Columbus East’s Ellie Proffitt competes in the 100-yard butterfly against Bloomington North Saturday at Columbus East High School. Tommy Walker/For The Republic
Columbus East didn’t come away with a win in Saturday morning’s girls swimming season opener, but the Olympians put together a solid meet from which to build upon.
While Bloomington North posted a 115-71 victory, East did win five of the 12 events and had several personal-best performances.
“Of course, you’d like to always win,” East coach Jill Arnholt said. “But this is a good start for our girls. The all have a sound base, a good starting point.”
Senior Ellie Proffitt was a double-winner for the Olympians. She captured the 50-yard freestyle in 25.11 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 1:01.89.
“That 100 fly, I was not expecting that time,” Proffitt said. “I was kind of expecting it to be a bit slower, but I was really proud of how it came out, and I’m really excited to see how the rest of the season goes.”
Gabbie Meier, a state diving qualifier as a freshman last season, won the diving competition with a score of 211.35. Karissa Miller took the 100 freestyle in 58.31.
East’s other event win came in the 200 freestyle relay, where Josie Havenaar, Claire Brooks, Miller and Proffitt swam 1:48.99.
“I am so incredibly proud of the girls,” Proffitt said. “We all have been working extremely hard, and we all came out here and swam so fast. I just know we’ll get better from here.”
Miller finished second in the 200 freestyle (2:11.70). Kerigan Greathouse took second in the 500 freestyle (6:16.92) and Havenaar was second in the 100 backstroke (1:11.94).
The Olympians also came away with second-place finishes in the 200 medley (1:59.89) and 400 freestyle (4:26.96) relays.
“We had a practice meet on Thursday, and the girls came back and did really well today,” Arnholt said. “We still have some things we need to work on, but I saw a lot of good things. I saw a lot of positives with today’s meet. I’m real happy with the swims we had and our starting point.”
