Colby/Abby bounced in Medford, dealt first GNC loss
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Colby/Abbotsford swim team were dealt their first GNC dual meet loss of the season last Thursday as they went on the road to take on Medford. The Red Raiders nearly doubled-up the co-op, securing a 109-59 victory and tying themselves with Colby/Abby for second place in the conference.
The visiting co-op squad fell behind in the early going and could not recover as Medford went on to win eight of the 11 events. In many of the closest events of the evening, the home team was just able to come out on top, winning three events by less than a second.
The Red Raiders also demonstrated a bit more depth than Colby/Abby, taking the top two spots in four events and their second relay taking third in all three relay events. They took second through fourth in all three of the events that Colby/Abby earned the top spot in, giving the home team the ability to still pull away even after losing an event.
Madisyn Schraufnagel and Chloe Cihlar combined to capture three wins for the co-op. Schraufnagel picked up Colby/Abby’s first victory of the day three events in, winning the 200-yard IM. She defeated Medford runner up Chiara D’Arienzo by a little over six seconds in the event, taking a lead on the first leg of the race and slowly building it out over the next two before securing her win by swimming about evenly with D’Arienzo on the freestyle portion. Schraufnagel’s time of 2:22.74 was more than enough to secure the win.
Cihlar followed up Schraufnagel’s victory with one of her own in the next event. She edged out the Red Raiders’ Kodi Rappe in the 50-yard freestyle, her time of 26.22 about seven-tenths of a second faster than her opponent.
The co-op’s final win came in the 100-yard backstroke, where Schraufnagel paced the field with a time of 1:05.59. The next closest swimmer was Medford’s Sydney Sperl, who finished seven seconds later.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Schraufnagel, Cihlar, Brezlyn Boyer and Jordan Jakel came close to picking up a fourth win for the co-op. In the first event of the afternoon, the Colby/Abby squad was narrowly defeated by Medford’s top relay, their time of 2:00.65 just seven-tenths of a second slower.
Colby/Abby also took second in the two other relay events. The same team of Boyer, Jakel, Schraufnagel and Cihlar were the runners- up in the 200-yard freestyle relay after posting a time of 1:51.10 while the team of
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PUSHING FOR A PR - Ella Baumann slices through the water during the 100yard freestyle event in Medford.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY C/A swim
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Ella Baumann, McKinley Meyer, Hazel Flink and Bryleigh Boyer edged out Medford’s second relay in the 400-yard freestyle relay to grab second with a time of 4:38.49.
Cihlar had the only individual second place for the co-op. The senior had the second- best time in the 500-yard freestyle, trailing just Medford’s Adalyn Dittrich after completing the longest race of the day in 6:07.69.
Jakel and Brezyln Boyer were in some of the tightest races of the afternoon. The 100yard butterfly and the 100-yard freestyle were decided by mere tenths of a second, with the top-three swimmers all finishing within a second of each other. Jakel was eight-tenths of a second away from winning the 100-yard butterfly after posting a time of 1:09.88 in the event but was dealt a tough luck third place finish in the event. Boyer found herself in a very similar situation in the 100-yard freestyle, trailing the winner by seven-tenths of a second with a time of 1:01.07. The pair also had one other third place finish each, with Jakel earning it in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:23.01 and Boyer picking it up in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:21.13.
The co-op will look to bounce back from the loss in their final home dual of the season this Thursday, Oct. 10. They will face off against a Tomahawk squad that is 1-4 in conference duals this season and is currently coming off a 135-31 defeat at the hands of Rhinelander. The meet is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
POWERING THROUGH THE BACKSTROKE - Kate Sheahan cruises through the water during the 100-yard backstroke event in Medford last Thursday.
STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY
