Lady Huskies swimmers fall to Carlisle by one; boys battle but falls as well

By rscaife
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Updated: January 24, 2018

By Kenny Varner
LEWISTOWN – It a heartbreaker and a program booster, all rolled up into one swim meet for the Mifflin County girls swim team Tuesday night in their match up against Carlisle at the Juniata Valley YMCA.
For most of the night, the Huskies and the Thundering Herd went back and forth with the lead.
It all came down to the final event but the meet came down to a second and third place finish by Carlisle, winning by an 84-83 margin.
Though the boys also battled strong, they fell to the Thundering Herd as well 112-58.
But it was also a night filled with personal bests for the Huskies.
“They all did very well tonight. It was very close with the girls. We kept them running the whole time. We were chasing them and they were chasing us,” Mifflin County coach Gretchen Seyler said. “We were always keeping them on their toes. That’s always a good meet test when you whenever he other team is concerned through the entire meet whether or not it’s going to happen. I was super proud of all of them.”
After placing second in the first event of the night, the 200-yard Medley relay, Mifflin County got its first win of the night in the 200-meter freestyle as freshman Ella Stuck blazed her way to a time of 2.16.39 while teammate Joy Galbraith finished in third with a time of 2:28.74.
Hannah Bonson followed with a top finish in the 200-yard IM finishing with a time of 2:24.40.
Bonson also took top honors in the 100-yard backstroke with a mark of 1:06.73.
Macy Becker cane up with a clutch top finish in the 100-yard butterfly, posting a top time of 1:06.41.
Heading into the last event, the girls 400-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Huskies needed a strong finish on their night to even stay close. And perform under pressure, they did.
The team consisting of Stuck, Sophia Aurand, Julia Montgomery and Joy Galbraith defeated the Herd’s second place team by almost 14 seconds, posting a 4:30.30.
Picking up second place finishes on the night along with the 200-yard medley relay team were Morgan Robinette (50-yard freestyle), (100-yard freestyle), Stuck (500-yard freestyle), the 200-yard freestyle relay) and Becker (100-yard breaststroke).
“They all had great swims. Especially this part of the season when we have been working them hard and they start to feel a little sore,” Seyler continues. “A lot of them come up to me and say their swim didn’t feel the greatest. But we are still maintaining times or dropping them.”
The boys got their first win in the 50-yard freestyle when Braden Kibe out swam Gary Blacksmith by less than a second. He posted a 24.44 while Blacksmith had a 24.83.
Kibe picked up his second victory of the night. In the 100-yard freestyle Kibe finished with an impressive 53.87.
That would be all the first places finishes for the boys on the evening, despite finishing with numerous second and third place finishes.
Mifflin County takes to the road Thursday as it travels to Messiah College to compete against Trinity.