Heller smashes 100 Free varsity record on final day of Husky Invitational
December 3, 2012
Jamie Foland
474-6807
Federal Way, Wash. – Junior swimmer Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Psychology) turned in Alaska's top individual finish of the weekend with a very fast, varsity-record performance in the 100 freestyle as the 64th annual Husky Invitational concluded on Sunday at the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center.
Heller was runner-up in the championship final of the 100 free after touching the wall in a new varsity-record time of 50.28 seconds, which was only six-one hundredths of a second off the NCAA A-cut qualifying standard. It was also the fastest swim by an NCAA Division II swimmer this season in that event.
She improved her time by over four-tenths from her preliminary swim as she was first in qualifying with a mark of 50.69 seconds. That time also broke her previous program record of 50.98, set at the 2011 Husky Invitational.
Sophomore Margot Adams (Anchorage, Alaska/Political science) also advanced to a pair of consolation finals in the 200 butterfly and 100 free. She finished 16th in the 200 fly with a time of 2:09.56, which was a few seconds slower than her preliminary mark of 2:06.52 (season-best time), where she also placed 16th.
In the 100, she took third in her heat to place 19th overall after completing the event in 53.07 seconds. During prelims, she was 17th in 52.75, which was a season-best time for the Anchorage native. Ten other Nanooks competed in the 100 free preliminary and each achieved season-best marks.
On the relay side, the tandem of sophomore Danielle Lyons (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan/Biological sciences), Adams, sophomore Kelly Meierotto (North Pole, Alaska/Biological Sciences) and Heller completed the 400 freestyle relay with an NCAA B-cut time of 3:32.94 to finish ninth. The foursome were seeded 11th coming into the event.
The Nanooks saw much success this weekend as the program produced eight new NCAA qualifying times, seven top-10's and two top-five finishes.
Alaska will take a break for finals and will begin 2013 in Flagstaff, Ariz., for the team's annual training trip at elevation. The next time the Nanooks will be in action is Jan. 12, 2013, when they face Simon Fraser and the University of Puget Sound in Burnaby, B.C.