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Paegle shines at Speedo Junior Nationals

jim gordillo, the herald-times
·2 min read
Bloomington South's Lukas Paegle (left) has made it to the boys' state meet for the first time, following in the footsteps of his older sister Kristina, a four-time qualifier and state champ.
Bloomington South's Lukas Paegle (left) has made it to the boys' state meet for the first time, following in the footsteps of his older sister Kristina, a four-time qualifier and state champ.

Bloomington South grad and Indiana University incoming freshman Kristina Paegle left the Speedo Junior Nationals swim meet with three lifetime bests and three top-four finishes in the women's freestyle events.

The event was run in long course meters.

Paegle, representing Indiana Swim Club, started off in the 100 free, setting her PR in the prelims with a 55.11, with her previous best 55.66. In the final, she got out in 26.29 to lead the way, but was caught by Stanford bound Kayla Wilson from Virginia Beach, Va., who won by .06 in 55.09 to Paegle's 55.15.

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She ended the meet in the 50 free. She was the top qualifier at 25.72, then came back with a career best 25.44 (previous was 25.60) but lost by a mere .01 to Penn junior Lily Christianson, who was the IHSAA state champ and current state record holder in the 50-yard free.

In the 200 free, was the sixth-fastest qualifier in 2:01.77 then went 2:01.07, well below her previous best of 2:03.09, to take fourth. The top three all went under 1:59, led by Wilson.

"Fantastic meet to finish off her Junior career," ISC coach Chip Kline said. "She has accomplished so much, from multiple state high school record holder to world record holder on a couple relays to multiple top-four finishes at her last Junior National meet.

"This meet is the icing on the cake for a tremendous junior career. I look forward to seeing her reach her full potential under the guidance of IU head coach Ray Looze and his staff beginning this fall."

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Both her 50 and 100 free times are Olympic Trials cuts while her 200 is just short of the 2:00.69 needed there.

"She has demonstrated continued growth this summer into an elite level swimmer," Kline said, "and has set herself up to be an impactful swimmer at both the Big Ten and NCAA championship meets next year."

South sophomore Lukas Paegle also qualified to compete in the men's 100 butterfly, and he finished 58th in 55.85, with a 55.00 needed to make the top 24 and the C Final.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Kristina Paegle shines at Speedo Junior Nationals