MCHS girls swimming and diving team off to a solid start for 2001-2002

MCHS girls swimming and diving team off to a solid start for 2001-2002

December 15, 2001

STAFF REPORT

The Montezuma-Cortez High School girls swimming and diving team is certainly off to a good start. The Panthers opened the 2001-02 season by winning the Delta Invitational on Nov. 30. They have been swimming strong ever since.

Cortez finished with 130 points for first, outdistancing host Delta 114 and third-place Gunnison 50.

"Certainly the highlight of the season so far is the victory at Delta," MCHS head coach Mark Knox said. "This brought a valuable level of confidence to the team. As we progress through the season, the team will continue to develop and improve."

Kelsey Green placed first in the 100-yard freestyle with splits of 30.03 seconds and 34.78 seconds. Any Greene captured second in the 200 medley. Tessa Haukeness took third in the 100 free. Tracy Berhost came in fifth in the 200 free. The Panther’s2 200 medley relay captured first place. The 200 free relay and the 400 free relay teams came in second.

The Panthers competed at Montrose on Dec. 1. Durango won the the meet with 416 points. Montrose came in second with 386, MCHS third at 277, and Gunnison fourth 140.

Kelsey Green captured first place in the 50 free and she placed second in the 100 free. Haukeness came in second in the 50 free. Amy Green came in fifth in the 100 butterfly.

A Moffat County RE-1 School District bus carrying 25 high school swimmers slid off Colorado Highway 13 six miles north of Rifle on the way to the Montrose meet. The Colorado State Patrol reported no serious injuries. Fourteen students had minor injuries and were taken to the Rifle Fire Department, where they were picked up by their parents. Thirteen others, including the driver, 48-year-old Pam Vaughan of Craig, and coach Ed Stehlin, were taken to Clagett Memorial Hospital in Rifle and Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs for observation. Twelve were treated and released with cuts and bruises.

The bus, traveling south, drove off the right side of the road, corrected back on to the road, but lost control and slid off the right side of the road again, according to the state patrol report. The bus spun, rolled onto its side and slid down an embankment approximately 90 feet, coming to a stop of its left side, facing northwest. Highway 13 was snow-packed and icy and it was snowing at the time of the accident, according to the report.

The Moffat County swim team is comprised of students from Moffat County, Meeker and Steamboat Springs.

MCHS competed at Fruita-Monument on Dec. 7. Fruita won the meet with 158 points, Durango came in second with 98, and MCHS third with 67.

Kelsey Green captured first place in the 100 free with a time of 1:05.58. She also came in second in the 50 free in 29.58. Haukeness grabbed third in the 100 breast with a time of 1:24.00 and she came in third in the 100 free in 1:10.69.

The Western Slope League Relays were held on Dec. 8 in Grand Junction. Glenwood Springs captured first place with 404, Durango came in second with 315, followed by Fruita-Monument 261, Moffat County 258, Montrose 245, Grand Junction High 233, Delta 80, Central-Palisade 47, Gunnison 34, and MCHS 28. The Panthers placed ninth in both the 200 medley and 200 back. They took 11th in 200 free and 10th in 400 free.

"So far the team is progressing well this season," Knox added. "All of the Panther swimmers and divers are progressing at steady rate. This season holds a great deal of promise."

Kelsey Green, a senior who goes to Dolores High School, and Jessica Millican, a junior, are the team captains. The team is composed of freshman Mia Allee-Jumbo, sophomore Conny Berger, senior Tracy Berhost, soph Meghan Calvillo, senior Whitney Cook-Carnahan, junior Jenna Dillon, freshman Amanda Graffis, junior Amy Greene, soph Jennifer Greene, junior Tessa Haukeness, senior Tammy Henry, freshman Whitney Keene, freshman Piedra Lightfoot, sophomore Lindsey Maez, junior Jessica Millican, freshman Laura Neubert, senior Anna Newman, junior Katy Sheek, senior Linda Smart, junior Rebecca Whitehead, and freshman Ruby Zepeda.

The Panthers will compete all day today, Dec. 15, at the Piedra Vista Invitational at the Farmington Aquatic Center. This will be the last meet of the fall portion of the season. The season will resume following the holidays Jan. 11-12 at the annual Albuquerque Academy Invitational.