NORMAL — In their final meet before the start of the IHSA postseason, the Uni varsity finished third out of eight teams Saturday at the Normal U-High Invitational.

Junior Lisa Boyce and freshman Milee Nelson led the Killer Whales yet again, combining for three first-place finishes at Illinois State University's Horton Pool.

Boyce won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 59.28 seconds, followed by Nelson in second place (2:06.37).

In the 100 backstroke, Boyce set a pool record by winning with a time of 57.64, more than seven seconds faster than runner-up Katie Simpkins of Eureka (1:04.98).

The previous record was set the night before by University of Illinois swimmer CeCe Marizu (58.07) in a meet against ISU. This is the second college pool record that Boyce has broken this season.

The Killer Whales earned 200 points, finishing behind runner-up Eureka (237) and champion Normal U-High (313).

Uni improved by almost 50 points over last year's contest, when the girls finished fifth (153), just one point behind Chicago U-High and 16 behind PORTA. This year Uni outscored Chicago U-High by 82 points and PORTA by 94.

Also at the meet, the Uni JV squad ended its season in style with a second-place finish out of seven teams, an improvement on last year's third-place showing. Uni scored 253 points, while Eureka won the JV title with 290. The Killer Whales edged Normal U-High for the runner-up spot by 10 points.

Uni swimmers also earned significant points with two second-place finishes from the team of Boyce, juniors Erika Belmont and Sian Best, and Nelson in the 200 medley relay (2:00.10) and 400 freestyle relay (3:59.98).

Best went on to a strong second-place performance in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.69. Belmont placed third in the 100 breaststroke (1:20.31).

The improvement shown at Normal U-High bodes well for Uni at IHSA sectionals. The postseason begins 1 p.m. this Saturday at Centennial High School.

According to the IHSA, a total of 23 schools will compete in the Centennial sectional, of which 10 will enter teams and 13 will be represented by individual competitors:

Champaign Centennial
Champaign Central
Champaign St. Thomas More *
Charleston
Clinton *
Danville
Danville Schlarman
Decatur MacArthur
Decatur St. Teresa *
Effingham *
Lincoln
Mahomet-Seymour *
Mt. Zion *
Olney East Richland *
Palestine *
Paris *
Paxton-Buckley-Loda *
Petersburg PORTA
Robinson *
Sullivan *
Tuscola *
Uni High
Urbana
* Denotes school with individual competitors only

In IHSA swimming, there are no divisions according to enrollment. This means Uni will compete against swimmers from the biggest schools in the area.

To advance to the Nov. 21-22 state meet at Evanston Township High School, swimmers will have to win their events or they will have to meet or exceed the automatic qualifying times in their events.

In the case of Boyce, her time in the 100 back (57.64) at the Normal U-High meet far exceeded the IHSA automatic qualifier of 1:00.59. If Boyce can duplicate that feat on Saturday, she would become the first Uni female swimmer to advance to state since Christine Keller and Megan Flynn qualified in 1994.

Boyce is scheduled to compete in one other individual event at sectionals, the 100 freestyle. Her best time in that event this year has been 52.34, more than 1.5 seconds faster than the automatic qualifier of 53.99.

Here is the lineup of Uni swimmers scheduled to compete Saturday. (For a comparison of their best times with the automatic state qualifying standards, see the final list at the bottom of this page.) Each school is allowed two swimmers per individual event and one four-person team per relay event:

200-Yard Medley Relay: Erika Belmont (jr), Lisa Boyce (jr), Sian Best (jr), Milee Nelson (fr); alternates: Maritza Mestre (jr), Amalia Dolan (fr), Deborah Ladd (sr)
200-Yard Freestyle: Milee Nelson (fr), Amalia Dolan (fr)
200-Yard Individual Medley: Deborah Ladd (sr), Anna Rubakhina (fr)
50-Yard Freestyle: Erika Belmont (jr), Elizabeth Allen (jr)
100-Yard Butterfly: Sian Best (jr), Anna Rubakhina (fr)
100-Yard Freestyle: Lisa Boyce (jr), Maritza Mestre (jr)
500-Yard Freestyle: Milee Nelson (fr), Amalia Dolan (fr)
200-Yard Freestyle Relay: Elizabeth Allen (jr), Erika Belmont (jr), Deborah Ladd (sr), Maritza Mestre (jr); alternate: Anna Rubakhina (fr)
100-Yard Backstroke: Lisa Boyce (jr), Sian Best (jr)
100-Yard Breaststroke: Erika Belmont (jr), Diana Liu (jr)
400-Yard Freestyle Relay: Lisa Boyce (jr), Milee Nelson (fr), Sian Best (jr), Deborah Ladd (sr); alternates: Maritza Mestre (jr), Amalia Dolan (fr)

Adam Reynolds was the last Uni swimmer to make it to state; he qualified for the boys meet in February 1998. He finished third in the 200 free (1:43.49) and fifth in the 500 free (4:45.07).

