Slow-starting Central girls will finish season at state meet

It took the Tigers' swimmers some time to get their feet wet this spring, but as the season went along Central's girls started to get faster.

That improvement showed with two relay teams and one individual qualifying for the state meet, which will take place today and Saturday at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.

"We just continued to get better each meet," Central coach Dayna Powell said.

Central's relay cuts were not without drama. The Tigers got their qualifying times in the final two meets of the season.

"We started getting nervous toward the end of the season," senior Cassie Kipper said. "Everyone knew we could make the times; it just wasn't happening."

The times did come, though, with Kipper serving as the veteran on a pair of young relay teams. Freshmen Callie Hoffman and Hannah Kinder, along with sophomore Hannah Lewis, swam on the 200 free relay team which qualified at the conference meet May 6. Kipper, Kinder, Lewis and Sarah Goeke swam on the 400 free relay team which qualified on May 11 in Central's last meet of the season. Hoffman will swim in the 400 relay at the state meet in place of Goeke, who can not attend.

"It was the last race of the last meet of my high school career," Kipper said of the 400 qualifying time. "It was a really neat thing."

Kipper is the lone individual qualifier, making the cut in the 200 individual medley. She nearly made the cut in the 50 free, missing out by just tenths of a second.

"It was a little frustrating, but that race came directly before the IM, which would have been difficult to swim back-to-back," Kipper said of her 50 free miss.

As the lone upperclassman headed to state, Kipper will be expected to add some leadership during the state meet. Kipper will be making her fourth trip.

"I kind of feel like I have to make it fun for them," Kipper said. "I remember the seniors when I was a freshman made it fun for me."

Central will take 12 swimmers in all.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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