Women’s swimming team places fourth at 2012 MIAA Championships
The Olivet College women’s swimming team placed fourth at the 2012 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships, hosted by Hope College and held inside the Holland Community Aquatic Center. The finish is the highest for the Comets since 2009 when they were also fourth.
HOLLAND, Mich. – The Olivet College women's swimming team placed fourth at the 2012 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships, hosted by Hope College and held inside the Holland Community Aquatic Center. The finish is the highest for the Comets since 2009 when they were also fourth.
Olivet scored 398 points over the four days of competition. Calvin College successfully defended its championship with 803.5 points, followed by Hope, 660; and Kalamazoo College, 590.5. Alma College placed fifth with 316 points, while Saint Mary's (Ind.) College and Albion were sixth (289) and seventh (266), respectively.
Senior Caitlin Lohr (Holland/Hamilton) had Olivet's top finish in today's fourth and final day of competition, as she was the runner-up in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.99 seconds. Freshman Jazmin Johnson (Grand Rapids/Northview) placed fifth in the event with a time of 54.19 seconds.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Johnson, sophomore Kristin Long (Pemberville, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy), senior Jessica Howard (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) and Lohr was fourth in 3:38.10. Lohr had the fastest split in the race at 52.31 seconds.
Olivet had two swimmers in each the championship and consolation finals of the 200 backstroke. Freshman Kaitlin Smith (Port Huron) and sophomore Jacalyn Cordero (Holland) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 2:15.58 and 2:16.82. Sophomore Alivia Hammond (Byron Center) won the consolation heat for a ninth-place finish, and freshman Shana Bush (Alma) was 14th.
Long touched the wall first in the consolation heat of the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:21.91. Junior Jana Blodgett (Sturgis) placed 14th in the 200 breaststroke with a season-best time of 2:49.42.
Bush was the highest Comet finisher in the 1,650 freestyle, as she finished in 10th-place with a time of 18:28.34. Howard was 12th in 18:48.53, and junior Chelsea Mullins (Macomb/L'Anse Creuse North) scored 15th-place points with a time of 19:12.16.
Lohr will now have to wait until March 2 to see if she makes the field for the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championships March 21-24 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.