Depth powers Central girls swimming team to conference crown

Depth was the biggest factor in determining this year's Show Me Conference champion.

With three events remaining in Thursday's Show Me Conference girls swimming meet at the Central Municipal Pool, Central and Poplar Bluff were tied at 339 points each.

The Tigers outscored the Mules 115-97 over the final three events and held on to claim first place with 454 points.

"This team is amazing. They just got the job done. I've got seven seniors, and they put it out there," Central coach Dayna Powell said. "It just doesn't get better than this."

Central was unable to win an event but secured points from at least three swimmers in each individual event.

"This team believes that every single point is valuable because two years ago we won by about four or five points," Powell said. "The people that are getting 15th or 16th, they realize, 'Hey, those points count.' This team is full of believers, and they knew that every point counted. They got in there, and they got it done."

Powell credited the victory to several of the team's more unknown swimmers, including Ella Valleroy, who won her heat in the 500 freestyle.

Poplar Bluff's Taylor Norwood swims in the 500 freestyle during the Show Me Conference girls swimming meet Thursday at the Central Municipal Pool. Norwood placed first with a time of 5:12.28 and was named the meet's most valuable swimmer. (Trent Singer)

"She knew she had to win her heat, and she had two close people with her. She held them off," Powell said. "Sarah Kitchen dropped time in both of her events. Josey [Powell] got the state cut in the breaststroke, which was a big boost. Maddy McDonald, who missed the state cut by 1/10 of a second in the 50 [freestyle], got our relay out in the next race, and that was huge. Sarah Elfrink dropped from about 6:35 to 6:18 in the 500 [freestyle].

"It was just that kind of stuff all day, and all that adds up. It was just phenomenal."

Poplar Bluff finished with 436 points and was led by freshman Taylor Norwood, who earned a pair of individual first-place finishes. She set a new meet record in the 200 individual medley with a first-place time of 2 minutes, 10.65 seconds and placed first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:12.28.

Norwood was also joined by teammates Morgan McAtee, Lexi Vaughn and Haylee Dragon in the 200 medley relay, which the Mules won with a state-qualifying time of 1:58.84.

"She's always swam well for us, and I guess we weren't expecting such a peak out of her today. She was really in the moment," Poplar Bluff coach Beth Lewis said about Norwood. "She's done excellent."

Notre Dame's Madison Heisserer swims in the 100 backstroke during the Show Me Conference girls swimming meet Thursday at the Central Municipal Pool. Heisserer placed first with a time of 1:02.06. (Trent Singer)

Norwood, who was named the meet's most valuable swimmer, said the award came as a bit of a surprise.

"I didn't really consider it being an award I would get because I'm a freshman here," she said. "I was just going for best times today, and I got them. So I'm pretty happy."

Poplar Bluff senior Cassidy Harris placed first in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, and Morgan McAtee earned top honors in the 100 breaststroke for the Mules.

Lewis said her team embraced the challenge of adjusting to several changes in the lineup.

"The girls have been working really hard, and they kept their adrenaline high the entire time," Lewis said. "We knew that every second would count, every point would count."

Notre Dame's 411 points was good enough for third place in the team standings.

The Bulldogs' relay team of Madison Heisserer, Caroline Schott, Amelia Coello and Megan Peters provided the biggest surprise of the meet. The four swimmers set a new meet record in the 200 freestyle relay with a winning time of 1:45.68 and also in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, with a first-place time of 3:48.61.

Jackson's Caitlyn Palmer stands on the block after receiving her medal for finishing second in the 50 freestyle at Thursday's Show Me Conference Meet at the Central Municipal Pool. (Trent Singer)

"We were swimming tired for sure, but whenever it's the last event of the meet and whenever it's so close like that, they just have to grit their teeth and do it. That's exactly what they did," Notre Dame coach Jameson Kuper said. "... We swam so well. We scored out the psych sheet, and we were supposed to lose by about 100 points. We brought it to within about 40, so that was a big day for us. And it wasn't just our top swimmers. It was our middle swimmers, too. There was just a lot of depth there that allowed us to make up a lot of ground."

