Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Eight members of the Steamboat Springs swim team will head to Aurora this week for the Silver State Swim Championships the final meet of the 2000 season.

"It's been a great year," Steamboat swim coach Essi Kentalla said. "Our swimmers have done really well."

Blake Worsley, Hestia Chase, Emily Hines, Lauren Letson, Tina Roberts, Zach Murphy, Paul Rose and Cole Worlsey will represent Steamboat at the meet. The group of eight will be the only ones swimming out of 19 local swimmers who were selected to compete.

"It's a little disappointing that more swimmers are not going," Kentalla said. "This should be a goal for swimmers at the start of every season and they should want to go at the end of the year."

But end-of-summer vacations and other plans have cut into the number of local swimmers competing. Next year, Kentalla said she will stress the importance of making it to these post-season meets at the start of the season.

"Many of the swimmers are just recreational," Kentalla said. "But some of them should be making plans to go to these meets."

Kentalla just returned from the more prestigious Junior Olympic Championships where three local swimmers took to the water. A relay team that was scheduled to compete had to pull out at the last minute after one of those swimmers could not change late-summer travel plans.

Heather Whiting highlighted the meet by placing fifth in the 100-meter breaststroke. She was also 17th in the 200-meter breast and 21st in the 100-meter butterfly.

Blake Worsley was eighth in the 100-meter breast and Kyle Steitz was 21st in the 100-meter breast.

"These were good times for our swimmers," Kentalla said. "It's a lot harder to place at this level and I'm proud of all of our swimmers."

Kentalla said she is planning on having a fall swim team this year and possibly holding a few winter meet as well.

To reach John F. Russell call 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@amigo.net