Chiefs end swimming drought at Richland
RICHLAND - The Moses Lake High School girls swimming team did something Tuesday night it hadn't done in five years - beat the Richland Bombers.
The Chiefs scored a 102-84 victory on the Bombers' home turf, compiling 23 district-qualifying marks and one state-qualifying time in the process.
The 200-yard medley relay squad of Megan Schuh, Cari Cortez, Stephanie McFarland and Catherine Polito earned eight team points by winning their event in 2 minutes, 1.98 seconds, over nine seconds better than Richland's top team.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Schuh, Kimberly Kardong and Maryssa Thompson all qualified for districts. Schuh was second in 2:12.01, Kardong was fourth in 2:27.39 and Thompson sixth in 2:38.74. Richland's Jenna Mehlenbacher won the event in 2:06.54.
Polito dominated the 200-yard individual medley, earning six team points and winning by over six seconds at 2:19.18. Cortez and Elaura Grant also earned automatic district berths in the race, as Cortez was third in 2:30.66 and Grant was fourth in 2:45.20.
McFarland and Reilly Hourigan earned district spots in the 50-yard freestyle. McFarland was second in 27.28 and Hourigan was third in 28.03. Richland's Carrie Dotson took the top spot at 27.05.
In the 100-yard butterfly, Hannah Grigg was the top overall finisher at 1:05.68, earning herself a district berth. Joining her at districts in the event will be Ana Costa, third at 1:14.92, and Caroline Sharp, fourth at 1:17.97.
Polito's first-place time of 55.83 in the 100-yard freestyle earned her an automatic spot in the 4A state championships. Hourigan (third in 1:01.82) and Jessica Massart (fifth in 1:06.63) garnered district spots in the event.
Grigg was also victorious in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:41.91. Schuh finished second at 5:49.13, Thompson was sixth in 7:16.77 and Nanako Era was seventh in 7:19.39. All four earned spots to districts.
McFarland held off Richland's Liz Dotson by 19 one-hundredths of a second to win the 100-yard backstroke (1:07.97). Costa was fourth at 1:10.64 and Sharp was fifth at 1:12.77. All three Chiefs qualified for districts.
Moses Lake earned three more district spots in the 100-yard breaststroke as Cortez placed first in 1:16.65, Kardong was third in 1:23.87 and Grant was fourth in 1:26.46.
The Chiefs return to the pool next Tuesday, hosting the Walla Walla Blue Devils in a CBL match at 4 p.m.