Swim Rio Rancho coach Kerri-Ann Petty contributed this report. To see her report on the boys’ championship last weekend, click here.
Eldorado High School Eagles won a nail biter against La Cueva High School in Saturday’s 2014 Girls’ Metro in New Mexico. The Eagles squad, deep in lower classmen, won eight of the meet’s events including all three relays. A back and forth duel between the two squads came down to the 400 Free Relay where Eldorado secured their championship with a dominant six second victory over the Bears, leaving the final score a margin of a mere three points.
The Eagles were led by two individual victories from sophomore Elle Rivenbark in the 50 Free (24.38) and the 100 Free (52.68). She was also a member of two of the winning relays (200 Medley and 400 Free Relay). The Eagles squad is so stacked that a total of seven different girls, all but one being sophomores or freshman, would combine to win all the relays. Rivenbark was joined by Tyler Wickesberg (JR), Olivia Heflin (FR), and Kelsey Robinson (SO) to crush the field in the 200 Medley Relay in a four second victory (1:47.18), narrowly missing the NMAA state record by just under four tenths.
The freshman sensation Heflin won the 100 Breast in a quick 1:05.15 over teammate and defending state champion Kyra Mohns by nearly four seconds. She was also second in the 200IM (2:09.98). Her 100 Breast time is considerably faster than her previous personal best of 1:06.53. Heflin was joined in the winning 200 Free Relay by Robinson, Mikelle O’Donnell (FR), and Sydney Hanks (SO). The quad won the relay in 1:40.52 in a battle over Sandia High School by .08.
Wickesberg would win the 100 Back in a 57.12; her best to date as well. She was also third in the 100 Fly (59.54,) marking her first sub minute in the event. She would be joined with Rivenbark, O’Donnell, and Hanks in the 400 Free Relay (3:38.70).
Eldorado would also go 1-2 in the 1Meter Diving with Lauren and Meaghan Martinez.
Despite Eldorado’s victories, La Cueva kept it close in the same fashion their boys’ won the championship with last week: more individual placings and multiple high relay scores throughout the competition. They were led by Senior Nika Fellows with multiple victories in the 200 Free (1:53.53) and 500 Free (5:05.15). Fellows, a distance specialist, is one of a handful of strong incoming freshman recruits for the University of Kansas next fall.
Another double individual event winner in the meet was Cassaundra Pino of Albuquerque High. The Junior won the 200IM in 2:06.42 and would later break her own NMAA State Record in the 100 Fly with a blistering 55.85.
UP NEXT:
The NMAA Swimming & Diving Championships will be February 21-22nd at Albuquerque Academy. With La Cueva and Eldorado doing a 1-2 flip flop in the competitions over the past two weekends, they stand to be front runners for the state titles. However, look for the Cibola boys’ power to play heavily in the rankings while Albuquerque Academy standouts and depth will give chance to a top three finish on both sides of the competition. In the Metro Championships, the Sandia High School girls’ squad was third while Rio Rancho High School boys’ were fourth. Both squads could place contenders in both individual events and relays consistently high enough to allow them to challenge for a third place team finish.