Hedstrom Qualifies For Semifinals In 3-Meter

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/14/13)—Concordia's two relays and freshman diver Jana Hedstrom led the way at the first day of the MIAC Championship Meet on Thursday at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.

The Cobber 400-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle both posted season-best times and finished in the top 8 and Hedstrom qualified for the second round in the 3-meter competition on the opening day of the meet as Concordia is tied for seventh place heading into Friday's events.

The final event of the first night gave the Cobbers the majority of their 46 total team points for the day. The quartet of Jordan Peterson, Megan Obrecht, Emily Erickson and Amanda Suchanek swam a 4:20.67 and finished in seventh place. That time was almost 13 seconds faster than their seed time and the relay team finished two places higher than the seedings heading into the race.

The other relay event to post team points on Thursday was the 200-yard freestyle unit of Joleen Baker, Rachel Aldinger, Kelsey Appert and Suchanek. The relay team clocked a 1:44.58 and placed eighth in the event. That final time is four seconds faster than their previous season best.

Hedstrom was the star of the afternoon preliminary events for Concordia. She came away with a total of 180.05 points in the prelims of the 3-meter event and was one of 16 divers to qualify for the next round. Hedstrom's total was only 20 points shy of the top 5. She will compete in the semifinals of the 3-meter on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The top individual swimmers for Concordia on Thursday were Suchanek, Baker, Kasey Lyng, Greta Titus and Emily Erickson. Suchanek was the top finisher with a 26^th place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 25.85. Baker swam a 26.36 in the same event while Lyng, Titus and Erickson all had top 30 finishes in the 200-yard individual medley. All five posted season-best times in their events.

Concordia will start the second of the three days at the conference meet on Friday beginning at 10:30 a.m.             

Women's Team Scores (after day one)
1. Gustavus - 204
2. St. Thomas - 175
3. St. Olaf - 157
4. Carleton - 115
5. Saint Benedict - 101
6. St. Catherine - 63
T7. Concordia - 46
T7. Hamline - 46
T9. Augsburg - 32
T9. Saint Mary's - 32
11. Macalester - 30