February 17 - MWC Championships

The Knox College women placed ninth and the men finished eighth at the Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships.

Tony Meyer led the men with top-10 finishes in each of his three individual events. He took fifth place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.87 seconds, placed sixth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.84 seconds, and was seventh in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.75 seconds. He made the award stand for the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events.

Chandler Harris scored in two events for the men. He was 11th in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:17.18 and finished 13th in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:16.60. The Prairie Fire took seventh in the 400-yard medley relay (4:14.15) and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:41.81), and were eighth in the 200-yard medley relay (1:55.02).

Eight different Knox women scored in individual events, with five scoring in three events. Kelley O'Connor led the way with ninth-place showings in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:19.55) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:51.42). She added an 11th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:33.77.

Lu Yaeger had two top-10 finishes, taking ninth in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:08.85 and 10th in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:35.79. She was also 15th in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:32.38.

Kaylin Maanum took 11th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:11.23 and later placed 16th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:14.08. Sara Dreiser was 12th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:12.97 and Heather Kopec finished 16th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:23.75. Sarah West finished ninth in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:25.95. West added a pair of 12th-place finishes in the 400-yard individual medley (5:18.21) and 100-yard backstroke (1:07.96).

Christy Dechaine was 10th in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:45.83. She took 12th in the 1650-yard freestyle in 20:22.37 and placed 13th in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:11.30. Krista Ahlberg also scored in three events. She was 15th in the 500-yard freestyle (5:48.81), 16th in the 100-yard backstroke (1:08.87), and 18th in the 100-yard freestyle (2:23.92).

The 400-yard medley relay team (4:34.60) and 800-yard freestyle relay team (8:49.80) each took sixth place. The 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:54.20), 200-yard medley relay team (2:11.25), and 400-yard freestyle relay teams each claimed eighth place.

January 26 - Eureka College Invitational

The Knox women finished third and the men took fifth at the Eureka Invitational Saturday. Augustana College won both meets.

Heather Kopec won the 50-yard breaststoke for the Prairie Fire women with a time of 36.77 seconds. Krista Ahlberg and Lu Yaeger each had a pair of top-five finishes. Ahlberg took third in the 50-yard backstroke in a time of 33.80 seconds. She added a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:03.03. Yaeger finished third in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:12.34 and placed fifth in the 50-yard butterfly in 32.79 seconds. Sarah West added a fourth-place showing in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:10.59.

Tony Meyer had two top-three finishes for the Knox men. He won the 100-yard freestyle in 52.22 seconds and placed third in the 100-yard individual medley in a time of 1:05.23. Jon Hoeven took third in the 50-yard freestyle (25.69 seconds) and Fayne Lawson placed fifth in the 50-yard backstroke (41.85 seconds).

Two mixed relay teams had third-place times. Ahlberg, Hoeven, Yaeger and Meyer combined for a time of 2:05.23 in the mixed 200-yard medley relay. Leigh Abrams, Hoeven, Christy Dechaine and Meyer teamed for a time of 1:49.74 in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

January 19 - Grinnell College Invitational

The Knox men finished eighth and the women took ninth at the Grinnell College Swimming and Diving Invitational. Luther won both the men's and women's meets.

Tony Meyer led the men with a pair of top-1o finishes. He took seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.75 seconds and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.15 seconds.

On the women's side, Christy Dechaine took 13th in the 1650-yard freestyle in 20:09.42. The 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay teams took seventh, and the 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay teams placed eighth.

January 12 - Knox Invitational

The Knox men's and women's swimming and diving teams each placed second at the Knox Invitational. Lindenwood won the team championships in the four-school event.

Four different Prairie Fire women each earned two top-three individual finishes. Christy Dechaine took second in two events. She finished the 200-yard freestyle in 2:12.92 and touched the wall in the 500-yard freestyle event in 5:52.89. Kaylin Maanum finished just behind Dechaine in the 200-yard freestyle, and took third with a time of 2:20.17. Krista Ahlberg took third in the 500-yard freestyle in 6:00.96 and added a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 28.38 seconds.

Ly Yaeger placed third in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:11.85 and in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:46.39. Kelley O'Connor had third-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:42.84) and in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:21.28).

The 200-yard medley relay team of Ahlberg, O'Connor, Yaeger and Leigh Abrams finished second in 2:13.65. Dechaine, Alex Braun, Sara Dreiser and Maanum teamed for a third-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 2:04.50.

On the men's side, Tony Meyer led the way with a pair of top-three finishes. Meyer was second in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 50.01 seconds before taking third in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.31. Andrew Kama finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:17.12. Jon Hoeven added a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.09 seconds. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Hoeven, Fayne Lawson, Kama and Meyer took third in 1:51.01.

December 01 - Augustana Invitational

Tony Meyer won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events at the Augustana Invitational. Meyer had a time of 23.74 in the 50-yard freestyle and finished in 51.94 in the 100-yard freestyle. He later placed fifth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:01.83. The Knox men finished fourth in the two-day event.

The Prairie Fire women took third place. Kelley O'Connor was the top finisher on the women's side, taking second in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:55.98. O'Connor was also fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:25.01) and fifth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:40.77).

Christy Dechaine placed in the top-five in three events. She was third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:16.40, fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:58.50 and fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle in 20:40.69.

Sarah West also had three top-five finishes. West took fourth in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:40.22, fifth in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:19.85 and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:14.15.

Lu Yaeger took third in the 200-yard butterfly (2:45.67) and fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (1:12.42). Leigh Abrams placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 29.78.

November 10 - Monmouth Invitational

Krista Ahlberg, Sarah West and Tony Meyer each had third-place finishes at the Monmouth Invitational. Meyer led the men's team to an eighth-place finish with his pair of third-place showings.

Meyer took third in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.34 and was third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.56. He later added a seventh-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 59.66.

The women finished sixth overall in the nine-team invitational. West led the way with three top-10 finishes. She was third on the 200-yard backstroke (2:32.41), sixth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:37.20) and seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:19.54). Kelley O'Connor was right behind West in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:39.13.

Alhberg took third in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in a time of 1:10.21. She later placed 10th in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:02.87. Kaylin Maanum took fifth in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:10.42 and was 10th in the 50-yard freestyle in 28.63. Sara Dreiser placed eighth in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:14.16. Christy Dechaine added a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (2:15.44) and an eighth-place showing in the 500-yard freestyle (5:58.64).

The 200-freestyle relay team of Ahlberg, Dreiser, O'Connor and Maanum finished fifth in 1:57.42.

November 02 - Augustana College

The Prairie Fire swimming teams opened the 2007 season at Augustana College. The Prairie Fire women lost 114-52 and the men lost 95-40.

For the women, Krista Ahlberg won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 1:02.98. Sarah West and Kelley O'Connor finished first and second in the 100-yard breaststroke with times of 1:19.71 and 1:21.35, respectively.

On the men's side, Tony Meyer won the 50-yard freestyle event in a time of 23.53 and the 100-yard freestyle in 52.42. Meyer also anchored the victorious 200-yard freestyle relay team. Jon Hoeven, Adin Horovitz, Fayne Lawson and Meyer had a time of 2:20.18.

The Prairie Fire will compete at the Monmouth Invitational Saturday, Nov. 10.