Stingrays swim at Zones Championships
The Sturgis Stingrays were represented by four swimmers at this year’s Great Lakes YMCA Zone Championships. The event was held in Geneva, Ohio at the SPIRE Institute.
The Zone Championships are a big deal every year for swim clubs and this year’s event saw plenty of swimmers from across the Midwest take part in the action. A total of 124 teams were represented at the Zone Championships this year from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Michigan. Sturgis finished in 58th place overall as a team out of the 124.
Cooper Hart, Brooklyn Draper, Ainsley Gump and Kaylee Draper all spent time in the water for th Stingrays at the event.
Hart, 9, swam in five events. He placed 24th overall at 36.47 seconds in the 50 yard backstroke, 35th overall in the 100 backstroke at 1:23.29, 31st in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:11.44, 31st in the 200 freestyle at 2:37.96 and 45th overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 32.30 seconds. Each of Hart’s events were in the boy’s 10 and under category.
Brooklyn Draper swam four events. She placed 44th in the girls 11-12 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:12.21, 58th in the 100 freestyle at 1:05.31, 93rd overall in the 50 freestyle at 29.66 seconds and 55th overall in the 50 backstroke with a time of 34.47 seconds.
Gump also competed in five events for the Stingrays. She recorded a sixth-place finish in the 200 freestyle event with a time of 2:02.16. Ella Salenbien of Lansing won the race at 1:59.96 for reference.
She also finished 15th overall in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:23.66, 21st in the 100 freestyle event at 57.36 seconds, 59th in the 100 breaststroke at 1:20.96 and 24th overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.45 seconds.
Kaylee Draper swam in five events as well.
She claimed 35th position in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:26.16. She swam a time of 29.34 seconds in the 50 backstroke for 29th place, finished 27th in the 200 freestyle at 2:04.27, 40th in the 100 backstroke at 1:06.65 and 47th overall in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.18 seconds.
All four of the Stingray swimmers recorded at least one personal best time at the meet, showcasing how fast the championships really were.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Stingrays swim at Zones Championships
