It was a great day for Molalla's Debora Ragau at the 4A state swimming championships Feb. 27. The senior cinched a second place medal in the finals of the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.04, beating her first place district record setting time of 1:03.82 the previous weekend in La Grande.
Going into the state championships Molalla swim head coach Rick Shaffer felt good about Ragau's chances in the event.
"I had a feeling she would do quite well," he said.
Ragau also earned a ninth place finish in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 27.06. She placed first in that same event at the district meet with a time of 26.31.
Junior Rachel Botsford qualified at the district meet for a spot at state in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:21.36. She went into the state meet seeded 11th in that event and ended up with a 10th place finish with a time of 2:19.28.
The Indians 200 yard freestyle relay team made up of Ragau, Botsford and sophomores Piper Collins and Tiffanne Muilenburg earned a spot on the state podium in sixth place in the finals with a time of 1:51.25. At the district meet the weekend prior the team finished first in the preliminary round, breaking the district record with a time of 1:51.25. The girls then went on to take first in the final round and again broke the record with a time of 1:51.14.
The lady Indians also finished in third as a team at the 4A/3A/2A/1A Special District 2 district meet behind the La Grande Tigers and the La Salle Falcons.
The boys brought home a seventh place finish at the district meet and did not send any swimmers to the state meet even though they saw improved times all season long.
"The boys did very well and were very competitive this year," Shaffer said. "They brought down a lot of their times and we are looking towards next year. The boys who are returning should be very competitive."