After the first full day of competition, Saint Mary's stands at sixth in the MIAA championships with 124 points. At the top of the leaderboard, Hope leads Calvin by 1.5 points with 255 points total.
In the morning session Thursday, the Belles qualified swimmers for each of the five events they competed in. The Belles competed well in their two relay races. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, consisting of freshman Ann Nolan, sophomore Sarah Thompson, senior Katie Donovan and freshman Julianne Divine, the Belles took third in qualifying with a time of 1:43.65. Also taking third, with a time of 4:13.34, was the 400-yard individual medley relay of freshman Anna Nolan, junior Kristyn Gerbeth, senior Audrey Dalrymple and senior Megan Price.
Saint Mary's competed just as well in the individual events during the preliminary round. With an eighth-place finish and time of 5:21.05, senior Megan Price qualified for the 500-yard freestyle finals. Audrey Dalrymple qualified in fifth place (2:13.90) and Katie Donovan in 15th place (2:22.06) in the 200-yard individual medley. Rounding out the qualifying rounds was Nolan, who finished 10th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.13.
The Belles improved their times for the final round Thursday evening, but for the most part finished in the same places. In the relays, the 200-yard freestle relay finished in sixth (1:43.02) and the 400-yard individual medley relay moved up, taking second (4:09.91).
On the individual level, Price again finished eighth in the 500-yard freestyle (5:19.38). For the 200-yard individual medley, Dalrymple finished fifth (2:12.45) and Donovan moved up, finishing 13th (2:19.90). After many races, Nolan's 50-yard freestyle time slowed slightly to 25.30, but she retained her 10th place position.
The Belles continue in the MIAA championships today and Saturday in Holland, Mich.
