Niehoff posts national times

Abby Niehoff of the Carson Tigersharks posted two times that rank in the nation's top 16 for her age group at the Pacific Age Group Swimming Championships being held in Concord, Calif.

Niehoff led an effort for the Tigersharks in which they were able to post a personal best in every event. "That was an exciting way to start our meet," Tigershark assistant coach Jackie Boudreau said.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Niehoff, swimming in the 11-12 age group, came in with a seeded time of five minutes, 50.25 seconds. She lowered that to 5:44.06 in the preliminaries and placed third in the finals in 5:33.97.

In the 1,500 freestyle, Niehoff took second with another national top 16 time at 19:05.12. She came in with a seeded time of 19:50.

In the 13-14 age group, Rebekah Niehoff placed second with a Far Western Regional qualifying time of 19:02.61. Barbara Perkins placed fourth in 19:20.30 after coming in with a seeded time of 19:50.

In 17-18 boys, Kiel Costella placed fourth in the 400 I.M. with a Far Western time of 5:13.65. Costella also placed fourth in the 1,500 freee in 17:59.68.

In 15-16 girls, Lauren Metcalf posted a 1:31.09 in the 100 breaststroke. Rebekah Niehoff also posted a 1:06.13 in the 100 free. In 11-12 boys, Jake Priest took 12th in the 400 I.M. in 6:09.99.

The meet continues through this weekend. The Tigersharks have seven swimmers in the meet. Tatum Boehnke will begin swimming in the meet today.