(Chelsea Update would like to thank Andrew Thomson for the information in this story.)
The Chelsea High School Girls Swim & Dive team finished up a busy week of swimming with the Holland Christian D3 Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 22.
After travelling to Jackson on Tuesday night and defeating Jackson High School 111–74, they gave Milan everything they had in a 100-86 loss on the road.
The focus for the week was on the mid-season invitational, and the team was ready to go.
The meet began with the 200 medley relay of Ella Girard, Abby Robbins, Olivia Olk, and Alexis Nelson besting the field with a time of 1:52.25.
“A gold medal finish is a great way to start the meet,” remarked Bulldog head coach Dave Jolly. “You can get a real good feel for a meet and how the team is feeling by how the medley relay does right out of the gate.”
The 200 freestyle saw Olivia Prodin earn a state cut time of 2:03.00 and earn sixth place overall. Katie Leissner narrowly missed the state cut, finishing eighth in a final time of 2:05.59.
The 200 IM was an event that saw some incredible swimming for the Bulldogs. Olivia Olk touched first in a time of 2:09.57, but more importantly, beat the varsity record that had been held by Kara Stiles since 2004.
Jolly stated after the swim, “This group of girls is going to continue to do some pretty amazing things. The records they are breaking were set by a very special group of girls in the early 2000’s, and this team may be even stronger than that team was.”
Robbins earned a seventh place finish in the IM as well, with a time of 2:21.32, and Chelsea Paddock touched 13th with a final time of 2:30.24.
The Bulldog’s strength was on display in the 50 freestyle. Two of the top 3 spots were held by the Bulldogs, with Bella Turner finishing first in a 24.52, and Alexis Nelson right behind in third with a 24.97. Kauri Fields rounded out the scoring with a 15th place finish in 26.72.
Four of the five Chelsea divers finished in the points, with Angelia Daman taking fourth (383.20 points), Melina Almhiemid seventh (323.75), Megan Fletcher 15th (263.35), and Ruby Brown 16th (258.05).
Olk continued her dominance on the day by taking first place in the 100 butterfly. The time of 58.32 shattered the previous varsity record, which had been held by Jessica Lodewyk since 2003. Paddock also placed 15th in a 1:12.67.
Chelsea’s strength once again came to the surface in the 100 freestyle. Three of the top five spots were held by Bulldogs: Turner in first place (53.68), Nelson in fourth place (55.36), and Prodin in fifth (55.63).
The 500 freestyle event saw Leissner touch in fifth place with a 5:43.08 and Morgan DeYoe in 14th with a 6:01.44.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Turner, Robbins, Fields, and Prodin finished in a time of 1:42.90, which was good enough for third place.
In the 100 backstroke, Fields earned the other new state cut on the day, earning a sixth place finish with a time of 1:04.26. Girard touched 16th with a time of 1:08.82.
Robbins had the swim of her career in the 100 breaststroke, posting a 1:07.85, which would’ve been good enough for first place. Because it was swam in the incorrect heat, it unfortunately did not count in the results.
“Abby held her head high, and now we all know she is fully capable of a 1:07 breaststroke,” said Jolly. Her teammates helped carry the weight, with the breaststroke being the only event besides diving where the Bulldogs placed all their swimmers. Jessica Neff touched ninth (1:21.27), DeYoe tenth (1:21.37) and Elle Mahalak 14th (1:22.13).
The girls finished the meet just as they had started, with a first place 400 freestyle relay. This was no ordinary free relay though; these girls shattered a meet record (3:41.49 from 2014) and the varsity record (3:39.45 from 2002).
The team of Turner, Olk, Nelson, and Prodin surpassed any expectations when they touched with a final time of 3:37.03. “We already had the fastest 400 free relay in the state before today, and we just blew that time from a few weeks ago right out of the water.” said Jolly after the meet.
“That was a special swim, and I hope everyone enjoyed watching it as much as I did,” he said.
The Bulldogs did narrowly fall to the same Milan team that had defeated them only two days before, with the Big Reds scoring 387 points to the Bulldog’s 383 points.
In a distant third was the Holland Christian team with 329 points.
The Bulldogs continue the SEC regular season schedule this week as they travel to Lincoln on Tuesday and host Dexter at Beach Middle School on Thursday at 6 p.m. “The Dexter meet should be a real measuring stick for the White Division, so if you come watch one swim meet this fall, make sure it’s that one.” Jolly said.
