JASPER – Bedford North Lawrence earned four top seeds during the IHSAA girls swimming sectional preliminary races at Jasper on Thursday night.
BNL’s Emma Gabhart posted two top seeds. She touched first in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:15.12, and she was the top finisher in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.48.
Shelby Slaughter clocked the fastest time of 5:44.89 in the 500 freestyle, edging teammate Ursula Patton (5:46.15) for that top spot.
The Stars were also first in the 400 free relay as Kaitlyn Hackney, Slaughter, Patton and Gabhart combined to record a time of 3:55.75.
“We exceeded expectations tonight,” BNL coach Adam Young said. “Given the challenges of this season, it was an absolute home run from the team. We have put ourselves in a position for a special day Saturday if we can turn things up another notch.”
BNL will compete in the sectional finals on Saturday. The winners of each event will automatically qualify for the state finals on Feb. 12-13 in Indianapolis.
