Strong final day rewards Barton Women's Swimming with 3rd place finish at NJCAA Championships #GoBarton

The Barton Community College women's swimming team made a strong push in the final day to finish out the 2023 season at the NJCAA Championships with hardware earning a 3rd place standing

Competing in four grueling days at Burt Flickinger Athletic Center in Buffalo, New York, the women moved up from fourth in the final day of action compiling 533 total points to leap over Iowa Central's 458 accumulation.  Indian River continued its dominance with 1328 points while Southwestern Oregon won the battle for runner-up to distance Barton by 150 points in compiling 683 points.

The Cougar men held steady in the 4th position in each day, compiling 460 points, 173.5 behind 3rd place Iowa Central and 113 points ahead of Iowa Lakes' 347.  Indian River ran away with the expected title with 1274 points with Southwestern Oregon claiming runner-up honor with 796.5 points.

Heading into the final day in fourth trailing third place Iowa Central Community College by 13 points, the Cougars executed their best performance over the four days sending 25 of its' 26 enteries into "A" or "B" finals to outscore the Tritons by 93 points to claim the third-place trophy. Concluding the weekend scoring in 53 performances, the Cougars maintained 14 new program top-10 times and 25 new personal best stoppages.

Barton's strength came in the team events with three of the four relays placing third providing the squads highest finishes on the week.

Balanced scoring over the four days saw eight different Cougars finish above the 30-point plateau led by Linda Franco's 49 output. The sophomore out of Marysville, KS finished inside the "A" finals in three of her four individual events competed. Franco's highest outcome came with a fourth-place result in the 50-yard freestyle (24.67) while concluding her strong Barton career scooping up a sixth best stoppage of (54.56) in the 100-yard freestyle and seventh quickest (27.72) in the 50-yard butterfly edging out Mikwena Lierman's eighth fastest (28.14).

Andrea Piedra Fernandez was the other Cougar to lead team honors with the highest individual finish fortifying the fourth fastest clocking in the longest race of the week in the 1650-yard freestyle (19:42.36). Fernandez also joined Franco reaching over the 40-point output backed behind her seventh-place results in the 500-yard freestyle (5:41.52) and 1,000-yard freestyle (11:51.00).

All-around and versatile swimmer Dominique Cos maintained another gutsy national's performance in the water rounding out the 40-point Barton scorers for the week compiling 41. The sophomore posted her highest finish Thursday notching the seventh quickest time in the 400-yard medley while settling for an eighth place (1:08.76) in the 100-yard breaststroke along with a pair of ninth placings in the 50-yard and 200-Getting a balanced effort over the week,

Compiling 38-points on the week, Lierman and Olivia Kerr rounded out the multi-event "A" final performances in their final time on the big stage. Lierman's pair of showings came with a seventh-place finish in the ever exciting 50-yard freestyle (25.00) and eighth best time of (28.14) in the 50-yard butterfly. Kerr swam to a pair of eighth place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle (1:59.68) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:31.68).

Catarina Contes Tribst and Silvana Jacquez Viveros each clinched "A" final spots in their first nationals appearance with Contes Tribst turnin in the eighth fastest 100-yard medley time (1:08.54) while Jacquez Viveros clinched her spot with the eighth best 200-yard backstroke (2:17.06).

Compltes Women's Results*PB denotes Personal Best; SB denotes Season Best
Vali Bequette: 15 points
50-yard Freestyle: 13th (26.73, Prelims 26.28)
50-yard Backstroke: 16th (32.82, Prelims 32.81 SB)
200-yard Freestyle: 12th (2:11.61)
100-yard Freestyle: 12th (57.76)

Dominique Cos: 41 points
50-yard Breaststroke: 9th (31.65 SB)
400-yard Medley: 7th (4:58.24, Prelims 4:56.78)
100-yard Breaststroke: 8th (1:09.82, Prelims 1:08.76 SB)
200-yard Breaststroke: 9th (2:33.48, Prelims: 2:32.24)

Linda Franco: 49 points
50-yard Freestyle: 4th (24.67)
100-yard Butterfly: 9th (1:01.93)
50-yard Butterfly: 7th (27.72, Prelims 27.31 SB)
100-yard Freestyle: 6th (54.56, Prelims 54.15)

