Recently, the Lady Redhawks had two events to demonstrate their ongoing improvement in the pool.  They traveled to Hastings for a meet with the Wildcats on Tuesday and had several individual and team first place finishes.  Marshall scored 99 points to beat Hastings’ 81 points.  Highlights of the meet include a 1^st place finish for the 200 Yard Medley Relay team of Courtney Olding, Grace Johnson, Autumn Sanchez and Claire Thomas.  In the 200 Yard Freestyle, Marshall had the top three finishes with Maria Dent in 1^st place, Ella Doolittle in 2^nd place, and Kate Fedders in 3^rd.  Divers Alexes Spencer, Lindsay Miller and Meagan Raysin placed 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th, respectively, for their dives into the deep end of the blue.

In the 100 Yard Butterfly, Johnson was in 1^st with Sanchez in 3^rd and Emry Astleford in 4^th. The 500 Yard Freestyle netted Doolittle a 1^st place finish, with Dent at 2^nd and Olding at 3^rd.  Marshall also captured the top three slots for the 100 Yard Backstroke with Olding in 1^st, Ava Wagner in 2^nd and Ameleah Hill in 3^rd.  Based on their times, the 100 Yard Breaststroke race gave Katie Robinson, Alexes Spencer, and Payton Huffman the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place finishes, respectively.  In the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, the finishing time for the A-Team of Thomas, Sanchez, Johnson, and Dent was 1^st and the time for B-Team members Doolittle, Lilly Marvin, Wagner, and Olding gave them 2^nd place.

Then, the team traveled to Otsego for a Saturday invitational meet hosted by the Bulldogs that included the St. Joseph Huskies, Mason Bulldogs, Wayland Wildcats, and the Lady Redhawks.  St. Joseph was in command with a final score of 518 and several of the Huskies earning state qualifying times or setting pool records.  Mason earned 493 points; Wayland had 443 and Marshall was just short of that with 440 points. Otsego finished with 374 points.  While the competition was tough, the Redhawks can hold their heads high with several swimmers improving their times and reaching personal best finishes for some of their races. 

The 200 Yard Medley team of Courtney Olding, Grace Johnson, Autumn Sanchez and Lilly Marvin placed 4^th.  Then, out of twenty-two swimmers in the 200 Yard Freestyle, Claire Thomas came in 5^th and Maria Dent in 6^th.  Claire Thomas captured 3^rd in the 100 Yard Freestyle among the other 19 competitors, while Ella Doolittle and Maria Dent came in 4^th and 5^th respectively for their 500 Yard Freestyle that had sixteen swimmers competing.  Johnson placed 3^rd in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and teammate Katie Robinson came in 7^th place with her best time in the event thus far.  Finally, Olding and Ava Wagner both had very strong finishes in the 100 Yard Backstroke with 5^th and 7^th place finishes among the sixteen that swam the race.  The Redhawks have worked very hard during the season to improve at the individual level and as a collective team.  Their intensity and focus are growing with just two weeks until League Competition.  No doubt there are exciting things ahead