Alton Swimmer Claire Paule Has Successful Sectional Meet, Is Auto Butler Female Athlete Of The Month For Redbirds

EDWARDSVILLE - Alton High School girls junior swimmer Claire Paule had an excellent IHSA sectional meet on Nov. 6 at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center in Edwardsville, breaking the six-minute barrier in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:50.41 in finishing sixth and having a very good 100-yard backstroke time of 1:07.73 in placing seventh at the meet.

In an earlier meet, Paule had won the 500-yard backstroke at the Southern Illinois Championships at Edwardsville as she enjoyed a very solid season.

For her efforts in the pool this fall, Paule has been selected as the Auto Butler Female Athlete of the Month.

Paule, who swims for head coach Nancy Miller, was hopeful of meeting her goals at the meet. She talked about her 500-yard freestyle win in the Southern Illinois championships as a good milestone.

It was pretty good," Paule said. "I definitely had a good time."

Paule felt that she had a successful season despite the complications of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and some of its restrictions.

"It hasn't been much of a season because of COVID," Paule said, "but it's been pretty good. I've been able to drop some time on some of my races, and I just kind of worked on making my stroke better."

Paule's favorite race is the 100-yard backstroke, but also enjoys the 500-yard freestyle, and had set some very good goals for both of her races going into the sectional.

As a junior, Paule has already developed favorite memories of swimming with the Redbirds.

"I just like having all of our friends here," Paule said, "and being able to have a good bond with my teammates. I think being able to do the relays has been a really good experience."

Riverbender.com's Athlete of the Month program is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and the cooperation of our area high schools. This is a great accomplishment and one to be very proud of. Please join us in congratulating this young athlete. We at Riverbender.com wish you continued success in your future!

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