Arlington High School swimmer Lizzie Meyer had an extra 50-yard freestyle race at the end of Friday's first day of the NSAA State Swimming & Diving Championships in Lincoln.
Once she won the swim-off and climbed out of the Bob Devaney Sports Center pool, she expressed positive feelings toward day No. 2.
“With a good recovery tonight, I'll be ready to go tomorrow,” Meyer said. “It'll be good.”
In the end, three Fremont Tigers from Washington County high schools claimed top-eight finishes Saturday afternoon. The FHS girls' team was ninth behind co-champions Omaha Westside and Omaha Marian, while the boys were 14th behind the state champion Junior Jays of Omaha Creighton Prep.
Meyer, as well as Blair High School sophomores Ryleigh Schroeter and Jane Busboom, earned sixth and seventh-place results on Fremont relay teams.
“We all just kind of mesh together,” the junior Arlington Eagle said. “We can really get each other going.”
Alongside Fremont teammate Madelyn Buck, the Washington County trio claimed sixth in the 400-yard free relay in 3:40.04. They were seventh in the 200 free relay, too, stopping the clock in 1:39.34.
Busboom added her own individual seventh-place finish in the 100 backstroke as well. Her championship finals swim took 59.62 seconds after she finished prelims with a 59.25.
“I just focused on starting my first 50 (yards) really strong, and just holding that tempo and building it up toward the end,” she said Friday.
Schroeter, meanwhile, also earned a pair of eighth-place individual finishes Saturday. The Blair sophomore clocked in at 1:57.62 over 200 yards and 5:24.7 over 500.
On Friday, Schroeter shot her head out of the water after the 500-yard freestyle prelims and smiled. Her 5:18.88 time is Fremont's best.
“It was the school record,” she said before further explaining her joy in the moment. “It was the goal time that we wanted, and I held all of my splits, too.”
The Tiger added that it took a lot of pace work to set the school mark.
On the boys' side, Arlington senior Cade Arnett and Blair freshman Jacob Hanson wore Fremont swim caps in Lincoln, too. Arnett capped his high school swimming career with three consolation relay races Saturday afternoon. The 200 medley relay team finished 11th, the 200 free squad was 13th and the 400 free lineup took 15th.
The senior also participated in the individual 100 freestyle Friday, clocking in at 51.42 seconds for 27th.
Hanson, meanwhile, was 25th in the 200 freestyle and 31st in the 100 freestyle. His state debut times were 1:53.19 and 51.87, respectively.
The Washington County swimmers' results were among their Fremont teams' best at state. Buck added a seventh-place effort in the 50 freestyle, while Connor Christ notched another seventh-place effort in the boys' 100 breaststroke.
NSAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday-Saturday at Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln
Washington County Results
BOYS
200-yard medley relay: 11, Fremont (Cade Arnett w/ Landon Lamson, Connor Christ and John Monson), 1:39.93.
200 free relay: 13, Fremont (Arnett w/ Monson, Christ and Gabe Christ), 1:31.51.
400 free relay: 15, Fremont (Arnett w/ Monson, Christ and Christ), 3:25.45.
100 freestyle: 27, Arnett, 51.42. 31, Jacob Hanson, 51.87.
200 freestyle: 25, Hanson, 1:53.19.
GIRLS
200-yard free relay: 7, Fremont (Jane Busboom, Lizzie Meyer, Ryleigh Schroeter w/ Madelyn Buck), 1:39.34.
400 free relay: 6, Fremont (Schroeter, Meyer, Busboom w/ Buck), 3:40.04.
50 freestyle: 17, Busboom, 25.32 seconds. 18, Meyer, 25.5.
100 freestyle: 24, Meyer, 56.49.
100 backstroke: 7, Busboom, 59.62.
200 freestyle: 8, Schroeter, 1:57.62.
500 freestyle: 8, Schroeter, 5:24.7.