Team Results at Normal U-High Invitational

Varsity Results

1. Normal U-High, 313
2. Eureka, 237
3. Uni High, 200
4. Pontiac, 175
5. Chicago U-High, 118
6. Routt Catholic, 111
7. PORTA, 106
8. Olympia, 24

JV Results

1. Eureka, 290
2. Uni High, 253
3. Normal U-High, 243
4. Pontiac, 120
5. Olympia, 107
6. PORTA, 24
7. Routt Catholic, 6

Best Uni Times at Normal U-High Invitational

• 200 Medley Relay: Boyce/Belmont/Best/Nelson (2:00.10), 2nd
• 200 Freestyle: Lisa Boyce (1:59.28), 1st
• 200 Individual Medley: Deborah Ladd (2:40.60), 6th
• 50 Freestyle: Erika Belmont (28.68), 8th
• 100 Fly: Sian Best (1:08.69), 2nd
• 100 Freestyle: Deborah Ladd (1:04.85), 7th
• 500 Freestyle: Milee Nelson (5:33.77), 1st
• 200 Freestyle Relay: Coverdill/Hostetter/Wong/Ladd (2:03.47), 6th
• 100 Backstroke: Lisa Boyce (57.64), 1st, pool record
• 100 Breaststroke: Erika Belmont (1:20.31), 3rd
• 400 Freestyle Relay: Boyce/Belmont/Best/Nelson (3:59.98), 2nd

Uni Lineup for Sectionals

200-Yard Medley Relay

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:51.87
• Best Uni Mark This Season: 1:57.67
• Erika Belmont (jr)
• Lisa Boyce (jr)
• Sian Best (jr)
• Milee Nelson (fr)
• Maritza Mestre (jr)
• Amalia Dolan (fr)
• Deborah Ladd (sr)

Note: The final three swimmers listed are alternates for this event

200-Yard Freestyle

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:57.03
• Milee Nelson (fr), 2:04.68 (best mark)
• Amalia Dolan (fr), 2:24.04 (best mark)

200-Yard Individual Medley

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 2:12.69
• Deborah Ladd (sr), 2:38.29 (best mark)
• Anna Rubakhina (fr), 2:45.60 (best mark)

50-Yard Freestyle

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 24.84
• Erika Belmont (jr), 27.77 (best mark)
• Elizabeth Allen (jr), 29.00 (best mark)

100-Yard Butterfly

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:00.01
• Sian Best (jr), 1:08.69 (best mark)
• Anna Rubakhina (fr), 1:19.87 (best mark)

100-Yard Freestyle

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 53.99
• Lisa Boyce (jr), 52.14 (best mark: faster than state qualifying time)
• Maritza Mestre (jr), 1:03.30 (best mark)

500-Yard Freestyle

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 5:13.93
• Milee Nelson (fr), 5:29.28 (best mark)
• Amalia Dolan (fr), 6:23.75 (best mark)

200-Yard Freestyle Relay

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:40.19
• Best Uni Mark This Season: 1:56.73
• Elizabeth Allen (jr)
• Erika Belmont (jr)
• Deborah Ladd (sr)
• Maritza Mestre (jr)
• Anna Rubakhina (fr)

Note: The final swimmer listed is an alternate for this event

100-Yard Backstroke

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:00.59
• Lisa Boyce (jr), 57.64 (best mark: faster than state qualifying time)
• Sian Best (jr), 1:11.56 (best mark)

100-Yard Breaststroke

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:08.49
• Erika Belmont (jr), 1:17.26 (best mark)
• Diana Liu (jr), 1:24.19 (best mark)

400-Yard Freestyle Relay

• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 3:39.90
• Best Uni Mark This Season: 3:54.63
• Lisa Boyce (jr)
• Milee Nelson (fr)
• Sian Best (jr)
• Deborah Ladd (sr)
• Maritza Mestre (jr)
• Amalia Dolan (fr)

Note: The final two swimmers listed are alternates for this event