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GSHS swimmers extend season with strong relay

Joelle MilholmPost Independent Staff

Adding to three state-qualifying times from Friday, the Glenwood Springs boys swim team managed to qualify another relay team in Saturday’s final round of the Class 4A Western Regional meet in Montrose.The 400-meter freestyle relay team of Michael Ball, Jamie Giezentanner, Bryce McDermott and Jon Jay – who also make up the 200-free relay team that qualified for state on Friday – finished in fourth place with a time of 3:42.00 to qualify for next weekend’s state meet in Fort Collins.Racing in the top heat of the 200 on Saturday, the foursome took fifth with a time of 1:41.00. “Both of our relays made it,” Jay said. “We had a lot of great swims today.”As a team, the Demons scored 171 points for a fourth-place finish behind Montrose, who took first with 411 points, Durango in second and Fruita In third.”That’s a lot of points for only nine guys,” Jay said of Glenwood’s performance, which placed the Demons ahead of Moffat County and Delta.Jay, who had already qualified for state in the 200 and 500 freestyle earlier this season, finished fourth in the 200 with a time of 1:55.05 and third in the 500 with a time of 5:18.97. McDermott, who posted a state-qualifying time on Friday in the 500, took sixth in both the 200 and 500 on Saturday.Giezentanner took third in the 100 free with a 54.14 mark, Ball came within .13 of qualifying for state with his fifth-place swim of 1:59.13 in the 200 free and Rafael Joly placed sixth in the 100 back with a time of 1:04.20. Glenwood’s B 400 free relay squad of Patrick Kramer, Hansen Nordsiek, Casey Martin and Joly put together one of its best swims of the year to win the consolation race (seventh place overall) with a time of 3:53.07.”Our B relay really stepped up,” Jay said of his teammates. “A lot of guys finished in the consolations. Everyone just stepped up well.”All together the Demons – with two relays, Jay swimming in two individual events and McDermott in one – will compete in four events Friday and Saturday at the state meet.Jay, a senior who will be racing in his last meet as a Demon at state, has his sights set high.”I hope to get my times down quite a bit – under 5:10 in the 500. I thought I could pull it off today, but the top two guys blew me away, and hopefully next week I can pace with someone,” Jay said. “My No. 1 goal is to get in the top eight in either one.”


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