Craig Daily Press

Photo by Hans Hallgren

Moffat County’s Kelsey Conci was head and shoulders above the competition Saturday while competing in the 100-meter backstroke. Conci won first, finishing the event in 1 minute, 11.59 seconds.

Craig — The Bulldogs found their sea legs Saturday, capturing seven first-place finishes on its way to winning the second leg of back-to-back home meets.

The Bulldogs finished second Friday.

“The girls were more enthusiastic today than they were yesterday,” coach Marin Campbell said. “They shook the rust off today. They were fired up.”

The 200-meter medley relay team of Clare Sorrentino, Katherine Dodd and Kelsey and Caitlin Conci, set the tone for Moffat County in the day’s first event.

The group finished 10 seconds ahead of the competition, clocking a time of 2 minutes, 22.05 seconds to claim first place.

Caitlin swam a time of 2:43.59 to win the 200-meter individual medley by more than 25 meters and clocked a time of 1:28.49 to win the 100-meter breaststroke.

“I’m always thinking about cutting time,” Caitlin said. “It’s not just about placing. I want to win, but I also want to cut time.”

Her sister, Kelsey, won the 100-meter backstroke in 1:11.59 and the 100-meter freestyle in 1:04.80 to capture two first-place finishes.

“I still need to improve,” Kelsey said. “I have a lot of room to get better. Like my sister said, it’s about ‘cutting time.’”

The most exciting race of the day came in the 400-meter freestyle. Participants had to swim 16 laps in Moffat County’s 25-meter pool.

Bulldog Katherine Dodd was trailing Palisade/Central’s Carly Burroughs for most of the race. Dodd caught her competitor in the last turn and won a photo finish by 0.33 seconds.

What followed wasn’t your typical celebration. She emerged from the pool, scrambling for the bathroom.

Her reward for winning: her second bloody nose of the weekend.

“I saw her qualifying time was faster than mine, so I figured I’d try to stay right behind her so she would push me,” Dodd said. “I realized if I wanted to swim the time I needed I would have to pass her. And, I wanted to make it interesting.”

In the day’s final event, Moffat County’s 400-meter freestyle relay team of Dodd, the Conci twins and Kelsey Pierson swam a time of 4:58.65 to win the seventh and final event for the team.

Diver Genna Bradley scored higher than her opposition, continually performing dives with a higher degree of difficulty, but was disqualified for performing her routine out of order.

“It was just a minor mishap,” Bradley said. “It’s a technicality. I’m doing the hardest dives right now, trying to get better.”

The blemish didn’t hurt the Bulldogs as the team earned 206 points.

Palisade/Central finished second with 150 points and Delta third with 145.

“The girls all did really well,” Campbell said. “They all gave that little something extra today. They showed they weren’t accepting second.”

Moffat County will compete Friday in the Jeffco Invitational in Arvada.