Haley Nelson passes a teammate during her training laps in the Churchill County Pool.
The Greenwave swim team had a rough end to Saturday’s meet in South Tahoe, coming up short in several competitions.
Coach Ken Grimes said the 400-yard freestyle relay final was challenging. He said the girls finished nine points behind South Tahoe, and the boys finished six behind. The coach noted the boys’ relay team was missing members of its regular group and was not at full strength for the races.
“Still, we were close and they almost got there and pulled it out,” Grimes said. “We didn’t quite have the numbers we needed to have.”
Other schools were at the meet, but Grimes said Fallon’s competition for the day was South Tahoe.
The meet still had plenty of positives, however. The coach said many of the swimmers made new best times and more qualified to compete at regionals. He said Kobe Abe qualified for the 200-yard freestyle.
“(Abe) had a great race there,” Grimes said.
Dominic Schulenberg and Ashby Trotter both made best times as well, with Trotter beating her time in the breaststroke. Grimes also said the medley relay team is getting stronger and improved its times.
The swim season is now at the halfway mark. Grimes said they have much work left, but he’s happy with how the team is progressing and expects they’ll be ready for regionals. He said the swimmers get better every time they get in the water.
“Every time we swim, everyone’s either staying consistent or dropping time,” he said, adding that they’re ramping up preparing for the post-season. “They’re working hard and we’re starting to work harder.”
This week the swim team will not be competing. Next week they go to Reno and the week after that is a bye week for spring break. Grimes said the team will be practicing like normal this week and next, though he does not have mandatory practices during spring break; still, he hopes to arrange some practice time for any swimmers who want to work out.
“We’ll have workouts ready for them if they’re hoping they can come in and swim,” he said. “The work doesn’t stop; it’s there for them.”
