Sturgis girls swimming sets records, adds to state qualifying list at conference meet
BATTLE CREEK — Chalk up another five state-qualifying swims for the Sturgis girls swimming and diving team.
Oh, and four of those were for conference championships. The Trojans also broke four school records at the SCC Championships this past weekend. At Harper Creek, Allegan won the team title with 461 points. Plainwell finished second with 359 and Sturgis was third with 332.
Kaylee Draper won two conference championships. She swam to first place in the 50-yard freestyle at 24.80 seconds and the 100 freestyle at 54.29 seconds, both state-qualifying times. Draper's 50 free time set the school record, previously held by Mackenzie Mikulenas in 2000 at 24.89 seconds.
Ainsley Gump paced the field in the 200 individual medley at 2:17.50, a state time. Kenzy Triezenberg's first-place swim in the 100 breaststroke also had a state time of 1:10.96 and broke Bronte Stewart's school record of 1:11.02.
Also earning a state cut time was Emma Garbine. She qualified in the 50 freestyle during prelims on Friday with a time of 25.69.
Sturgis set school records in a couple of relays, as well.
The team of Draper, Triezenberg, Gump and Garbine took second in the 200 medley relay, breaking their own record with a time of 1:52.61. The 200 freestyle relay team of Draper, Gump, Hannah Garbine and Emma Garbine reset their own record as well, placing second at 1:41.93.
Sturgis' 200 medley relay team also earned all-conference honors. Jane Toner, Hannah Garbine, Stella Males and Mia Albarran posted a time of 2:08.61 for seventh place.
Toner swam to eighth place in the 200 freestyle finals, her time was 2:15.21.
Hannah Garbine swam to fifth in the 200 IM at 2:28.87, Triezenberg came in ninth at 2:33.21.
Emma Garbine was second in the 50 freestyle at 25.98 seconds, Cora Taylor finished 10th in the diving competition with 230.40 points.
In the 100 butterfly, Albarran's time of 1:12.71 was good for eighth. Males was 15th at 1:16.83.
Sturgis finished with the top three spots in the 100 freestyle. Draper won, Gump (55.80) was second and Emma Garbine (56.09) was third.
Toner came in 16th for the 500 freestyle; her time was 6:28.82.
The Sturgis second team of Jazira Lara-Flores, Chloe Clark, Kylie Rose and Mia Feyes came in 13th for the 200 freestyle relay at 2:03.98.
Hannah Garbine placed sixth in the 100 backstroke at 1:08.59. Males was 13th at 1:13.51.
In the 400 free relay, Sturgis finished eighth with Toner, Rose, Albarran and Triezenberg posting a time of 4:16.04. The team of Feyes, Rylee Myers, Males and Clark finished 13th at 4:47.00.
All-conference honors went to swimmers in the top eight. Those finishing 9-16 were recognized as consolation finalists.
The regular season is now complete, with the Division 2 state finals scheduled for the Holland Aquatic Center, Nov. 17-18.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Sturgis girls swimming adds to state qualifying list at conference meet
