WEBB CITY, Mo. — For the second straight year, the Webb City Cardinals edged the rival Carl Junction Bulldogs for the team crown at the Central Ozark Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.
Webb City compiled 269 points to Carl Junction’s 266 on Thursday night at the Buck Miner Swim Center in a meet that once again came down to the final event.
“Our girls swam incredibly well,” Webb City coach Shawn Klosterman said. “It’s crazy how this meet seems to come down to the last relay a lot. Watching that last relay is as fun as it gets. But I was about to throw up.”
The Cardinals and Bulldogs have developed quite the rivalry.
Carl Junction won the COC Meet in both ’20 and ’21 before Webb City nipped the Bulldogs 293-289.5 for the top spot at last year’s meet.
“We practice here and we have a great relationship with Webb City,” Carl Junction coach Stephanie Miller said. “Seeing them do well is fun. It’s a friendly rivalry. I think the girls from both teams feed off each other and make each other better. I love it.”
After the Cardinals and Bulldogs, Ozark finished third in the team standings with 221 points, Carthage was fourth with 169, Nixa took fifth with 150 and Joplin was sixth with 106.
The meet featured several record-setting performances, with pool records, school records and COC records falling.
WEBB CITY HIGHLIGHTS
The Cardinals had a top-three finish in 10 of the 12 events.
“There were so many good swims here,” Klosterman said. “We had some big move-ups. They jumped on every opportunity. Carl was doing the same thing…they were swimming lights out. What I was surprised with is we just went to the COMO Meet, which is the fastest facility in the state. For the kids to come back four days later and swim faster means they were turning in very inspired swims.”
Webb City senior standout Sophia Whitesell won a pair of individual events to lead the Cardinals.
Whitesell won the 200-yard individual medley in a meet record time of 2:16. She also took first in the 500 freestyle in 5:34.
“Sophia trains out of her mind and she deserves every accolade she gets,” Coach Klosterman said. “She practices eight or nine times a week plus weights. I think she’s just going to keep getting faster.”
The Cardinals had a number of stellar performances.
Norah Klosterman was the runner-up in the 500 free and she took third in the 200 free, while Camryn Klosterman placed third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 butterfly.
Avery Mitchell took third in the 100 free and fourth in the 50 free, while Skylar Powell was third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 free.
Also for the Cardinals, Hally Philpot placed third in the 100 breaststroke, Allie Eggleston took fifth in the 500 free and Alix Davis was fifth in the 100 backstroke.
The Cardinals finished second in two relays.
Webb City’s team of Powell, Davis, Olivia Honey and Mitchell placed second in the 200 freestyle relay.
Powell, Mitchell, Davis and Whitesell took second in the 400 free relay in 3:48, a time that broke the pool record but was one second back of Carl Junction.
In the 1-meter diving competition, Webb City’s Kelly Tollefson took first, and teammate Keira McDonald was the runner-up.
The Cardinals captured the team title despite being disqualified in two key events, the 200 medley relay and the 100 free (Davis).
“When you DQ the first relay, you can easily see the team get deflated, but they didn’t,” Coach Klosterman said. “Those DQs probably cost us 39 points or so. Those things happen. I’m just glad they were troopers about it and kept fighting.”
CARL JUNCTION HIGHLIGHTS
The Bulldogs won five events.
“We did lights out,” Coach Miller said. “We were amazing. I thought we’d lose by over 20 points. To be that close to Webb City, we did amazing. I didn’t think we’d get any records and we ended up with three. The girls did great today. And a lot of depth showed up.”
Carl Junction junior Chloe Miller won two individual events and played a key role on two winning relays.
Miller won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.81 seconds, a meet and pool record time. Miller also took first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.28 seconds.
Skyler Sundy won the 100 breaststroke (1:01) and was the runner-up in the 50 free (25.61), while Madeleine Garoutte took second in both the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly.
Also for the Bulldogs, Abigail Holcomb took fourth in the 100 breaststroke, Sophia Holcomb placed fifth in the 100 butterfly and was sixth in the 500 freestyle, while Elyanna Dogotch was sixth in the 100 free and Sydney Ward took sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
Carl Junction won two of the three relays.
The team of Garoutte, Sundy, Dogotch and Miller won the 200 freestyle relay in a meet and pool record time of 1:43.19.
Carl Junction’s 400 free relay team of Garoutte, Sundy, Dogotch and Miller won in a meet and pool record time of 3:47.53.
The Bulldogs placed third in the 200 medley relay, with Kennedy Johnson, Abigail Holcomb, Sophia Holcomb and Ward competing.
CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS
The Tigers won four events on their way to a fourth-place team finish.
“This is a tough meet,” Tigers coach Braden McBride said. “We figured we might get fourth because the top three teams are pretty loaded. We’re pretty happy with how we performed. We had a lot of personal bests today.”
Carthage senior Madison Riley won two individual events in record-breaking fashion.
Riley won the 200 freestyle with a conference and pool record time of 1:57. She also took first in the 100 butterfly with a COC and pool record time of 58.79 seconds.
“Madison did really well,” McBride said. “This pool is not real fast, but we recorded a lot of great times and personal bests. For Madison to go as fast as she did, that shows her training is right on track. We’re really happy with how she’s developing.”
Carthage freshman Olivia Manning won the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.
“Olivia was seeded second and won it as a freshman,” McBride said. “She’s got a bright future.”
Carthage’s 200 medley relay team of Aubree Santillan, Manning, Riley and Kamryn Dininger took first place in 1:56, a school record time.
The Tigers placed third in the 200 freestyle relay, with Riley, Santillan, Manning and Joey Hettinger competing.
Carthage was fifth in the 400 free relay, with Dininger, Jekaterina Arnold, Hettinger and Reese Lee competing.
Santillan placed third in the 100 backstroke and was also fifth in the 50 free, while Manning placed fourth in the 200 IM.
JOPLIN HIGHLIGHTS
Joplin’s top finish came in the final event of the night, as the team of Kiki Thom, Allysun Higdon, Megan Walser and Lily Rakes placed fourth in the 400 freestyle relay.
The Eagles were fifth in the 200 medley relay, with Rakes, Taegen Smith, Thom and Walser competing.
Joplin’s 200 freestyle relay team of Brylea Smith, Lydia Barwick, Izzy Zamanzadeh and Allysun Higdon placed sixth.
As far as individual events for the Eagles, Rakes placed sixth in the 100 backstroke, while Thom finished sixth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in the 200 IM.
Taegen Smith and Brylea Smith finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 100 breaststroke, and Walser was ninth in the 500 freestyle.
COC RECORDS SET
200 freestyle: Madison Riley, CAR, 1:57
100 butterfly: Riley, CAR, 58.79
200 IM: Sophia Whitesell, WC, 2:16.39
50 freestyle: Chloe Miller, CJ, 24.81
200 freestyle relay: Carl Junction, 1:43.19
400 freestyle relay: Carl Junction, 3:47.53
