SwimmingIt’s a fact that anyone can lose on any given day, but when it’s for the first time in a career, it’s still a surprise.
By: Steve Feitl
Such was the case for Lawrence High School’s star swimmer Jenny Steiner at the state individual championships this past weekend.
For the first time in her LHS career, she was defeated in the 100 breaststroke.
Steiner’s second-place finish in the event meant she was unsuccessful in her bid to defend her state title. Instead, it was Heather Meng of Washington Township who took the crown.
"The competition was the best in the state," coach Dean Mason said. "Jenny (Steiner) was totally prepared for the event and she went at it as hard as she possibly could, but she just took second place rather than first."
And second place was no small achievement on this day.
Steiner’s time of one minute, 4.98 seconds was her best-ever time in yards. She trailed Meng as the entered the final leg, and Steiner looked to come from behind as she had done in the preliminaries Saturday.
It didn’t happen on Sunday though, as Meng touched the wall three-hundreths of a second before Steiner.
"The girl from Washington Township (Meng) just got a little too far out in front of Jenny (Steiner) for her to catch her," Mason observed. "Jenny made a great effort at the end, but she just beat out Jenny."
Sophomore Cortney Crane also turned in a great performance at the championships, finishing fifth in the 100 fly with a time of 1:00.12.
Steiner and Crane also paired with Laura Penrose, Kerry Genese and Dina Veltri in several relay events.
The 200 medley relay came in fourth with a time of 1:53.86.
The 200 free relay won the bonus consolation hear in 1:47.27, and the 400 free relay tied with Rancocas Valley for 13th.
Mason was pleased with all the efforts on the girls’ side.
"Our girls swam very well," Mason said. "All five of the girls swam very well both days. We had a real good showing in a real tough meet."
Meanwhile, the boys team of Mike Ferenchick, Andrew Steiner, Chris Faubell, Brian Bunn and Ricky Wojo combined for several relays.
The 200 free team came in 12th, while the medley relay was 16th and the 400 free was 22nd.