LADY TIGER SWIMMERS PLACE 5TH AT STATE MEET

ST. PETERS -- Cape Central's girls swim hoped to enter new waters at the 1999 Missouri State Championships and came home Saturday with mission accomplished.

With senior Grace Freeman leading the way with two second place finishes, Cape Central finished fifth -- its highest state finish ever.

The Lady Tigers, who netted 140 points, had previously finished sixth on three occasions.

Marquette won the state title with 378 points, followed by Columbia Hickman 259, Parkway South 195, and Blue Springs South 167.

"We wanted fourth, which would have gotten us a trophy and a medal, but Blue Springs South had a little too much for us," said Cape Central coach Dayna Powell.

It took two state-record performances to keep Freeman from winning titles in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. Freeman, who finished second in the 50 as a junior, broke the school record Saturday with a time of 24.63 seconds. Her time of 53.64 seconds in the 100 also set a new Cape Central record.

"I knew if someone was going to beat her they were going to have to set a state record," said Powell.

Freeman earned all-state honors for her finishes, as did sophomore Mary Beth Owen, who placed third in the 100 butterfly (59.85) and the 200 freestyle (1:56.45).

Freeman and Owen were also a member of the all-state 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams. The 400 team, also comprised of Jennifer Freeze and Jean Maguire, placed second in a school record time of 1:42.37.

The foursome also placed fourth in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:42.37.

Maguire, a junior, earned honorable mention all-state in the 200 freestyle (2:01.87) and the 500 freestyle (16th, 5:44.12).

"We swam faster in all our races today except one," said Powell. "I'm real pleased. We had a lot of fun and swam fast. That's what it's all about."