Two HCHS girls qualify for state swimming

 MARSHALLTOWN (Nov. 12-13) -- Harlan Community juniors Elaina Vrchoticky and Aurora Miller have both qualified for this weekend’s Girls State Swimming Meet in one individual event and one relay. Vrchoticky and Miller will compete for Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln at the state meet on Friday and Saturday at the Marshalltown Community YMCA/YWCA.
 The AL Lynx squad, which also includes HCHS freshmen Emily Lee and Grace Albertsen, qualified three events for state and placed seventh out of nine teams at last Saturday’s regional meet in Johnston. Ames won the regional title with 540 points, followed by Johnston with 456. The Lynx took seventh with 157, swimming season or personal-best times in every single entry on the day, according to head coach Logan Maxwell.
 “Every year our teams rise up to the occasion and swim flawlessly in their events [at regionals],” Maxwell stated. It starts with doing the details right in practice and warm-ups. Two coaches came up to me and noted how disciplined our girls looked in warm-ups; how they know what they are supposed to do and the level they are to do it at. A few other coaches also noted to me that our girls were the ‘toughest competitors’ at the meet, to quote them. They were always jumping up from their seeds.”
 The first Lynx state qualifier was the 200-yard medley relay team of Lillian Lefeber, Aurora Miller, Elaina Vrchoticky and Claire Crilly. They placed fourth at the regional in 1:56.46, dropping seven seconds off their season-best time and breaking a 1994 school record. The medley relay is ranked 29th out of 32 state qualifiers and will compete in timed finals Saturday afternoon in Heat 1 (Lane 2).
 Vrchoticky also qualified for state in the 100-yard freestyle race after placing sixth in 54.98. She cut 1.5 seconds off her personal best and was just a half-second off the school record. Vrchoticky is ranked 26th out of 32 state qualifiers and will compete in Heat 1 (Lane 5) of Friday’s prelims.
 Miller continues to improve rapidly in the 100-yard breaststroke event and qualified for state with a sixth-place regional effort. Her ‘PR’ time of 1:10.54 was a three-second improvement and broke the school record from 2006. She enters state ranked 27th out of 32 qualifiers and will swim in Heat 1 (Lane 3) of Friday’s prelims.

Full story in Nov. 12 Harlan News-Advertiser

Regional Results for HCHS Swimmers
 200 Medley Relay - 4th: AL, 1:56.46 (school record/state qualifier) - Lillian Lefeber, Aurora Miller, Elaina Vrchoticky, Claire Crilly.
 50 Freestyle - 9th: Vrchoticky, 25.81 (personal best).
 100 Butterfly - 15th: Emily Lee, 1:23.30 (personal best).
 100 Freestyle - 6th: Vrchoticky, 54.98 (personal best/state qualifier).
 200 Freestyle Relay - 6th: AL, 1:46.13 (season best) - A. Miller, Lefeber, Crilly, Vrchoticky.
 100 Backstroke - DQ: Grace Albertsen.
 100 Breaststroke - 6th: A. Miller, 1:10.54 (school record/state qualifier).
 400 Freestyle Relay - 7th: AL, 4:17.31 (season best) - Albertsen, Camryn Moon, Meredith Struebing, Jocelyn Miller).