Korgan, Stevens, two relays highlight McCook state swim entries

McCook will have a handful of representatives at the 2019 Nebraska State High School Swimming and Diving Championships.

The competitors for the state meet were announced earlier this week by the Nebraska Schools Activities Association (NSAA), as determined by the number of automatic and secondary qualifying marks in each of the individual and relay events.

Josh Stevens will be the lone representative in the boys division at the state meet at Lincoln's Bob Devaney Sports Center Feb. 25-27. Stevens qualified in the one-meter diving event.

Whitney Korgan qualified for multiple events in the girls division. Korgan will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 freestyle at state.

The Bison also qualified a pair of relay teams in the girls division. McCook will have entries in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay. The state relay teams will be comprised from a group of five Bison seniors, including Korgan, Jayde Aufrecht, Katie Latta, Madeline Shaddock and Sydnie Stamm.

The McCook 400 freestyle relay teams of Aufrecht, Shaddock, Stamm and Korgan hit an automatic state qualifying time and finished fourth in the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference meet at Hastings last weekend. The Bison quartet broke the four-minute mark with their season-best time of 3:59.45.

Korgan had a strong performance at the GNAC meet last Friday and Saturday at the Hastings YMCA pool. Korgan won the 50 free with an automatic state qualifying time of 25.37 seconds. Korgan also hit a secondary qualifying mark in the 100 butterfly with her second-place time of 1:04.54 at the conference meet.

Individuals may enter a maximum of two individual events and four events total (individuals and relays) at the state meet. McCook head coach Lori Jumps decided to enter Korgan in the sprint freestyle events at state.

Jayde Aufrecht placed third at the GNAC meet in the 50 freestyle with a secondary qualifying mark of 27.07 seconds. Aufrecht's time wasn't fast enough to place her in the state meet field.

Madeline Shaddock also finished fourth at conference in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:23.15, as she just missed a secondary qualifying mark.

Stevens also placed second in boys diving at conference with a total of 262.15 points in the 11-dive event.

Michelle Tinglum of McCook was fifth in the girls diving event with 204.00 points.