Plains Piranhas prepare for state swim meet
<p>Piranha Logan Benson does the breaststroke in a meet earlier this year. The Piranhas took 29 swimmers to the tournament. </p>
PLAINS - The Piranhas of Plains had another solid meet at the divisional competition in Hamilton over the weekend. The team took 29 swimmers to the tournament with 21 making it to the finals on Sunday.
Competing against nearly 300 swimmers from around the state, the Piranhas will be taking the 21 swimmers that qualified to the state meet in Sydney this weekend. The team finished in seventh place at the divisional level.
Head Coach Rachel Cremer said the team has come a long way since the beginning of the season. Some of the state qualifiers began the season with very little experience.
“Dewey Arnold, a first year swimmer, qualified for state in all three of his events,” said Cremer. “On his first day of practice he barely knew any of the strokes. Now just six weeks later he will be competing at the state level.”
Kendra Newman had three personal best times at the divisional meet and set three pool records. Keely Benson will be going to the state meet as the only senior swimmer on the team. Benson is a 12-year veteran on the team.
Cremer said the team has made a lot of progress during the season. The hard work and perseverance that the team has shown throughout the year has evidently paid off for the relatively young and inexperienced team.
Jake and Rachel Cremer are in their first year of coaching the Plains Piranhas. They have extensive experience competing at the college level in swimming and coaching.
“Jake and I have had the honor of coaching a very dedicated and fun group of kids,” said Cremer. “We have seen so much improvement and hard work over the course of the summer. Regardless of how we do at state, we hope our swimmers have gained a lifetime love of swimming and the excellence of character that comes from hard work.”
Results: Grace Alexander; girls 11-12 second place 50-meter backstroke; third place 100-meter freestyle; Dewey Arnold; boys 13-14 ninth place 100-meter freestyle; Keely Benson; girls 15-19 fifth place 100-meter freestyle; fifth place 400-meter freestyle; Logan Benson; boys 13-14 eighth place 50-meter butterfly; Kaylee Cole; girls 9-10 ninth place 100-meter freestyle; Isaac Cremer; boys 11-12 ninth place 100-meter freestyle; 50-meter freestyle; Noah Cremer; boys eight and under sixth place 25-meter freestyle; Matthw Daems-Woods; boys eight and under fourth place 25-meter breaststroke; Genevieve Deschamps; girls eight and under fourth place 25-meter freestyle; fourth place 25-meter butterfly; Jacelynn DuBois; seventh place 200-meter IM; Makiya DuBois; fourth place 50-meter butterfly; Abigail Ehret; girls 13-14 ninth place 100-meter breaststroke; ninth place 50-meter butterfly; Alexis Helterline; girls eight and under fifth place 25-meter breaststroke; Grace Horton; girls eight and under sixth place 25-meter breaststroke; Kendra Newman; girls 9-10 second place 50-meter freestyle; second place 50-meter breaststroke; first place 50-meter butterfly; Danika Whitcomb; fourth place 100-meter backstroke.