Girls swimmer Morgan Hoffman (9) went in to the Rockwood Summit meet on Jan. 13 knowing that if she knocked one second off her time, she would qualify for state.

At the meet, Hoffman recorded a time of 56.99 seconds, nearly two seconds less than her previous time of 58 seconds. That time will get Hoffman into the state swimming meet at the St. Peters Rec Plex on Feb. 18 to 19.

“She is one of the hardest workers, if not the hardest worker, on the team, and it has paid off,” swimming coach Dan Schoenfeldt said.

Placing for state in this event came as a surprise to Hoffman. At the beginning of the season, Hoffman was focusing more on the 50 meter freestyle. She is currently a couple tenths of a second away for qualifying for that event.

“I wasn’t even focusing on that event,” Hoffman said. “I was trying to focus more on the 50.”

As a team, the girls placed third overall at the meet while celebrating their teammate qualifying for state.