IRVINE, Calif. – Katharine Berkoff dominates in the pool in her home state, and she keeps proving she can swim with the best in the country, as well.
The Missoula Hellgate rising senior made it to the finals of all three of her races at the Phillips 66 National Championships. Berkoff took on the best in the country in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter backstrokes, finishing top eight in qualifying in each event to earn a spot in the finals.
Berkoff finished in fifth place in the 100-meter backstroke — a race where Kathleen Baker set a world record less than two seconds ahead of the Hellgate Knight. Baker touched the wall in 58.00 seconds, while Berkoff finished in 59.77.
Berkoff tied for fifth in the 50 with a time of 28.13 seconds and ended up seventh in the 200 in 2:10.12. She also raced in the 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter Individual Medley on a busy week but didn’t make the finals.
Her older brother Cale Berkoff, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, took 58th place in the 200-meter backstroke.
Ethan Harder of Billings also turned in a solid week. He finished 25th in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:00.66, 28th in the 200-meter butterfly in 2:00.81, and 30th in the 100-meter backstroke in 56.81.
