Renee Roberts finishes in top 8 at swimming championships

High School swim team season has come to a close once again. For the second year in a row, Wrangell was represented by sophomore Renee Roberts at State. The Wrangell High School swim team has had a hard-fought season, one that Coach Jamie Roberts has pointed out has seen many improvements among the team.

There were 30 schools represented at the state tournament in Anchorage this past weekend, she said.

Renee competed in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events. She finished in eighth place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.71 seconds. In the 100-yard freestyle, she took seventh place at 55.73 seconds.

"I didn't get any personal bests at this meet but I'm okay with that, I guess," Renee said. "My goal was to make it into the top eight, and I completed that. That was exciting."

Coach Roberts said that the time difference between Renee's placement and first place in the 50-yard freestyle was only 1.18 seconds. In the 100-yard freestyle, the time difference was 3.14 seconds. She pointed this out to show just how close the races were, she said, and how strong the competition was for the swim team this year.

"It's a really tight field once you get into the top eight finishers," she said.

While the season has ended for the high school swim team, Wrangell's swimming club a separate organization, is just starting. The swim club will be heading to Petersburg this Friday for a meet, Coach Roberts said.