Facing competition from the Front Range brought out the best from the Durango Swim Club.
Competing with only eight swimmers, the club scored 44 points to finish fifth out of 11 teams at its latest meet June 25-28 at the Colorado Mesa University pool in Grand Junction.
“This is always a big meet for our team,” DSC head coach Suzanne Johnson said in an email to The Durango Herald. “The kids usually swim really well because there are teams from the Front Range that come over. The competition was great, and the kids were really excited.”
Haley Benjamin (14) showed she has yet another gear.
She won the 200-, 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle events in addition to the 400-meter individual medley.
Benjamin’s 4 minute, 25.87-second 400-meter freestyle was two seconds shy of qualifying for the Olympic Trials and good enough to qualify for the Junior Nationals meet later this year. She hit a Junior Nationals qualifying time in the 1,500-meter freestyle at 17:33.53.
Anne Mummery (16) took second in the 200-meter backstroke, fifth in the 50-meter freestyle and ninth in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke.
Quinn Schmidt (12) was second in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles, fifth in the 400-meter freestyle and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle.
Merin Schmidt (7), her younger sister, took ninth in the 50-meter backstroke and breaststroke and 100-meter backstroke and freestyle.
Joci Earl (15) finished 10th in the 800-meter freestyle.
The summer is starting to wind down, but the DSC still has the Western Slope Championships, Colorado State Championships, Western Zone Championships and the Junior Nationals meet to go.
heraldspots@durangoherald.com
