Hardt out front in swim meet

Although the events may have been unfamiliar to her, Carson High swimmer Kate Hardt was in a familiar position by the conclusion of her races at the 5th annual Northern Nevada Invitational Swimming and Diving Meet held at the Carson Aquatic Club Facility on Saturday.

Hardt, second in state at the 200-yard freestyle in '99, won the girls 100-yard individual medley (1:03.17) , the 50-yard breaststroke (33.49) and placed second in the 50-yard butterfly (29.27) in the meet which which attracted 12 of Northern Nevada's top high school swim teams.

Megan Keller was also impressive, winning the 50-yard backstroke in 29.30. She was also second in the 100-yard individual medley in 1:05.00.

"Both Kate and Megan looked strong today," Huffmire said.

As an example of the popularity and size of the meet, more than 100 girls competed in the 100-yard breaststroke. According to Carson coach Dave Huffmire, the event distances contested on Saturday are rarely seen in high school meets.

"The invitational was a fun meet that allowed the swimmers to do stuff they usually don't do," Huffmire said. "It's a good way to break up the dual-meet season."

The Carson girls team finished the day in second place with 54 points, just behind Reno's 60.5 points. The Senator boys were third, behind Fallon and Incline high schools.

Huffmire said that Saturday's meet also allowed many teams to take their first look at the recently improved Carson Aquatic Club Facility. He said the chances of Carson hosting the zone swimming and diving meet seems to be increasing, although the meet is still officially set for the University of Nevada's pool.

"The meet was a nice meet to showcase our facility," Huffmire said.

Other Carson highlights on Saturday included:

-- Joey Herzel was seventh in the 100-yard individual medley (1:05.55).

-- The Carson boys won the 400-yard medley relay in 4:25.31.

-- The Carson girls won the 400-yard medley relay in 4:30.54.

-- Pat Binder and Peter Elverum went 3-4 in 1-meter diving.