Freshman Milee Nelson, shown here in a meet earlier this season, won the sectional title Saturday in the 500 freestyle. Gargoyle photo by (click to enlarge)

CHAMPAIGN — Junior Lisa Boyce and freshman Milee Nelson became the first Uni female swimmers to qualify for the IHSA state meet in 14 years when they scored victories Saturday at the Champaign Centennial sectional.

Overall, Uni placed fifth out of 10 schools that competed as teams, up from seventh last year. Head coach Howie Schein's Killer Whales scored 136 points, just 16 behind fourth-place Urbana (152) and 24 behind third-place Danville (160).

Champaign Central won the meet (275), followed by Centennial (240).

Boyce, a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, won the 100-yard freestyle in 52.19 seconds and the 100 backstroke in 58.71. She is now 22-0 in individual events this season.

Her time in the 100 free was more than four seconds faster than the 56.34 mark of her closest competitor, a swimmer from Lincoln High. The automatic state qualifying standard was 53.99.

Boyce's time in the 100 back was almost four-tenths of a second faster than the 59.07 recorded by fellow state qualifier Alyssa Petruzzello of Centennial, who finished second. The automatic qualifying standard was 1:00.59.

Nelson won the 500 freestyle in 5 minutes, 25.70 seconds, almost 14 seconds faster than the 5:39.61 of her Champaign Central High runner-up. The automatic state qualifying standard was 5:13.93. Nelson fell short of that, but she advanced to state by winning her race.

Lisa Boyce displays the two first-place and two third-place medals she won at sectionals. Photo courtesy Lisa Boyce (click to enlarge)

The only swimmers advancing to the Nov. 21-22 state meet at Evanston Township High School were those who won their races or who eclipsed the state qualifying standards.

The last Uni female swimmers to compete at state were Megan Flynn and Christine Keller in 1994. Keller, then a freshman, went on to finish eighth in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 back, while Flynn, a senior, finished seventh in the 200 free and fourth in the 500 free.

The last Uni swimmer to advance to state was Adam Reynolds, who qualified for the boys meet in February 1998. A senior, he finished third in the 200 free (1:43.49) and fifth in the 500 free (4:45.07).

Also at Saturday's sectional, two Uni relay teams placed third and Nelson finished fourth in the 200 free. Freshman Hannah Newman of Central won the latter event in 1:59.81, while Nelson finished in 2:02.61. The automatic qualifying mark was 1:57.03.

In the 200 medley relay, the Uni squad of junior Erika Belmont, Boyce, junior Sian Best, and Nelson swam a 1:57.77, just shy of their season best 1:57.67. Central won the relay in 1:49.24, more than two seconds faster than the automatic qualifying mark of 1:51.87.

In the 400 free relay, the Uni team of Boyce, Nelson, Best, and senior Deborah Ladd recorded a 3:56.56; Uni's best time this year was 3:54.63. Central won the event in 3:40.68. The automatic qualifying standard was 3:39.90.

Nelson's time in the 500 free was a personal record, breaking her previous best (5:29.28) by almost four seconds. Her time ranked 36th among all qualifiers in the 500 at Saturday's 16 sectional meets around the state.

Boyce didn't set a personal record in either of her events, but that's not surprising, since she has been training to peak at the state finals rather than at sectionals. Nevertheless, her time in the 100 free ranked fifth among all qualifers in that event Saturday, and her 100-back time ranked 16th.

The two-day state meet will get underway on Friday. Diving prelims and semifinals will begin at 9 a.m., followed by swimming prelims at 3:30 p.m.

Six contestants in each swimming event will qualify for the next day's championship finals and six will qualify for the consolation finals.

The diving and swimming finals will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday. According to the IHSA, here is the order of Saturday's events:

• 200-Yard Medley Relay
• 200-Yard Freestyle
• 200-Yard Individual Medley
• 50-Yard Freestyle
• Diving
• 15-Minute Break
• 100-Yard Butterfly
• 100-Yard Freestyle
• 500-Yard Freestyle
• 15-Minute Break
• 200-Yard Freestyle Relay
• 100-Yard Backstroke
• 100-Yard Breaststroke
• 400-Yard Freestyle Relay

The consolation finals will be swum immediately prior to the championship finals in each event.

Uni STATE QUALIFIERS at Champaign Centennial Sectional

100-Yard Freestyle

• LISA BOYCE
• 1st place
• 52.19 seconds
• 5th-fastest time among all state qualifiers in Saturday's 16 sectionals
• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 53.99

500-Yard Freestyle

• MILEE NELSON
• 1st place
• 5 minutes, 25.70 seconds
• 36th-fastest time among all state qualifiers in Saturday's 16 sectionals
• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 5:13.93

100-Yard Backstroke

• LISA BOYCE
• 1st place
• 58.71 seconds
• 16th-fastest time among all state qualifiers in Saturday's 16 sectionals
• Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:00.59

Team Results at Champaign Centennial Sectional

1. Champaign Central, 275 *
2. Champaign Centennial, 240
3. Danville, 160
4. Urbana, 152
5. UNI HIGH, 136
6. Lincoln, 88
7. Decatur MacArthur, 79
8. Clinton, 61
9. Petersburg PORTA, 45
10. Mount Zion, 21
11. Danville Schlarman, 19
12. Charleston, 18
13. Effingham, 12
T14. Champaign St. Thomas More, 12
T14. Decatur St. Teresa, 12
T14. Sullivan, 12
17. Mahomet-Seymour, 3
18. Paris, 1
* These standings include schools that entered individual competitors rather than full teams

TOP Uni Individual Results at Champaign Centennial Sectional

200-Yard Medley Relay

1. Champaign Central, 1:49.24
2. Champaign Centennial, 1:51.84
3. UNI HIGH (Erika Belmont, Lisa Boyce, Sian Best, Milee Nelson), 1:57.77
4. Urbana, 1:59.32
5. Decatur MacArthur, 2:07.14
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:51.87

200-Yard Freestyle

1. H. Newman, Central, 1:59.81
2. E. Newman, Central, 2:00.27
3. Strader, Danville, 2:02.05
4. Milee Nelson, UNI HIGH, 2:02.61
5. Wingate, Centennial, 2:04.29
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:57.03

100-Yard Freestyle

1. Lisa Boyce, UNI HIGH, 52.19
2. Schleder, Lincoln, 56.34
3. Jefferson, Centennial, 56.82
4. Lehmann, Central, 56.85
5. Lockman, Central, 57.73
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 53.99

500-Yard Freestyle

1. Milee Nelson, UNI HIGH, 5:25.70
2. Hlinka, Central, 5:38.22
3. Jimenez , Urbana, 5:39.61
4. Henwood, Danville Schlarman, 5:43.37
5. Standerfer, Centennial, 5:50.09
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 5:13.93

100-Yard Backstroke

1. Lisa Boyce, UNI HIGH, 58.71
2. Petruzzello, Centennial, 59.07
3. Strader, Danville, 1:01.60
4. Lacine, Central, 1:02.11
5. Sebens, Mount Zion, 1:03.41
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 1:00.59

400-Yard Freestyle Relay

1. Central, 3:40.68
2. Danville, 3:52.51
3. UNI HIGH (Lisa Boyce, Milee Nelson, Sian Best, Deborah Ladd), 3:56.56
4. Centennial, 4:04.50
5. Lincoln, 4:06.71
Automatic State Qualifying Time: 3:39.90