MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – One night after defending her 50-yard freestyle crown, Sophie Pilhofer (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Visitation) placed second in the 100-yard butterfly and turned in the top performance for the Carleton College women’s swimming and diving team on day two of the MIAC Championships. The senior co-captain swam a personal-best time of 58.12, which ranks her No. 2 all-time at Carleton.
The Knights are locked in a tight battle with College of Saint Benedict for fourth place in the team competition. Heading into Saturday’s finale, Gustavus Adolphus leads the way with 488 points followed by University of St. Thomas (463), St. Olaf (419), Carleton (247), and St. Ben’s (244).
The Knights had 10 individuals and both relays score points on Friday. Lydia Henderson (Fy./Castro Valley, Calif./Castro Valley) tallied the first points for Carleton on day two with a 15th-place result in the 3-meter diving competition.
The 200-yard medley relay opened the swimming portion of the night. Grace Cormier (Sr./Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic), Pilhofer, Madison McBride (Fy./Elko, Minn./Lakeville South), and Erin McDuffie (Sr./Anchorage, Alaska/Service) trimmed three-and-a-half seconds off their season-best time and placed fifth at 1:51.22
Halie Langanki (Fy./Lino Lakes, Minn./Mounds View) placed 13th in the 400-yard individual medley. After qualifying for the consolation final with a time of 4:57.55, she improved by more than five seconds with a 4:51.85.
Before Pilhofer secured All-MIAC distinction once again in the 100 fly, Samantha Sharpe (Jr./San Rafael, Calif./San Rafael), Rose Prullage (Sr./Evanston, Ill./Evanston), and McBride finished 13th though 15th, respectively, during the consolation final.
Milana Socha (Jr./Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) reached the wall fourth in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:54.93. After turning in a lifetime-best time of 1:56.34 during the prelims, McDuffie posted a nearly identical time during the finals at 1:56.37. Molly Spence (Sr./Tacoma, Wash./Woodrow Wilson) moved up four spots from her qualifying time and finished 10th at 1:57.35.
Cormier won the consolation final in the 100-yard backstroke with a personal-best time of 1:00.37.
The evening concluded with the 800-free relay. Socha, Spence, McBride, and McDuffie swam to a fifth-place finish with a time of 7:57.48.
Action in the three-day event concludes on Saturday. The prelims once again start at 10:30 a.m. with the finals slated for 6:30 p.m. Visit the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships website for live video, live results, and more.
Carleton’s All-MIAC Performances—2013 MIAC Championships
200-yard freestyle relay
3. Carleton (1:35.70) — NCAA “B” cut time
Sophie Pilhofer, Milana Socha, Alexandra Guy, Erin McDuffie
50-yard freestyle
1. Sophie Pilhofer (Sr., Carleton) 23.43 … swam 23.40 in the prelims, a NCAA “B” cut time
100-yard butterfly
2. Sophie Pilhofer (Sr./Carleton) 58.12
