Several locals solid in conference swim

Staff Reports

Several Carson High graduates continued to turn in solid performances in conference swimming championships on Thursday.

Lauren Costella, a freshman at Stanford, placed ninth in the 500-yard freestyle in the Pac 10 Championships at Long Beach's Belmont Plaza. Costella's performance helped Stanford take the lead with 482 points. UCLA was in second with 410 points.

Costella posted NCAA consideration times in qualifying for the consolation finals. She qualified 10th in four minutes, 48.28 seconds. She then won the consolation final race to place ninth in 4:47.44. Costella's time was the seventh fastest among all swimmers in the finals.

Also swimming in the Pac 10 Championships was Jessie Hong, a junior at Oregon State, who finished the 200 individual medley in 2:10.11.

At the Southeastern Conference Championships, Georgia's Julie Hardt, a senior, placed seventh in the 500 free in an NCAA consideration time of 4:47.84. Tara Theilemann, a freshman at Alabama, took 21st in 5:00.10. Georgia was in second with 346 points behind Auburn (389).

In the SEC men's championships, Evan Fischer, a senior at Tennessee, had a solid effort, placing 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke (56.48). The Pac 10 and SEC Championships will conclude on Saturday.