Team finishes second at division meet

By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

The Lake Orion ladies finished up their 2021 swim and dive season last week at the MHSAA Division 1 State Championship meet on Nov. 19-20.

The Dragons had four competing swimmers and two divers who qualified for the state meet during the OAA White Division meet that was held Nov. 3-5 at Lake Orion High School.

Lake Orion took second place in the OAA White meet, scoring 373 points, just behind first-place Royal Oak High School with 390 points.

At the same meet, there were several Dragons who put up qualifying times that were good enough for a ticket to the Division 1 State Championship meet.

Junior Paige Potter qualified for the 200-meter individual medley taking first place in the finals with a time of 2:11.

Senior Lauren Valentine qualified for the 100-meter backstroke after finishing first in the finals with a time of 58 seconds.

Valentine and Potter along with Kate Rhodes and Frannie Turner also earned a trip to the championship meet after taking second in the 400-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:42, just over half a second behind the first place Stoney Creek team.

Junior Emma Timms also qualified for the diving event after taking first with 275.55 points.

At the State Championship meet, the ladies headed to Holland Community Aquatic Center where they competed against 43 other high schools in the state.

Potter finished out the 200-meter individual medley in 14th place with a time of 2:13, roughly 12 seconds behind first place.

Valentine also took 14th place in the 100-meter backstroke with a final time of 59.81 just 4 seconds behind first place.

The 400-meter freestyle relay team of Rhodes, Turner, Valentine and Potter finished in 11th place with a time of 3:39 which was 14 seconds behind the first-place finishing team.

Timms finished 30th with a five-dive score of 127.5 and Junior Alaina Thuss finished 35th. This was both of their first times competing in diving at a state level.

The Dragons finished their season 3-1-1 in the OAA White.