CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Cape Central won all but two events Tuesday to claim the SEMO Conference swim and diving championship as Poplar Bluff finished second for a second straight year.
The Mules broke 2 minutes in the 200-yard medley relay for the first time this season and also saw their best times from nearly every swimmer.
The Tigers, however, took the top two spots in three of the nine events they won and finished with 569 points.
Poplar Bluff scored 416 points followed by Jackson (285), Notre Dame (275), Farmington (182) and Saxony Lutheran (112). The final margin was a 29.5 point improvement for the Mules over last year.
Poplar Bluff’s medley and 200-freestyle relays placed third while the 400-relay was fourth.
Olivia Kirkman, Addison Kirkman, Kacey Gregory, Lily Gregory and diver Kenzie Cassie each placed fourth in an event for the Mules.
Kacey Gregory, Julia Smothers and the Kirkmans finished the medley relay in 1 minute, 59.61 seconds, cutting nearly 2 seconds off their previous-best time and raising their chances of qualifying for state.
Olivia Kirkman placed fourth in the 100 freestyle and fifth in the 50 at 26.56 seconds. Addison Kirkman placed fourth in the breaststorke and lowered her time in the individual medley to place fifth.
Kacey Gregory lowered her times to finish fourth in the backstroke and fifth in the 100, breaking the one-minute mark. Lily Gregory placed fourth in the 200-freestyle with her fastest tie and was sixth in the 500.
Cassie scored a season-best 276.3 points to place fourth in the dive followed by Abagail Prewitt (251.50) and Haile Hall (223.2).
Keona Sample placed fifth in both the breaststroke and butterfly with her best times while Casey Browning placed fifth in the 200 freestyle and ninth in the butterfly with her best time.
Smothers placed fifth in the 500 and cut her time to place eighth in the 50 at 27.62 seconds. Alyssa Thompson placed sixth in the 200 freestyle while Karin Cibulova was sixth in the breaststroke and ninth in the 100 freestyle.
Reece Prenger placed eighth in the 500 and 11th in the butterfly with her best time. Molly Mooney was 10th in the IM and 12th in the backstroke while Rebecca Stevens was 10th in the 200 freestyle and also cut time in the backstroke. Lily Wilson cut her 100 freestyle time while Tymber Colvin placed 13th in the breaststroke.
Jordyn McClellan sank three 3-pointers in the second quarter to help Jackson pull away from Poplar Bluff on Tuesday night.
McClellan fueled a 14-3 run to end the half, turning a two-point game into a double-digit lead that carried Jackson past the Mules 49-37 at the Senior High Gym.
Poplar Bluff’s Madelyn Eads scored 27 points with five 3-pointers, including a pair in the second quarter to account for all of the Mules points.
Poplar Bluff (6-12, 2-3 SEMO) fell behind shooting 28% from the field in the first half that also featured eight turnovers.
Jackson (11-5, 3-0) was led in scoring by 13 points from McClellan and Katie Waller.
Poplar Bluff’s Adrianne Casey chipped in four points while Sydni Halliburton and McKenna Morrow each added three points.
The teams were tied twice early before the Mules led 7-6 following a 3-pointer by Eads with 3:23 left in the opening quarter. Aubrey Brothers scored in the paint to put Jackson in front half a minute later.
Jackson led 11-9 at the start of the second quarter when McClellan sank a 3-pointer.
Eads answered with a 3-pointer a minute later but the Mules didn’t score over the next five minutes as Jackson scored nine straight points.
McClellan sank a 3 in the closing seconds of the half for a 28-15 advantage. Jackson took a 37-28 lead into the fourth and sank 6 of 8 free throws.
Poplar Bluff hosts Oran on Thursday before returning to SEMO Conference play Monday at Dexter.