~ Central won its fourth conference crown in four tries.

The Central girls swimming team's depth showed again at the Show Me Conference meet Thursday, as the Tigers cruised to their fourth conference title in the fourth year of the meet at Central Municipal Pool.

While the Tigers left little doubt of their fourth straight title -- Central outscored Notre Dame 435-382 -- the battle with the rival Bulldogs, especially in the relay events, made for an exciting meet.

In all three relay races, Notre Dame led heading into the final leg but managed to hold on to just one. Central all-state junior Hannah Kinder swam the anchor on both winning relays for the Tigers.

In the 400 free relay, Central's team of Annie Wolpers, Katie Bowles, Jessie Baker and Kinder won with a time of 3 minutes, 53.21 seconds. Notre Dame's team of Mollie Messmer, Ashly Ducharme, Ashley Nenninger and Brittany Menz finished in 3:53.52.

"I've never heard the pool that loud before," Kinder said of the 400 relay. "Usually you can't hear much swimming."

Kinder's 100 split time of 51.04 seconds was more than 8 seconds faster than any of her teammates, and more than 2 seconds faster than the final Notre Dame split. The split was a full second faster than Kinder's top time in the 100 this year.

"A few times I've had Hannah lead off, but tonight we knew we had to have her in the back leg," Central coach Dayna Powell said. "Brittany Menz is a great swimmer. I knew it would be a great race. Hannah's split was phenominal."

Central dropped 4 seconds off its best 400 free relay, while Notre Dame dropped 7 seconds off its best time. Both teams will compete in the event at the state tournament.

"That last relay, I wasn't worried about it, I was just grinning," Notre Dame coach Lenny Kuper said. "It was just so exciting. You just couldn't take your eyes off it."

The Tigers also needed a strong final leg from Kinder in the 200 medley relay to pull past Notre Dame. Central trailed by nearly a full second heading into the final 50 yards, but Kinder's final leg helped the Tigers edge Notre Dame by more than a second in 2:02.28.

In the 200 free relay, the Tigers tried to use some strong final legs to overtake the Bulldogs, but Notre Dame was able to hold on for the win. Notre Dame finished in 1:54.11, less than a second ahead of Central.

Along with her two relay victories, Kinder was the lone swimmer to win two individual events. Kinder won the 200 free in 2:01.55 and the 500 free in 5:15.86. Kinder was named MVP of the meet.

One of Kinder's old meet records, in the 100 breaststroke, was broken by freshman teammate Baker. Baker won the event in 1 minute, 16.82 seconds.

"It's getting a lot faster each year," Kinder said of the meet.

The Tigers also got wins from sophomore Bowles in the 50 free (27.80) and freshman Wolpers in the 100 backstroke (1:07.97).

Wolpers added a second-place finish in the 100 free. Bowles was third in the 100 free, and Baker was third in the 200 individual medley.

Notre Dame freshman Menz captured the 200 IM in 2:21.06. Menz also finished second in the 500 free, with both her 200 IM and 500 free times below the state cut.

The diving competition, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was the last event of the night. Notre Dame's Lauren Bader made it an event to remember, making a state cut a score of 395.25.

"She's an excellent diver," Kuper said. "What she's had problems with is consistency, but tonight she was on."

Nenninger took home an individual win for the Bulldogs in the 100 free, winning in 58.43. Nenninger also finished second in the 100 breaststroke. Ducharme finished second in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly, and freshman Jenny Brant was second in the 50 free.

New to the conference, St. Vincent had its first individual champion in Maria Esswein, who won the butterfly in 1:07.16. Esswein also finished second in the 200 IM.

"I think the girls had a ball," Squaws coach John Esswein said. "We pretty much did what we wanted to. Our goal was to cut time, and pretty much every girl did."

The conference meet marked the end of the first year of girls swimming at St. Vincent. The Squaws had eight swimmers on the squad this season, with only two seniors.

"We're looking forward to hopefully better success and better participation," Esswein said. "We got our feet wet, and hopefully we'll get some more girls wanting to participate."

Saxony Lutheran, in its second year in the conference, got a pair of top-three finishes from senior Emily Younghouse. Younghouse was the lone swimmer for the Crusaders last year, but the team added several swimmers this season.

Younghouse made her second state cut with a second-place in the 200 free in 2:04.77. She finished third in the 500 free, an event in which she already has a state cut.

Area results

Team scores -- 1. Central 435, 2. Notre Dame 382, 3. Poplar Bluff 126, 4. St. Vincent 113, 5. Saxony Lutheran 80

200 medley relay -- 1. Central 2:02.28 (Annie Wolpers, Jessie Baker, Callie Hoffman, Hannah Kinder), 2. Notre Dame 2:03.69 (Brittany Menz, Ashley Nenninger, Lauren Bader, Ashly Ducharme), 3. St. Vincent 2:23.92

200 free -- 1. Kinder (C) 2:01.55, 2. Emily Younghouse (SL) 2:04.77, 3. Mollie Messmer (ND) 2:12.90

200 IM -- 1. Menz (ND) 2:21.06, 2. Maria Esswein (SV) 2:29.05, 3. Baker (C) 2:30.87

50 free -- 1. Katie Bowles (C) 27.80, 2. Jenny Brant (ND) 28.95, 3. Betsy Schroeder (C) 30.00

100 fly -- 1. Esswein (SV) 1:07.16, 2. Ducharme (ND) 1:10.22, 3. Hoffman (C) 1:13.63

100 free -- 1. Nenninger (ND) 58.43, 2. Wolpers (C) 59.67, 3. Bowles (C) 1:01.91

500 free -- 1. Kinder (C) 5:15.86, 2. Menz (ND) 5:35.05, 3. Younghouse (SL) 5:43.66

200 free relay -- 1. Notre Dame 1:54.11 (Brant, Bader, Abbie Messmer, Jordan Seabaugh), 2. Central 1:54.92 (Bowles, Hoffman, Schroeder, Kasper Woldtvedt)

100 back -- 1. Wolpers (C) 1:07.97, 2. Ducharme (ND) 1:10.60, 3. Woldtvedt (C) 1:12.50

100 breast -- 1. Baker (C) 1:16.82, 2. Nenninger (ND) 1:17.77, 3. Lindsey Reimann (C) 1:25.47

400 free relay -- 1. Central 3:53.21 (Wolpers, Bowles, Baker, Kinder), 2. Notre Dame 3:53.52 (M. Messmer, Ducharme, Nenninger, Menz)

Diving -- 1. Bader (ND) 395.25, 2. Taylor McMillan (C) 352.65, 3. Emily Huber (ND) 350.15