A handful of Moffat County swimmers clocked personal bests at the 3A Regional meet in what was one of the best meets of the season for the Bulldogs, which also saw the 400-yard free relay team clinch a state tournament spot.
The state-qualifying 400-yard free relay team of seniors Ellina Jones, Alexa Neton and Kelsey McDiffett, and junior Hailey Knowles will head to Thornton to swim at the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center (VMAC) for the 3A State Meet on March 13th. At regionals on Saturday, the 400 Free relay dropped over seven seconds for a finishing time 4:09:85.
The Bulldogs’ best individual performance was from Jones in the 100 yard backstroke, as she finished in eighth place, with a time of 1:11.80, good for a personal best time for the senior.
The Glenwood Springs Demon Invite brought many positive results Thursday, Feb. 18 for Moffat County Bulldog swimmers in both individual races and relays. The Lady Bulldogs competed in 30 events and recorded impressive time cuts in 26 of those events.
MCHS’s varsity relay team of Hailey Knowles, Ellina Jones, Kelsey McDiffett, and Alexa Neton took third in the 200-yard freestyle and sixth in the 200 medley and the 400 Free Relay, with respective times of 1:54.64, 2:06.99, and 4:16.17.
“The focus of this meet was our relays, so most of the girls swam in three relays and one individual event. Last year, these times would have qualified us for state, but this year we have to be in the top 20 to go. Right now, we have all three relays in the top 20,” said head coach Melany Neton.