Dana Kirk has strong showing in 100 'fly

"Dana Kirk went a step farther than she had expected on her first day at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials Wednesday, Aug. 9 at Indianapolis.Kirk, 16, a junior at Bremerton High School, swam a personal-best in a heat of the 100-meter butterfly competition and advanced to the semifinals. Her 1-minute, 0.65-second preliminary time was the ninth-best clocking among the 99 entrants that included U.S. record-holder Dara Torres and 23-time national champion Jenny Thompson.Kirk went on to finish 15th in the semifinals, which she had said she didn't expect to make in that event. Only the top eight swimmers advanced to the Thursday finals.Thompson, 27, won the semifinals in 57.59 seconds, missing the U.S. standard Torres posted in the preliminaries earlier Thursday. Kirk's semifinal swim, which was hampered by a slow start, was a 1:01.65.Her preliminary heat slashed almost two seconds off her previous best performance in the 100 fly.Kirk also swam in the 400 individual medley prelims Wednesday, but finished fifth in her heat and failed to advance. Her prelim time was 5:03.16. By contrast, the top time of the day, turned in by Floridian Kaitlin Sandeno, was 4:40.91.Tara Kirk, Dana's 18-year-old sister, opened her Olympic Trials Thursday in the 100 breaststroke prelims and semifinals. Dana also qualified to swim in the 200 IM, which began Friday, and today's 200 butterfly competition. Tara returns to action Sunday in the 200 breaststroke, the finals of which are slated for Monday night.In all, the sisters qualified for six events in this week's Trials. Tara is thought to be the better bet for a spot on the U.S. team for the Sydney Games, while Dana is aiming more toward a bid to go to the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece.Both Kirk sisters represent Bremerton's Maki Aquatics Club. Tara Kirk is a 2000 BHS graduate who heads to Stanford University following her Olympic experience to swim for the Cardinal on an athletic scholarship.CK girls soccer tryouts Aug. 21-23The Central Kitsap High School girls soccer team will conduct tryouts for the fall season Monday through Wednesday, Aug. 21-23 at the Central Kitsap Junior High School baseball field off Anderson Hill Road.Tryouts will take place from 10 a.m. until noon daily. Players should arrive 30 minutes early for check in. Fitness sessions also will be conducted each day from 3-4 p.m.All necessary paperwork (physical, athletic code and permission form) must be turned in to Mrs. Scott in the ASB office prior to the first day of tryouts. The ASB office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The back door of the high school is open during construction.Information: Denise Yeager, 698-3236.Monday, Aug. 21 is the first day for high school turnouts in football, cross country, girls soccer, girls swimming and volleyball for the fall 2000 season. "

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.