Piranhas swim to fifth at town meet
<p>Matthew Woods competes in the 50-meter butterfly in the 9 to 10 year old division at this weekend's swim meet.</p>
PLAINS – Swimmers crashed through the water, competing neck and neck with one another in the annual swim meet in Plains.
The Piranhas had a big weekend as swim teams from across the Montana Federation visited Plains for the weekend to attend the annual swim meet at EL Johnson Memorial Pool Park.
Plains finished in fifth during the competition, their second swim meet of the eight-week season, compiling 264 team points over the two-days of competition at the town pool.
Campers filled the streets, with tents and grills, filling the park as family and friends came out to support the numerous swim teams.
The hometown team performed well in a crowded field as they continued their early season with several impressive performances.
The first day of competition, Saturday June 21, entailed a series of preliminary events to determine which swimmers would go on to compete in the finals on Sunday.
The following day was devoted to final heats, where swimmers competed for individual trophies as the competition ran from mid morning to the early afternoon of a sunny and warm Sunday.
The Piranhas had a particularly strong showing on the final day of their home meet, with several swimmers shaving precious seconds off of their scores in various events.
“Today has been going awesome. Everyone has been taking off so much time,” first year Piranhas head coach Kayla Hoar said.
The Plains swim team used a few first place finishes to propel the team towards a solid finish on the final day of competition.
In the 8 and under girls grouping Alexis Helterline of Plains took home a first place finish snagging the top spot in the 25-meter breaststroke with a leading time of 28 seconds flat.
Helterline added a third place finish in the 50-meter freestyle competition, with a time of 53.46.
The Piranhas also received a strong performance from Kendra Newman of Thompson Falls who took first in two separate events.
Newman, who was competing in the girls 11 to 12 year old grouping, received honors in the 50-meter freestyle, clocking in with a time of 32.74 to take home first.
Her win in the 50-meter competition was not her only notable performance of the day as Newman also snagged the top spot in the 100-meter freestyle competition in the same division.
With a final time of 1:14.20 she finished above the competition and took home her second first place finish on the day.
The Piranhas did well in the team competitions taking home first place in the girls 200-meter medley relay in the 13 to 14 year-old division.
The team’s winning time was 3:18.16.
In the girls senior division, 15-19 year olds, Danika Whitcomb performed well throughout the weekend.
Whitcomb finished second in the 50-meter freestyle event with a time of 33.46.
She also added a third place finish in the 100-meter freestyle clocking in at 1:15.25 and a fourth place time in the 100-meter backstroke, finishing with a 1:29.09.
Makiya DuBois contributed to the Piranhas successful weekend with a second place finish in the 100-meter freestyle in the girls 9-10 year old division.
DuBois finished with a time of 1:25.13.
The Piranhas will look to add to their strong performance this weekend as they get into the heart of their summer schedule, following the first two swim meets of the year.