North, Broncos Close National Championships on High Note
8/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
STANFORD, Calif.-The final day of the 2011 ConocoPhillips National Championships, Saturday, featured the best showing in Boise State swimming and diving history. Rising senior Stephanie North became the first Bronco to appear in the finals of an event, the 100-meter freestyle, to cap a strong week.
North swam a 55.94 in the preliminary round of the 100 freestyle, qualifying for the 'C' Final with the 21st-fastest time of the morning. North was even faster at night, clocking a 55.76 in the finals. She finished fourth in her heat with the 18th-fastest time of the evening. She scored a 24th-place finish overall in the event. North's time, a personal best, checks in at No. 80 in the world this year.
Amber Boucher, also a rising senior, notched an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the 100 freestyle for the second time in three days. She improved on the cut she earned leading off the 400-meter freestyle relay by breaking the 57-second mark for the first time in her career to place 52nd in the preliminaries.
Boucher and North teamed up with another rising senior, Kelsy Diener, in the final event of the week, the 400-meter medley relay. Diener started with a quick backstroke leg and Boucher and North finished the race with two of the strongest closing legs in the event to touch in 30th place. The Broncos covered the butterfly (Boucher) and freestyle (North) segments in 1:57.64. Only 11 squads, including the top nine, clocked a faster final 200 meters.
Rising junior Stevie Hughey swam the butterfly leg of the relay to propel her hometown club team to a 52nd-place finish.
In all, Boise State was represented by seven student-athletes. Rising sophomore Rachel Heaney swam two individual events. Classmate Chelsea Miller took the pool in one event. Incoming freshman Sydney Johansen was one of the busiest Broncos. Johansen competed in four individual events.
A complete list of the Broncos' performances is listed below:
100-meter Butterfly
Amber Boucher 1:01.89 66th
Rachel Heaney 1:04.15 160th
Stevie Hughey 1:05.19 176th
200-meter Individual Medley
Sydney Johansen 2:23.53 142nd
100-meter Backstroke
Sydney Johansen 1:07.38 178th
200-meter Freestyle
Amber Boucher 2:04.80 94th
Stephanie North 2:04.89 98th
400-meter Freestyle Relay
Boucher, Diener, North 3:52.63 24th
100-meter Breaststroke
Sydney Johansen 1:15.49 140th
50-meter Freestyle
Stephanie North 26.16 37th
Amber Boucher 26.53 70th
800-meter Freestyle Relay
North, Diener, Boucher 8:26.77 30th
200-meter Butterfly
Rachel Heaney 2:17.99 82nd
200-meter Backstroke
Kelsy Diener 2:27.76 181st
100-meter Freestyle
Stephanie North 55.74 24th
Amber Boucher 56.99 52nd
200-meter Breaststroke
Chelsea Miller 2:38.62 88th
Sydney Johansen 2:41.55 118th
400-meter Medley Relay
Diener, Boucher, North 4:18.69 28th
Hughey 4:28.20 52nd
