MUNSTER | Thursday's performances in the Munster Sectional preliminaries left the host Seahorses in good position to excel in Saturday's finals.
Munster qualified multiple swimmers in every individual event, putting its always tremendous depth to good use.
Mary Beth Blocher continued her usual dominance of the sprint events, finishing the 50-yard freestyle in 24.15 and the 100 free in 52.89 to earn the No. 1 seed in both events Saturday.
Obviously, Blocher and the rest of the Seahorses were holding back a bit in preparation for Saturday.
"I actually felt kind of sloppy in the water, but I was pretty satisfield with my times,” Blocher said. “I still have to shave (for Saturday) and I'll wear a new suit.”
Munster's Allison Cunningham picked up wins in the 200 free (1:55.22) and 500 free (5:09.60), giving herself excellent position for the finals. Munster's Audrey Mayer was right behind Cunningham in the 500 free (5:09.60), and the Seahorses qualified three swimmers in the top eight of that event.
“I was pretty happy,” Cunningham said. “They're both best times for me. I felt really good today, which is always a good thing, but I could always do better.”
In all, Munster qualified for the top seed in eight events, making the Seahorses a favorite to win another sectional championship.
“A consecutive win would mean a lot, and I know our team would really enjoy winning again,” Blocher said. “I think that if everybody swims as well as they did today, then we'll have no problem winning.”
Crown Point qualified for the top seed in all three relays. Freshman Mackenzie Artim swam legs in the 200 free relay (1:38.92) and the 400 free relay (3:39.13).
“They were sprints, so it was all or nothing,” Artim said. “It was tiring, but I think we worked hard. Hopefully, we'll go faster in finals.”
Lake Central's Hailey Garlich gave the Indians the top seed in the 100 back, finishing in 59.31.
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