Tigers place third at conference meet, tally 15 medals
The Nevada Tigers had a strong third-place showing at Friday’s four-team West Central Conference meet, hosted by Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia.
Smith-Cotton claimed the conference title, racking up 436 team points, while Warrensburg slotted into second-place with 425. The Tigers concluded the event with 349 points, while St. Pius X finished a distant fourth, with 194 points.
“The meet went very well,” said Nevada coach, Clayton Wheeler. “We had guys put up big times and put on a great show.”
Nevada wrapped the meet with 15 medals in tow — with eight coming in relay events, plus another seven individual medals.
Nevada freshman Ben Hines added to his impressive array of gold medals, placing first in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. Hines clocked a 22:90 in the 50 free, while his time of 50.69 in the 100 free is officially a new WCC record.
Nevada sophomore Tyler Armstrong claimed a gold medal in the 100 butterfly (1:07.27) and a runner-up finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.18).
“Tyler dropped over six seconds off his best time (in the 100 butterfly),” noted Wheeler.
Meanwhile, Tiger sophomore Braden Russell collected a pair of second-place finishes while setting personal bests. Russell clocked a 2:07.54 in the 200 free, and a 1:05.40 in the 100 backstroke.
Fellow Nevada sophomore Grant Miller, had an impressive showing as well, netting a silver medal in the 200 individual medley (2:26.96) and a fourth-place finish in the 100 free (57.74).
“The individual medley is a race Grant hasn’t swam in since last season,” said Wheeler. “He wanted to compete in it for the WCC meet because he felt it would help the team.”
Nevada’s Gage Rubin placed fourth in the 500 free (7:38.95) and 11th in the 50 free (29.85); Jack Niestrath placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:31.16) and seventh in the 50 free (28.08); and Pierse Dennison placed seventh in the 200 free (2:56.09) and eighth in the 100 breaststroke (1:43.84).
Nevada’s success carried over to relay events, with the Tigers securing a trio of top three finishes, including a gold in the 400 meter freestyle relay (Hines, Russell, Armstrong, Miller) with a time of 3:49.49; a runner-up finish in the 200 meter medley relay (Morris, Armstrong, Hines, Miller) with a time of 1:52.34; and a bronze medal in the 200 meter freestyle relay (Russell, Dennison, Niestrath, Morris), clocking a 155.61.
“The team is looking great as we prepare for the state meet (Nov. 2-3 in St. Peters), where Ben will swim in individual events and, we may have two relay teams qualify,” said Wheeler.
“We will get the final word about relays (later) this week. We sit high in the standings of consideration times. It’s just a waiting game now.”
Check a future edition of the Daily Mail for all the latest on the Nevada Tiger swim team