On Friday, February 21st and Saturday, February 22nd, the Belton Swim Team competed at the UIL-5A State Championship Meet! There were many incredible moments for the Tigers as they made school history numerous times! First off, the Tigers brought the most swimmers ever to the 5A State meet with a total of 5 qualifiers: Olivia Brillhart, Mackenzie Gingerich, Liliana Nelson, Addison Richardson, and Ema Whitzel. Our Girls' team also took the first two relays to 5A State for the Belton Swim Team in its' history! The Girls' finished 35th overall, scoring a total of 14 points and the Boys' finished 39th overall scoring a total of 9 points. While a top 40 finish might not seem impressive, you have to put into context that only the top 16 in each event can score points on Saturday during the Finals session. On top of all of this, we have a brand new 200 Freestyle Record holder! Liliana Nelson swam a 1:55.44 in Prelims on Friday, breaking the record by almost a full second! After coming within 0.01 seconds at Region, this was Lili's last shot at the record and she made sure to not miss this time! Finally, Addison Richardson secured his spot in the top 10 for 5A State in the 500 Freestyle, by swimming a 4:48.05 and placing 9th. This is the first time in Belton Boys' Swimming history that a swimmer has placed top 10 at 5A State! Congratulations!
Below are all of the highlights:
PRELIMS (FRIDAY):
-Girls' 200 Freestyle: Lili Nelson qualified for the B-final with a 1:55.44 (NEW SCHOOL RECORD)
-Girls' 500 Freestyle: Lili Nelson qualified for the B-final with a 5:06.92
-Boys' 500 Freestyle: Addison Richardson qualified for the B-final with a 4:45.81
-Girls' 200 Freestyle Relay (Nelson, Gingerich, Whitzel, Brillhart) finished 18th with a 1:43.28
-Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay (Nelson, Gingerich, Whitzel, Brillhart) qualified for the B-final with a 3:44.81
FINALS (SATURDAY):
-Girls' 200 Freestyle: Lili Nelson finished 15th overall with a 1:57.03
-Girls' 500 Freestyle: Lili Nelson finished 13th overall with a 5:08.62
-Boys' 500 Freestyle: Addison Richardson finished 9th overall with a 4:48.05
-Girls' 400 Freestyle Relay (Nelson, Gingerich, Whitzel, Brillhart) finished 13th overall with a 3:42.94
