Richfield Wildcats top GCHS swim team
by Jeff Richards
Dec 06, 2012 | 527 views | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print
GCHS junior Jackson Knowles competes Nov. 29 during a swim meet against the Richfield Wildcats.
GCHS junior Jackson Knowles competes Nov. 29 during a swim meet against the Richfield Wildcats.
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The newly formed Grand County High School swim team competed in its second meet of the season at Richfield on Thursday, Nov. 29.

  Although the Wildcats won the meet handily, a number of Grand’s 17 athletes placed near the top in several races, their coach reported.

  “I was very impressed on how we did overall. Everybody dropped their times, and we are showing quite a bit of improvement,” said GCHS swim coach Brian Pierce.

  Swimming in her first-ever meet, senior Brianna Ballard of Grand took third place in the 50-yard freestyle event, recording a time of 36.60 seconds. Also for the Lady Devils, sophomore Robin Willscheidt placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:26.48, more than four seconds better than her previous official best. Willscheidt also took fourth place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 3:20.08, nearly 14 seconds better than her previous best.

  For the Red Devil boys, junior Jackson Knowles took second place in both the 50-yard freestyle (27.02) as well as the 500-yard freestyle (6:56.29). Junior Duncan Reidhead took third place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 29.16. Senior Elijah Sheets placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:31.96.

  Grand’s teams also did well in the relay events, including a second-place finish by the boys in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay and a third-place finish by the Lady Devils in the same event.

  Also competing for the Red Devil boys were Drake Hackney, Kris Kemp, James Martin, River Murdock, Treyton Helquist, and Wiley Sheldon. For the Lady Devils, competitors included Sierra Indergard, Gaby Meyer, Beilee Pilibosian, Sarah Quigley, Kayla Weston, and Katie Winget.

A third school – Spanish Fork – was also scheduled to participate at the Richfield meet, but the Mighty Dons ended up not attending, leaving the Red Devils and Wildcats to go head-to-head throughout the event.

  According to Pierce, the top 24 swimmers in each event by the end of the season will qualify for the state meet in February, as will the top finishers at the region meet. The website www.utswimcoach.com keeps regularly updated lists of the top 50 swimmers in each event for all three classifications (5A, 4A, and 3A). Grand is classified as a 3A school for swimming.

  This week, the Red Devil swim teams are scheduled to participate in a Region 12 preliminary tournament at Castle Dale on Friday, Dec. 7. The meet is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
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