Lion girls swimmers push Pios to the end

The West Linn girls very nearly beat Oregon City in their TRL opener.

The West Linn girls swim team was right there.

The Lions, facing Oregon City in Three Rivers League action on Thursday, Dec. 15, trailed the Pioneers by just 11 points with two events to go, but OC used a 1-2-3 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke to seal their 87-79 win at Oregon City Swim Center.

With the loss, the Lions fell to 0-1 in Three Rivers League action, while the Pioneers improved to 2-0 in the TRL. Next up, West Linn swims against Lake Oswego at Lake Oswego School District Pool at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5.

The Pioneers flexed in the day’s penultimate event, going 1-2-3 in the 100-yard breaststroke, and while the Lions went 1-2 in the 400 freestyle relay — the final event of the meet — it was too little and too late.

Despite the loss, West Linn junior Maeve DeYoung did her best to keep the Lions competitive, winning the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, while also swimming the lead leg on West Linn’s winning 400 free relay team.

DeYoung stepped up for her first “W” when she topped the 100 free with a finishing time of 1 minute, 5.47 seconds — she won by more than five seconds — and did it again when she took the backstroke at 1:07.66.

DeYoung also had a hand in the Lions’ lone relay victory, the 400 free. She swam the first leg in the event, then handed off to freshman Brooklynn Carr-Heuer, freshman Marlene Goddard and senior Katie Rumsey for a 4:33.80.

Rumsey notched her team’s only other win, coming through to top the 200 freestyle at 2:26.52, a race she won by more than 17 seconds. She also took second in the 400 freestyle with a time of 4:58.56.

Other West Linn runners-up were: the 200 medley relay team of DeYoung, Goddard, Rumsey and Carr-Heuer at 2:13.03; senior Sophia Anikin in the 50 free at 35.92; freshman Olivia Wang in the 100 butterfly at 1:21.46; Carr-Heuer in the 100 free at 1:10.68; and the 200 free relay team of junior Maddie Brown, sophomore Julia Golgotiu, Anikin and sophomore Sabrina Noce at 2:23.09.

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