breaststroke (1:12.79). Lindsey Swindler (200 IM) and Sage Nichols (500 freestyle) took the other individual victories for the Pirates.
Lee’s Summit West 178, Park Hill 128
Welsh played a role in all three of the Trojans’ wins in a dual Tuesday, Dec. 12 in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Her times in a 200 freestyle victory (1:57.99) was a an automatic qualifying cut, while she just missed the mark in winning the 500 freestyle (5:32.41).
Park Hill also took the top spot in the final relay with Welsh, junior Abigail Culp, freshman Meagan Shaw and sophomore Emma Will finishing in 4:03.29.