The Mules finished a close second in 400 freestyle relay in 3:48.68.

"The meet really didn't come down to the 400 [freestyle] relay, but that's what makes meets," Lewis said. "Even though we were out-touched by just a little bit, that's what makes meets exciting. I don't care who wins or loses like that. That's fun to watch."

Heisserer took first in the 100 backstroke with a state-qualifying time of 1:02.06, while Peters finished first in the 200 freestyle with a state-qualifying time of 1:57.18.

"Megan surprised me. That 200 freestyle, I'm still reeling from shock," Kuper said. "She broke our school record, dropped 5 1/2 seconds, and we weren't really even training for it. I hadn't planned on putting her in that. ... She blew away every expectation I had, and then her 100 [butterfly] that was her first time getting under. She's about two seconds faster than where she was last year, so that's great news going into state."

Jackson placed fourth in the team standings with 255 points, followed by Saxony Lutheran (217) in fifth and Perryville (93) in sixth.

Caitlyn Palmer finished first for the Indians in the 100 butterfly with a time of 58.23, and Sydney Deneke (334.70) took first in diving.

Team scores -- 1. Central 454; 2. Poplar Bluff 436; 3. Notre Dame 411; 4. Jackson 255; 5. Saxony Lutheran 217; 6. Perryville 93

Top three finishers

200 medley relay -- 1. Poplar Bluff (Taylor Norwood, Morgan McAtee, Lexi Vaughn, Haylee Dragon) 1:58.84; 2. Jackson (Jericka Helton, Molly Brakhane, Caitlyn Palmer, Kali Norrick) 2:04.11; 3. Central (Krystin Ruch, Josey Powell, Maddy McDonald, Sierra Smith) 2:05.41

200 freestyle -- 1. Megan Peters (ND) 1:57.18; 2. Jacie Pujol (ND) 2:11.99; 3. Smith (C) 2:13.55

200 individual medley -- 1. Norwood (PB) 2:10.65; 2. Powell (C) 2:17.14; 3. Elizabeth Kiefner (SL) 2:21.13

50 freestyle -- 1. Cassidy Harris (PB) 24.54; 2. Palmer (J) 24.62; 3. McDonald (C) 25.87

1-meter diving -- 1. Sydney Deneke (J) 334.70; 2. Caleigh Huffman (C) 239.95; 3. Graeme Davis (C) 238.00

100 butterfly -- 1. Palmer (J) 58.23; 2. Peters (ND) 59.41; 3. Katie Richmond (SL) 1:06.57

100 freestyle -- 1. Harris (PB) 54.22; 2. Madison Heisserer (ND) 55.35; 3. McAtee (PB) 57.12

500 freestyle -- 1. Norwood (PB) 5:12.28; 2. Richmond (SL) 5:47.66; 3. Pujol (ND) 6:02.01

200 freestyle relay -- 1. Notre Dame (Heisserer, Caroline Schott, Amelia Coello, Peters) 1:45.68; 2. Central (McDonald, Olivia Priest, Smith, Powell) 1:49.43; 3. Poplar Bluff (Katie Huskey, Samara Kilgore, Vaughn, Harris) 1:52.06

100 backstroke -- 1. Heisserer (ND) 1:02.06; 2. Emily King (P) 1:06.85; 3. Dragon (PB) 1:08.22

100 breaststroke -- 1. McAtee (PB) 1:08.99; 2. Powell (C) 1:12.01; 3. Kiefner (SL) 1:15.20

400 freestyle relay -- 1. Notre Dame (Heisserer, Schott, Coello, Peters) 3:48.61; 2. Poplar Bluff (McAtee, Dragon, Norwood, Harris) 3:48.68; 3. Jackson (Helton, Norrick, Brakhane, Palmer) 4:13.83