Girls swim team begins season on good note

Sophomore Claire Brown swims the butterfly stroke of the 200-yard individual medley during the team’s home opener on Mar. 31 in Osawatomie.

The Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg girls swim team has already faced some difficult competition through its first two meets to start the season and it was no more evident than its last event in Topeka.

The Miami County team traveled to the Topeka High Invitational at Hummer Sports Complex and squared off against teams from Washburn Rural, Shawnee Heights, Seaman, Hayden, Hays and Junction City.

In all, the girls more than held their own as they finished fifth overall during the April 8 meet with 247 points. Washburn Rural won with 485.

Sophomore Claire Brown had a strong day as she finished runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1 minute and 12 seconds. Brown also finished third in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:18.

Brown also teamed up with Sydney Keaton, Abby Bradley and Ashley Branine to take runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:59.

Branine also went on to record a fifth-place finish in the 50 freestyle in 29.86. Keaton finished fifth in the 100 freestyle in 1:09.

Dana Mattison rounded out the top placers as she took fourth in the 500 freestyle in 7:15.

Osawatomie-Paola-Louisburg opened its season at home in a quadrangular against Hayden, Piper and Fort Scott on Mar. 31.

The Miami County girls went on to finish third with 234 points. Hayden won with 295 and Piper was second with 262.

The 200 medley relay team of Branine, Keaton, Brown and Bradley won to open the meet in a time of 2:16.

Keaton followed that up with a victory in the 100 freestyle in 1:08 and later finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:29.

Brown took third in the 200 individual medley in 2:38. Bradley (30.95) and Addie Stuebner (31.26) went on to take fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 50 freestyle.

Mattison was runner-up in the 500 freestyle with a time of 7:33. Bradley, Mattison, Stuebner and Libby Barnett went on to take fourth in the 200 freestyle relay in 2:07 and Stuebner (1:18) did the same in the 100 backstroke.

Branine took fourth in the 200 freestyle in 2:40 and Mattison was right behind her in fifth.

Brown, Keaton, Branine and Mattison ended the meet with a third place finish in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:36.

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