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Mork works the Backstroke to State

Posted Online: 11/12/02

By Greg Hunt

In the win-and-loss column, it's been a tough season for the Cambridge-Isanti girls swim & dive squad. But take it from Lindsay Mork, if you keep working hard, good things will eventually surface.

Mork highlighted the Bluejackets' 7th place team finish at the Nov. 9 Section 7AA finals by placing 2nd in the 100-yard Backstroke with her 1:05.03 swim. The junior had been around the 1:08s and 1:09s for most of the fall in the Backstroke, but over the stretch drive she kept working to drop the necessary seconds to make a run for the money.

"Lindsay tapered really well, working hard these last two weeks, and she dropped nearly four seconds from her usual time," said C-I Coach Scott Sholund.

After the Nov. 7 preliminary races, Mork moved up to the 3rd-place spot in the 7AA Backstroke.

"I knew the Backstroke was going to be really close, and I was able to drop nearly 7/10s of a second between my prelim and finals time," recalled Mork. "On Saturday, I was really nervous because the girl who was in 2nd place after the prelims was an 8th grader, and I'm like, "I have to beat her because I'm an 11th grader!' I just tried to stay calm, have fun and not worry about it.

"Right away as the race ended, I was really confused because I didn't know what place I had got. And so I was like, 'What happened?' And everyone was like, 'You got 2nd!' And I went 'Whoo!' I was really excited and shocked."

Mork will next swim in the Class AA prelims which begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at the grand University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

"I've never been to the U's Aquatic Center before. I am really excited to get there because it's an honor to be in the State meet," said Mork. "I just want to have fun. I'm not really worried about making finals or what place I'm going to get. I just want to have a good time and enjoy the moment.

"Hopefully, getting to State will motivate our team to work hard for next season, too."

Mork also placed 7th in the 200 Individuals, and she was a member of the 4th place 400 Freestyle Relay along with seniors Stephanie Chumley, Sarah Lininger and Molly Pearson who combined to drop 3 seconds from their prelim time. Rachel Johnson added another top-10 finish for the Jackets with her 7th place time of 1:15.2 in the 100 Breaststroke. The Jackets 200 Free Relay of Chumley, Pearson, Kacey Phifer and Melanie Olson also dropped 3 seconds from their prelim time to place 7th at 1:51.5.

"The biggest focus I saw coming out of the section finals was the girls' unwillingness to give up on themselves," said Sholund. "They made a big statement with how they swam, dropping a combined 97 seconds; they stepped up big-time."

Duluth East defended its team title with 438 points in the increasingly tough Section 7AA. Sholund pointed out how overall the northern section is getting closer to the usual powerhouses of the south and west metro. A case in point is East freshman Nikki Reed who set section records in the 50 and 100 Freestyles; her 24.1 time in the 50 gives her the top seed in the Class AA field.