Elgin swimmers aim to qualify for 5A state meet

ELGIN — After finishing in the top five at the Suburban Conference swim meet, the Elgin teams will head to regional action Saturday in hopes of qualifying several individuals for the state meet in two weeks.

The regional meet will be held at Mitch Park YMCA in Edmond.

“I feel good about the regional,” Elgin swim coach Corey Grochow said. “The kids are swimming really well, especially the last few meets. I think we should have a large group of kids qualify for state.”

Specifically, Grochow mentioned Ellie Stevenson, ranked No. 8 in the 100-yard freestyle, and Mason Thompson.

“She’s hitting good times, and so is Mason Thompson in the 100 freestyle. If he swims in the low 54s, he should qualify for state,” the coach said.

Grochow also believes Persaus Martinez, ranked No. 18 in the breaststroke, can position herself with a time of 1:30 or better to qualify for state. In addition, he is expecting Josie Pearson to qualify if she swims the 50-yard freestyle in the “low 28s.”

“I think she (Pearson) can be in the top 16,” he said.

On the boys side, Grochow anticipates Noah Bronkema will qualify for state in the 100-yard backstroke if he can swim a time of 1:10 or better. Another swimmer with “a good chance” of qualifying is Murdoc Bradley in the 500-yard freestyle.

“If we can get him down to a 6:45, I think he can move forward. He’s been pushing it at practice and if he can hit those same splits that he’s done in practice, he should qualify,” Grochow said.

Bradley swam a 6:53 at the Suburban Conference meet.

Elgin’s boys finished third at the conference meet, while the girls team wound up in fourth place.

“The kids did a lot better than I thought, with it being our first time there,” the coach said.

This was Elgin’s first year as a member of the Suburban Conference. One of the highlights was Elgin’s third-place finish in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:49.10.