PSAC Championships

I will be updating this post with Lady Eagle Swimming highlights. Be sure to check back again soon.

Visit the 2/13 post to view where we stack up on the psych sheet.

THURSDAY
finals
Kelly Grieneisen swam the 1000 freestyle tonight. The final outcome isn't what we were hoping for, but at a meet where you get to swim three individual events, this was her "third event." Kelly swam very well for how she was feeling...I am confident that this was her "off" night and she will swim really well over the next 3 days.

On another note...the weather forecast is calling for some pretty "wicked" winter weather. As it is now 10:45pm, the snow is falling. I am not the least bit concerned...word on the street is that our school van is indestructible. (knock on wood that this is in fact true)

FRIDAY
prelims
Today started off with Amanda Terray's 200 backstroke. She swam a good morning swim. She is seeded 2nd going into tonight's finals. I am looking for a pretty good time drop from this morning's swim.

Stephanie Kudrick swam the 200 breaststroke and had a great race, but being sick caught up with her for this one.

Amanda Palmer had another great morning swim in the 200 butterfly, essentially matching her best time of the season. She traditionally drops some time from morning to night, so hopefully this will be the case again.

Amanda Terray lead off the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 53.58. This was fast enough to qualify for the NCAA national championships (it's a "B" cut)...making her a national qualifier in 4 events. (note: it is highly unlikely that she will swim the 100 free at NCAA's as it is the event before the 200 backstroke). Kelly Grieneisen, Brittany Williams and Caroline Sweeney finished up the relay. We are looking for some more improvement tonight.

NOTE: I will not have internet access until we return to Lock Haven. Please check www.HAVENSPORTS.com for the final press release regarding tonight’s finals. I will give you "my take" at some time this evening, or early tomorrow morning.

finals
Our 200 free relay started off our evening. Amanda Terray and Caroline Sweeney were just a tad bit slower than this morning...but Stephanie Kudrick and Brittany Williams swum faster this evening, overall the final time was faster.

Amanda Terray scored our first individual points of the meet in the 50 free. She placed 7th with a time of 24.65.

Our 400 medley relay swam to a tenth place finish. Of the four swimmers, Ashley Lightcap dropped the most time from the morning.

Tomorrow's session has our team in some of their strongest events. Check back soon!

ps-it turns out that our school van is quite the tank and did just fine today with a little bit of snow. However, the downside of driving a tank is the 13 minutes it takes to warm up in the morning.

SATURDAY
prelims
Our 200 medley relay had a solid performance this morning...I think that we can put together a few great legs tonight to win consols.

Amanda Palmer had fantastic 400im this morning. Her time of 4:52.04 moves her to 2nd on our all time top 5 performers list. She has a pretty good track record of swimming faster in finals, so we are going to shoot for an improved swim tonight.

Kelly Grieneisen battled through the 200 freestyle, but her shoulder injury just didn't allow for the speed needed to bring it home. Stephanie Kudrick had a really solid swim this morning in the 100 breast.

Amanda Terray had a respectable time of 58.18 in the 100 backstroke. This time puts her 2nd going into finals. Amanda will have one of the country's best swimmers next to her tonight to push her...combine that with the fact that she should swim a little more aggressively and we should have a real decent shot at a win or worst case season best performance.

finals
Our 200 medley relay started off the evening with respectable swims across the board.

Amanda Palmer continued to drop time in the 400im going 4:51.07...what made this swim great was that Amanda's splits were just a tad bit slower for the fly, back & breast legs but she brought it home about 2.5 seconds faster than this morning. She continues to show she is a gutsy racer!

Amanda Terray swam to a 2nd place finish in the 100 backstroke. Her time of 57.56 is her season best and a new school record. Additionally, Amanda earned All-PSAC honors. This was a great race and with plenty of time between now and NCAA's, we both think there is some more time to drop!

Our 800 free relay swam very well.

SUNDAY
prelims
Today started off with Amanda Terray's 200 backstroke. She swam a good morning swim. She is seeded 2nd going into tonight's finals. I am looking for a pretty good time drop from this morning's swim.

Stephanie Kudrick swam the 200 breaststroke and had a great race, but getting over being sick caught up with her for this one.

Amanda Palmer had another great morning swim in the 200 butterfly, essentially matching her best time of the season. She traditionally drops some time from morning to night, so hopefully this will be the case again.

Amanda Terray lead off the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 53.58. This was fast enough to qualify for the NCAA national championships (it's a "B" cut)...making her a national qualifer in 4 events. (note: it is highly unlikely that she will swim the 100 free at NCAA's as it is the event before the 200 backstroke). Kelly Grieneisen, Brittany Williams and Caroline Sweeney finished up the relay. We are looking for some more improvement tonight.

NOTE: I will not have internet access until we return to Lock Haven. Please check www.HAVENSPORTS.com for the final press release regarding tonight's finals. I will give you "my take" at some time this evening, or early tomorrow morning.

finals
Tonight's finals will be the last session for Kelly Grieneisen (swimming 2nd on the 400 free relay)...although her shoulder has prevented her from having great swims at this meet, she never once let it affect her or her teammates. I am very proud of her for pushing through it all and remaining (mostly) positive through the meet.

History was made tonight...Amanda Terray won the 200 backstroke and became the first ever PSAC champ from Lock Haven University.
It was an impressive swim and perhaps more importantly an impressive race. Amanda went out after the race and when her top competition turned it on at the end (at the 100 Amanda was 1.5 seconds ahead, at the 150 the lead was only .6 seconds) Terray answered the challenge and touched the wall first. It was a great race and she can only get better (having only swum it about 8 times)

Amanda Palmer swam great in the 200 fly. She ended up coming up just short of her collegiate best time, but finished the race, and season, very well.

The final relay of the night provided a little excitement. We were in a close points race with Millersville ... basically the final relay would determine if we would finish 2nd of the women's only programs, or if we would finish 3rd. Amanda Terray lead off with a great time, Kelly Grieneisen went cold turkey (not recommended), Brittany Williams maintained the lead and Caroline Sweeney fended off the late surge of Millersville.

As a team we finished 9th, of the women's only programs we finished 2nd.