Silvana Jacquez Viveros: 32 points
50-yard Backstroke: 10th (29.04, Prelims 29.02)
100-yard Backstroke: 10th (1:02.25, Prelims 1:01.92)
50-yard Butterfly: 10th (27.81 PB, *5th program fastest)
200-yard Butterfly: 8th (2:17.06, Prelims 2:16.31)

Olivia Kerr: 38 points
200-yard Medley: 10th (2:16.21, Prelims 2:16.01 SB)
200-yard Freestyle: 8th (1:59.68 SB)
100-yard Breaststroke: 9th (1:10.62 SB)
200-yard Breaststroke: 8th (2:31.68 SB)

Mikwena Lierman: 38 points
50-yard Freestyle: 8th (25.32, Prelims 25.00 SB)
200-yard Freestyle: 9th (2:01.14)
50-yard Freestyle: 8th (28.14, Prelims 27.43 SB)
100-yard Freestyle: 10th (55.06 SB)

Maria Orlandi Genizelli: 33 points
1000-yard Freestyle: 9th (12:02.63 PB, *7th program fastest)
500-yard Freestyle: 9th (5:54.25 SB)
1650-yard Freestyle: 5th (19:48.77 PB, *3rd program fastest)
200-yard Breaststroke: 16th (2:57.65, Prelims 2:57.29)

Andrea Piedra Fernandez: 44 points
1000-yard Freestyle: 7th (11:51.00 SB)
200-yard Freestyle: 11th (2:08.54 SB)
500-yard Freestyle: 8th (5:41.52 SB)
1650-yard Freestyle: 4th (19:42.36 PB, *2nd program fastest)

Stephanie Ramirez: 6 points
50-yard Breaststroke: 15th (37.50, Prelims 37.35 PB, *10th program fastest)
200-yard Medley: 19th (2:40.35)
100-yard Breaststroke: 17th (1:20.44 PB, 9th program fastest)
200-yard Breaststroke: 13th (2:50.76, Prelims 2:50.28 PB, *9th program fastest)

Koe Schultz: 1 point
50-yard Freestyle: 17th (28.29 PB)
50-yard Backstroke: 22nd (34.39)
100-yard Backstroke: 16th (1:13.78 PB)
200-yard Backstroke: 17th (2:48.30 PB)

Ashlynn Shea: 14 points
1000-yard Freestyle: 15th (14:37.49 T-PB)
100-yard Medley: 13th (1:16.01 PB)
500-yard Freestyle: 15th (7:07.37, Prelims 7:02.41)
1650-yard Freestyle: 11th (24.29.55)

Rachel Sims: 32 points
100-yard Butterfly: 13th (1:09.91 PB)
100-yard Medley: 9th (1:10.81 PB)
1-meter Diving: 4th (178.35)
50-yard Butterfly: 13th (30.15, Prelims 29.77 SB)

Caroline Tipton: 16 points
50-yard Backstroke: 13th (31.45, Prelims 31.14 PB)
100-yard Backstroke: 13th (1:07.79, Prelims 1:07.44 PB)
100-yard Freestyle: 14th (58.42, Prelims 57.96 SB)
200-yard Backstroke: 12th (2:26.91 PB, *7th program fastest)

Catarina Contes Tribst: 22 points
50-yard Backstroke: 12th (30.51, Prelims 30.50 PB, *10th program fastest)
100-yard Medley: 8th (1:08.94 PB)
100-yard Backstroke: 14th (1:07.85 PB)
200-yard Backstroke: 14th (2:28.89 PB, *8th program fastest)

Relay Results
800-yard Freestyle: Jacquez Viveros, Lierman, Kerr, Cos  - 3rd (8:23.80 PB, *4th program fastest)
200-yard Freestyle: Franco, Kerr, Bequette, Lierman – 4th (1:40.34 PB, 5th program fastest)
400-yard Medley: Jacquez Viveros, Cos, Franco, Kerr – 4th (4:09.91)
200-yard Medley: Jacquez Viveros, Cos, Franco, Lierman – 4th (1:53.29 PB, 4th program fastest)
400-yard Freestyle: Franco, Kerr, Bequette, Lierman – 4th (3:40.75 PB, *3rd program fastest)