The fall season is already underway for four girls from Pella High who are competing in varsity swimming. The athletes competed on a team based in Newton that also includes athletes from Colfax-Mingo and goes by the acronym NCMP (Newton/Colfax-Mingo/Pella). This past week, the team defeated Linn-Mar 94-89.
Highlights from the first meet of the season included first place finishes by Samantha Hedrick in the 50-Meter Freestyle and 100-Meter Breaststroke; a gold medal 200 Meter Freestyle Relay team that also included Hedrick; and a second place finish by the Medley Relay team that featured Hedrick and Sara Martin.
The girls swimmers from Pella High are a young group, as Martin – along with Jeannie Etnyre and Kira Hanson – are sophomores; and Hedrick is a freshman. They’ll compete as part of NCMP again on Thursday, when Newton hosts a triangular that includes swim teams from Grinnell and Indianola.
Varsity: NCMP defeated Linn Marr 94-89
Medley Relay: Sidney Griffith, Sara Martin, Hannah Scotton & Samantha Hedrick placed 2nd; Kira Hnason, Olivia Maharry, Abby Jolivette, Hannah Rhoads placed 5th
200 IM: 7th Kira Hanson
50 Free: 1st: Samantha Hedrick, 5th: Jeannie Etynre
100 Fly: 6th Sara Martin
500 Free: 4th Kira Hanson
200 Free Relay: Samantha Hedrick, Hannah Scotton, Rachel Prendergast, Carly Colville placed 1st; Krystal Mapes, Emily Forsyth, Elizabeth Myers & Sara Martin placed 4th
100 Breast: 1st: Samantha Hedrick, 5th: Sara Martin
400 Free Relay: Krystal Mapes, Elizabeth Myers, Kira Hanson & Sierra Griffith placed 4th