GRINNELL, Iowa — Lawrence University swimming star Hayley Cardinal won her second league title on Sunday by the narrowest of margins and led the Vikings to third place the Midwest Conference Championships at Grinnell College.
Cardinal, a senior from Lombard, Ill., won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:24.13, edging Grinnell’s Maddy Pesch (2:24.19) by 6/100ths of a second. Cardinal grabbed the title in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday in 1:04.96 and posted a NCAA “B” cut in the process.
Lawrence finished third in the team standings with 503 points, and Grinnell took the title with 946.5.
The Vikings had a host of other top finishes, paced by Emily Flack and Paige Witter. Flack was third in the 200 backstroke in 2:11.36, and teammate Danielle Millin was fifth in 2:12.90. Witter grabbed third in the 200 butterfly in 2:12.01, and Sarah Schweickart was eighth in 2:25.65.
Emei Thompson grabbed fourth in the 1,650 freestyle in 18:27.33, and Natalie Cash was eighth in 18:56.77. Emmi Zheng raced to fourth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:28.19. Lawrence’s 400 freestyle relay team of Flack, Millin, Lizzy Garcia Creighton and Eryn Blagg was fifth in 3:42.82.
On the men’s side, Lawrence finished eighth in the team standings with 148 points. Grinnell won the title with 904.5.
The top finisher for the Vikings was Max Stahl, who took seventh in the 200 backstroke in 1:58.82. The 400 freestyle relay team of Travis Charlow, Grant Wilkie, Kaleb Cooperman and Christian Bell was eighth in 3:26.34.