Piranhas fight hard at Fort Benton
<p>Darian Cremer, 8, of Hot Springs takes a breath during her race in the 8 & Under girls 50 meter freestyle. Cremer made the finals in the event.</p>
FORT BENTON - The Piranhas Swim Team came out at the Fort Benton Invite with a young roster and still managed to get a handful of athletes to Sunday finals.
The band of Piranhas - 17 total - aged from 5 to 13, made a big splash that is the prelude to the Divisional Swim Meet in Conrad in two weeks, and the Piranhas coaches hope they will continue to improve in the coming weeks.
“We had a squad of young swimmers, which is good for further developing the growth of the program,” Coach Melanie said. “We want the kids to love swim meets, and to continue to grow up on the team. The new swimmers and experienced swimmers alike have come a long way through this season, and Fort Benton was just another invite to stretch their legs and put what they’ve been working on at practice to their races.”
Grace Alexander, 10, of Plains scored the most points over the weekend for the Piranhas with her stellar performances in her individual events. She took 1st overall in the 9-10 girls 50 meter breastroke with a time of 47.92, 5th overall in the 9-10 girls 100 meter I.M. with a time of 1:45.54, and 6th overall in the 9-10 girls 50 meter backstroke.
The Cremer kids from Hot Springs represented well as all three - Isaac, Darian, and Noah - swam hard and made personal bests in their events. Isaac and Darian finaled for Sunday in multiple events.
Isaac Cremer, 10, finaled in all three of his individual events: the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, and 50 meter backstroke. Darian Cremer, 8, finaled in her 50 meter freestyle. The coaches maintain high hopes for the first-year athletes for Divisionals.
Josh Connolly, 12, of Plains had a good weekend with his individual swims in the 11-12 boys 50 meter freestyle, in which he took 12th overall; the 11-12 boys 100 meter freestyle, in which he took 11th overall; and the 11-12 boys 50 meter backstroke, in which he took 12th overall.
Abigail Ehret, 13, of Plains managed to final in her events such as the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter freestyle, and 50 meter butterfly. Ehret scored the second-highest amount of points for the Piranhas.
Second-year swimmer Kendra Newman, 9, of Thompson Falls fought hard in her individual events and saw some improvements. She finaled in two of her three events; the 50 meter breastroke and 50 meter butterfly. Newman managed a 10th place finish in the breastroke and was the alternate in the 50 meter free, taking 13th overall.
“The best part about swim meets like this is the enthusiasm from the swimmers,” Coach Melanie said. “Of course, we want them all to chip off time, get their personal bests, but most importantly, we want them to have fun. They definitely enjoyed this meet, and so did we as coaches.”
The Piranhas look to the Cut Bank Invite this upcoming weekend, then on to Conrad for Divisionals. The State Swim Meet will take place in Columbia Falls Aug. 4-5.