A Pair Of School Records On Day 1

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (2/18/16)—Annie Herkenhoff got her school record. After missing the program mark in the 500-yard freestyle by a mere .02 of a second in the prelims, Herkenhoff swam a 5:15.01 in the "B" final on the first day of the MIAC Championship Meet.

Herkenhoff won the "B" final in the 500-yard freestyle and was a part of nine season best times for the Cobbers on the opening day of the meet. Concordia finished with 49 team points is in ninth place after Day 1.

Herkenhoff wasn't the only record breaker for the night session. The 400-yard medley relay team of Madeline Johnson, Ciara White, Lauren Arnold and Alaina Dehnke swam a 4:11.38 to break the previous school record of 4:13.59 set back in 2000.

Herkenhoff's kicked off the 2016 championship meet by swimming a 5:16.21 in the prelims of the 500-yard freestyle. That time was .02 of a second off the school record set by Katie Coleman in 2011. Herkenhoff's time in the prelims was the 11th fastest and was just 3.58 seconds behind the qualifying time for the championship heat.

Herkenhoff then blew her prelim time completely out of the water by racing to a 5:15.01 in the finals. That time was over a second faster than here prelim time and 1.20 seconds better than the program record.

Besides Herkenhoff the top times on Day 1 came from Arnold, Johnson and White who all finished in the top 30 of the 200-yard individual medley. Arnold swam a 2:21.14 and was 24th in the prelims. Her previous season best was 2:26.66.

Johnson and White were close behind as they posted times of 2:24.24 and 2:24.27. Both times were season bests.

The other point-scoring event of the night was the 200-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of Ann Marie O'Connell, Herkenhoff, White and Dehnke touched the pad in 1:42.06 which is a season best and just .43 of a second shy of the school record.

TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 1
1. University of St. Thomas - 226  
2. Gustavus Adolphus - 223  
3. St. Olaf College - 120  
4. Carleton College - 117  
5. College of Saint Benedict - 84  
6. Saint Catherine University - 52  
T7. Macalester College - 51  
T7. Hamline University - 51  
9. Concordia College - 49  
T10. Augsburg College - 26  
T10. Saint Mary's University - 26  

OFF TO A GOOD START
Concordia's 49 points on Day 1 at the MIAC Meet is the most since the 2011 season when they had 50 and were in seventh place. The Cobbers finished in seventh place that year which is the highest finish for CC at the conference meet since 2005.  

QUOTABLE
"Records are made to be broken and it doesn't take away from the incredible experience I had at Concordia and during the MIAC Championship Meets. I wish Annie all the best and hope she has a meet like I did in 2011." - Former Cobber 500-yard freestyle record holder Katie Coleman          
  
WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will head back to the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center for Day 2 of the MIAC Meet on Friday, Feb. 19 starting at 10:30 a.m. for the prelims. The Day 2 events will feature the 400-yard individual medley relay, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke.