Thursday evening the Winhawk Swimmers go up against Rochester Mayo. Mayo is 2-2 in dual meets for the season, beating Mankato East and Albert Lea, falling to the other Rochester Teams, Century and JM.
A big blow to Mayo this season is the absence of Senior Erin Caflisch. Caflisch finished right behind former Winhawk Abbey Staats in both the 50 FR and 100FR at the MSHSL State Swimming Championships. After an aggressive summer swimming season that included the Speedo Sectionals and the Jr. Nationals, I am told she elected to train privately with a personal coach and prepare for her college swimming career.
Who is returning for the Mayo Spartans is SR Katelyn Crowley, a butterflyer and SO Loren Ulsh a breastroker. Both swam at State last year. Include Jr. Kalene Wileman that led off the backstroke in their State qualifying Medley relay and either Senior Eliza Lynch or Ulsh that were on their State meet 200FR relay, and they should have some punch to deal with.
We're looking for the Winhawks to come back with the same depth that has got them to 5-1 so far and to carry them through this meet as well. Look for a great race between Reese Galewski and Alexandra Zuelke vs Crowley in the Butterfly and again Alexandra Zuelke vs Ulsh in the Breastroke. I bet Mackenzie Brosnahan will also battle Ulsh in the 200IM and it will be a close race. Mayo's Julieta Chaffee will probably swim a sub 6 minute 500FR, so Coach Steve Burt will need to pick a strong distance group to keep pace. In a battle of up and coming JR's, Samantha Quandahl will be pushed to best Mayo's Jr. Kalene Wileman in the 100BK. With the absence on Caflisch, Bridget Bawek and Amiee Peterson as well as Haley O'Neil should score big points for the Winhawks in the 50FR and 100FR.
It should be a good meet, hope to see you there. 6PM, WSHS Pool.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
2nd Edit - What an Awesome Swim Meet! When you see a diver, say thanks!
What a great swim meet in La Crosse, the Winona Winhawks vs Onalaska/Holmen/Aquinas. No not because yours truly got called out of the bleachers to be a diving judge, that was just icing on the cake. The Winhawks pulled out a 92-91 win with major drama! JR sprinter Bridget Bawek was ill and stayed home, FR all-around Mackenzie Brosnahan made the trip but didn't feel well and the Winhawks looked to give her a night off if possible.
The meet went pretty much as predicted in my pre-meet post, with the exception of the few missing Winhawks making things more interesting.
The opening relay saw the OHA coaches throwing their four big guns at the Winhawks for a win and jumping out to a 10 – 4 lead.
For the 200FR, OHA brought out their star swimmer Brooke Reynolds for the win. Winhawks SO Olivia Staats and 8th gr Gabby Kleinow countered with a 2nd & 3rd finish. OHA takes the next two to extend their lead to 19 -11.
The 200IM sees OHA take out their next big name and JR. Stephanie Bowman wins with a teammate taking second. For the Winhawks 8th graders Reese Galewski takes 3rd and McKenna Marg takes 5th. Score OHA 31 – Winhawks 15.
In the 50 FR, the Winhawks, anchored by SR Co-captain Aimee Peterson pull off a 2, 3, & 5th and symbolicly say no more with an 8-8 point total.
The score is now OHA 39 – Winona 23.
The diving rolls around and with the Winhawks bringing 5 divers and OHA having none, a big point jump is in the works. Crystal Franzwa won but more importantly the Winhawks score 13 unanswered pts to recover big time.
Score OHA 39 – Winona 36.
In the 100FL, Winhawks Alexandra Zuelke and Reece Galewski pull a 2nd 3rd finish to keep things close at 47 – 43.
The 100FR kept the Winhawks close as well, scoring 7 pts.
In the 500FR JR. Samantha Quandahl, celebrated her birthday by swimming a dominating first place in 5:55. 08. 8th gr Gabby Kleinow brings home a hard fought third in 6:19.45. Score 64 – 58.
The 200FR Relay was a great event for both JV and the Varsity. The JV team of FR. Samantha Johnson, JR. Mallory Porter, 8th gr. Razil Campbell and 8th gr. Greer Kosidowski showed a lot of grit and went the entire race neck & neck with OHA. Greer K. touched just ahead of OHA in 2:07.07 in the most exciting race of the evening so far. Not to be outdone, the Varsity event saw Mackenzie Brosnahan come off the bench and pull an amazing anchor leg making up over a body length to just touch out OHA for 1st. The Winhawk "B" relay proved just as formitable and the 1st and 3rd tied the score at 68 – 68.
The 100 Backstroke has Winhawk JR Samantha Quandahl taking a 2nd place in 110.16.
The score is now OHA 77 – Winhawks 75.
The 100BR features the match-up between the two Freshman, Winhawk Alexandra Zuelke and OHA’s Gabbi Fasnacht and the race did not disappoint. Close the whole way through, Fasnacht held a slight lead most of the way with Alexandra digging deep at the very end and they touched in a dead tie, 1:13.06.
The score is 85 – 82 entering the final event, the 400FR Relay.
The Winhawks MUST place 1st & 3rd or better, to pull out the meet. The Winhawks ask Mackenzie to hit the water again to help secure the come-from-behind victory. Having thrown their weight around early, the OHA swimmers available for their "A" Relay were no match and the Winhawk "A" relay of SO Olivia Staats, 8th gr Reese Galewski, FR Mackenzie Brosnahan and FR Alexandra Zuelke and they bring home a clean 1st with room to spare. The BIG unknown going into the event was if the Winhawk "B" relay of 8th gr Haley O’Neil, 8th gr Gabby Kleinow, JR. Erika Johnsrud, and JR Samantha Quandahl could beat out the OHA "B" relay and OHA's last hope of hanging onto the lead. The Winhawks established their lead early just as the "A" relay did and brought home the needed 3rd place with plenty of room to spare, overtaking OHA and clinching the meet win!!!
Final score Winona - 92 OHS - 91
The meet went pretty much as predicted in my pre-meet post, with the exception of the few missing Winhawks making things more interesting.
The opening relay saw the OHA coaches throwing their four big guns at the Winhawks for a win and jumping out to a 10 – 4 lead.
For the 200FR, OHA brought out their star swimmer Brooke Reynolds for the win. Winhawks SO Olivia Staats and 8th gr Gabby Kleinow countered with a 2nd & 3rd finish. OHA takes the next two to extend their lead to 19 -11.
The 200IM sees OHA take out their next big name and JR. Stephanie Bowman wins with a teammate taking second. For the Winhawks 8th graders Reese Galewski takes 3rd and McKenna Marg takes 5th. Score OHA 31 – Winhawks 15.
In the 50 FR, the Winhawks, anchored by SR Co-captain Aimee Peterson pull off a 2, 3, & 5th and symbolicly say no more with an 8-8 point total.
The score is now OHA 39 – Winona 23.
The diving rolls around and with the Winhawks bringing 5 divers and OHA having none, a big point jump is in the works. Crystal Franzwa won but more importantly the Winhawks score 13 unanswered pts to recover big time.
Score OHA 39 – Winona 36.
In the 100FL, Winhawks Alexandra Zuelke and Reece Galewski pull a 2nd 3rd finish to keep things close at 47 – 43.
The 100FR kept the Winhawks close as well, scoring 7 pts.
In the 500FR JR. Samantha Quandahl, celebrated her birthday by swimming a dominating first place in 5:55. 08. 8th gr Gabby Kleinow brings home a hard fought third in 6:19.45. Score 64 – 58.
The 200FR Relay was a great event for both JV and the Varsity. The JV team of FR. Samantha Johnson, JR. Mallory Porter, 8th gr. Razil Campbell and 8th gr. Greer Kosidowski showed a lot of grit and went the entire race neck & neck with OHA. Greer K. touched just ahead of OHA in 2:07.07 in the most exciting race of the evening so far. Not to be outdone, the Varsity event saw Mackenzie Brosnahan come off the bench and pull an amazing anchor leg making up over a body length to just touch out OHA for 1st. The Winhawk "B" relay proved just as formitable and the 1st and 3rd tied the score at 68 – 68.
The 100 Backstroke has Winhawk JR Samantha Quandahl taking a 2nd place in 110.16.
The score is now OHA 77 – Winhawks 75.
The 100BR features the match-up between the two Freshman, Winhawk Alexandra Zuelke and OHA’s Gabbi Fasnacht and the race did not disappoint. Close the whole way through, Fasnacht held a slight lead most of the way with Alexandra digging deep at the very end and they touched in a dead tie, 1:13.06.
The score is 85 – 82 entering the final event, the 400FR Relay.
The Winhawks MUST place 1st & 3rd or better, to pull out the meet. The Winhawks ask Mackenzie to hit the water again to help secure the come-from-behind victory. Having thrown their weight around early, the OHA swimmers available for their "A" Relay were no match and the Winhawk "A" relay of SO Olivia Staats, 8th gr Reese Galewski, FR Mackenzie Brosnahan and FR Alexandra Zuelke and they bring home a clean 1st with room to spare. The BIG unknown going into the event was if the Winhawk "B" relay of 8th gr Haley O’Neil, 8th gr Gabby Kleinow, JR. Erika Johnsrud, and JR Samantha Quandahl could beat out the OHA "B" relay and OHA's last hope of hanging onto the lead. The Winhawks established their lead early just as the "A" relay did and brought home the needed 3rd place with plenty of room to spare, overtaking OHA and clinching the meet win!!!
Final score Winona - 92 OHS - 91
Sunday, September 27, 2009
This week in Winona Swimming
A busy busy week coming up!
Monday the Winona Water Wizards Swim Club has its annual meeting at Jefferson’s, 6:30PM. They will recap their year, talk about the change to an annual club for the 2009/2010 swim season, review finances and elect new Officers and board members. Parents, show your kids you support them in their sport of choice and consider getting involved in the Water Wizards Swim Club!
While the swim club parents are discussing the direction of swimming & diving in Winona and how to support it, the WSHS team will be having a spaghetti dinner at Coach Burt's house. Details at practice Monday afternoon but:
7th/8th graders- plates, napkins, forks (plastic please)
9th Graders-Salads
10th Graders- Desserts
11th Graders- Drinks
12th Graders- more drinks!
Suitably all carb'ed up, Tuesday the Winona Winhawks cross the border for a non-conference meet against the Onalaska/Holmen/Aquinas Swim Team.
A little history on our neighbors, OHS is a cooperative tri-op with Holmen, Onalaska, and Aquinas High Schools. Aquinas High School began their program in early 2000 and added Holmen as a JV team in 2005. With the limited number of swimming facilities in the area and none of the participating schools having a pool, this provided a way for all schools to have a girls swim team. Onalaska joined the program in 2006, and now all the schools compete as one team at the varsity and junior varsity levels. The team is not part of any conference, but swims in the Middleton Sectional 3 Meet and the Division I State Meet at the University of Madison.
The meet will be held at the Univ. of Wisc – La Crosse pool in Mitchell Hall at 6:00 PM.
The OHS team has some swimmers that will keep the 4-1 Winhawks honest. OHS JR. Brooke Reynolds is one of those universal swimmers like Winona Cotter swimmers SO MacKenzie Brosnahan and FR Alexandra Zuelke appearing anywhere in the line-up. She earned swims in the Wisconsin State High School Championships last year in the 100FL & 100BK which means she is also very competitive in the 200IM. She is fast in the freestyle as well and is integral to their relays. Coach Burt will need to guess where she will surface in the line-up to counter the punch.
OHS JR. Emily Klos will give Winona’s JR. Bridget Bawek, 8th Grader Haley O'Neil and SR Co-Captain Aimee Peterson a great race in the 50FR & 100FR.
Being an away meet we get to watch springboard diving and look for the Winhawk divers to score big points.
OHS FR Flyer Stephanie Bowman and Winhawk JR Samantha Quandahl will be a great match-up in the100FL.
A great freshman battle will take place in the 100BR between OHS FR Gabbi Fasnacht and Winona Cotter FR Alexandra Zuelke bringing some drama to the end of the meet.
The relays will all be hotly contested. Look for OHS to drive the pace on the Medley Relay and the speedsters of Winona to pull out the 200 & 400 free relays.
Thursday, Winona will host the Spartans of Rochester Mayo at the WSHS pool. More on that dual meet later in the week.
Monday the Winona Water Wizards Swim Club has its annual meeting at Jefferson’s, 6:30PM. They will recap their year, talk about the change to an annual club for the 2009/2010 swim season, review finances and elect new Officers and board members. Parents, show your kids you support them in their sport of choice and consider getting involved in the Water Wizards Swim Club!
While the swim club parents are discussing the direction of swimming & diving in Winona and how to support it, the WSHS team will be having a spaghetti dinner at Coach Burt's house. Details at practice Monday afternoon but:
7th/8th graders- plates, napkins, forks (plastic please)
9th Graders-Salads
10th Graders- Desserts
11th Graders- Drinks
12th Graders- more drinks!
Suitably all carb'ed up, Tuesday the Winona Winhawks cross the border for a non-conference meet against the Onalaska/Holmen/Aquinas Swim Team.
A little history on our neighbors, OHS is a cooperative tri-op with Holmen, Onalaska, and Aquinas High Schools. Aquinas High School began their program in early 2000 and added Holmen as a JV team in 2005. With the limited number of swimming facilities in the area and none of the participating schools having a pool, this provided a way for all schools to have a girls swim team. Onalaska joined the program in 2006, and now all the schools compete as one team at the varsity and junior varsity levels. The team is not part of any conference, but swims in the Middleton Sectional 3 Meet and the Division I State Meet at the University of Madison.
The meet will be held at the Univ. of Wisc – La Crosse pool in Mitchell Hall at 6:00 PM.
The OHS team has some swimmers that will keep the 4-1 Winhawks honest. OHS JR. Brooke Reynolds is one of those universal swimmers like Winona Cotter swimmers SO MacKenzie Brosnahan and FR Alexandra Zuelke appearing anywhere in the line-up. She earned swims in the Wisconsin State High School Championships last year in the 100FL & 100BK which means she is also very competitive in the 200IM. She is fast in the freestyle as well and is integral to their relays. Coach Burt will need to guess where she will surface in the line-up to counter the punch.
OHS JR. Emily Klos will give Winona’s JR. Bridget Bawek, 8th Grader Haley O'Neil and SR Co-Captain Aimee Peterson a great race in the 50FR & 100FR.
Being an away meet we get to watch springboard diving and look for the Winhawk divers to score big points.
OHS FR Flyer Stephanie Bowman and Winhawk JR Samantha Quandahl will be a great match-up in the100FL.
A great freshman battle will take place in the 100BR between OHS FR Gabbi Fasnacht and Winona Cotter FR Alexandra Zuelke bringing some drama to the end of the meet.
The relays will all be hotly contested. Look for OHS to drive the pace on the Medley Relay and the speedsters of Winona to pull out the 200 & 400 free relays.
Thursday, Winona will host the Spartans of Rochester Mayo at the WSHS pool. More on that dual meet later in the week.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Winhawks victorious over the Austin Packers
It appeared like it was going to be an issue filled evening. Austin was almost an hour late after experiencing a flat tire on their bus. Both teams were hobbled by illness, (Austin was short two of its State qualifiers from last year), and the announcer's microphone was acting up.
But, those events would prove to be the only hiccups of the evening as Winona capitalized on the depleted Austin squad and dominated the majority of the events.
IN the opening 200MR, the team of Sam Quandahl, Alex Zuelke, Reese Galewski and Aimee Peterson handled the A&B Austin Relays for an 8-6 lead.
The 200FR saw Winhawk SO Mackenzie Brosnahan dominate the field, winning with a 10 second margin of victory. Austin swept 2 – 4 with Winhawk 8th grader Gabby Kleinow and JR Taylor Johnson filling out the varsity finish. At this point the score was tied 15 – 15.
The Varsity 200IM saw FR Alexandra Zuelke win going away in 2:27.81. Winhawk 8th Graders Reese Galewski and McKenna Marg finished 3rd & 4th respectively to put the Winhawks back on top, 26-20.
The 50FR Junior Varsity was a fun race to watch with the Winhawks Grace Ell, Erika Johnsrud and Co-Captain Deni Cisewski finishing 1, 3, and 4 respectively.
Not wanting to be outshined, the Varsity 50FR hit the water and the Winhawks swam 1,2,and 3. Bridget Bawek finished first in 26.77 followed by Sr. Co-Captain Amiee Peterson in 27.70 who touched out 8th grader Hailey O’Neil at 27.89 The sweep pushed the Winhawks lead out to 39-23.
In the diving event at the WMS, the Austin 8th grader Sela Fadness took advantage of Winhawk FR Crystal Franswa nursing a sore knee to win the event with a total of 215 pts. Winhawk JR Lianna Hawthorne took second, followed by Winhawk SR Erin Buswell and Winhawk JR Katie Albrecht. The 2 – 4 finish added to the lead, now at 48 – 30.
In the 100FL JV, Winhawk JR Mallory Porter returned to competition after missing two weeks of practice. Here 1:22.13 was a good sign that she is starting to get into shape.
The Varsity 100FL saw the Winhawks dominate again. JR Samantha Quandahl and 8th grader Reese Galewski finished 5 seconds ahead of the closest Austin swimmers. With those points the Winhawks really started pulling away at 58 – 36.
In the 100FR, the Winhawks continued their dominance in the Sprints with JR Bridget Bawek finishing first and 8th Grader Hailey O’Neil touching out Sr. Nicole Haugland of Austin for second by 0.01 seconds!
In the 500FR the “Kenzies” scored for the Winhawks. In the JV event 7th Grader McKenzie Porter continues to drop time, swimming a solo 6:39.49. In the 500FR Varsity heat, Winhawk SO Mackenzie Brosnahan won going away by 14 seconds. SR Co-Captain Amiee Peterson having already swum the shortest and fastest event in the meet, now swam the longest taking 3rd with 8th grader Gabby Kleinow taking the 5th place. The Winhawks are now up 78-48.
The Winhawk 200Fr Relay of JR Bridget Bawek, 8th Grader Hailey O’Neil, SO Mackenzie Brosnahan and Sr. Aimee Peterson won with 10 yards to spare making the score 86-54.
The 100BK saw Winhawk JR Sam Quandahl delivering another solid performance wining first in 109.82 with 8th grader McKenna Marg touching in 3rd. Score 95 – 61.
The 100BR JV looked very promising for the future with Winhawk 8th graders Greer Kosidowski, Razil Campbell and McKenzie Porter finishing 2, 3, &4. The Varsity event showcased Winhawk FR Alexandra Zuelke winning in 1:13.72. Winhawk JR Taylor Johnson brought home the 3rd position and JR. Melanie Jones-McMillan the 5th spot. At this point the Winhawks had the meet won with their 95 points and chose to swim these and the remaining relay as exhibition scoring no points.
The Winhawks entered the 400FR Relay with the meet in the bag. With a carefree air about them, the A & B relays finished first and second. The team of Hailey O’Neil, Reese Galewski, Mackenzie Brosnahan and Alexandra Zuelke finished in 3:58.22 and the Team of Sam Quandahl, Gabby Kleinow, Taylor Johnson, and Bridget Bawek touched out the Austin team by 0.19 seconds!
Winhawks win 95-86.
But, those events would prove to be the only hiccups of the evening as Winona capitalized on the depleted Austin squad and dominated the majority of the events.
IN the opening 200MR, the team of Sam Quandahl, Alex Zuelke, Reese Galewski and Aimee Peterson handled the A&B Austin Relays for an 8-6 lead.
The 200FR saw Winhawk SO Mackenzie Brosnahan dominate the field, winning with a 10 second margin of victory. Austin swept 2 – 4 with Winhawk 8th grader Gabby Kleinow and JR Taylor Johnson filling out the varsity finish. At this point the score was tied 15 – 15.
The Varsity 200IM saw FR Alexandra Zuelke win going away in 2:27.81. Winhawk 8th Graders Reese Galewski and McKenna Marg finished 3rd & 4th respectively to put the Winhawks back on top, 26-20.
The 50FR Junior Varsity was a fun race to watch with the Winhawks Grace Ell, Erika Johnsrud and Co-Captain Deni Cisewski finishing 1, 3, and 4 respectively.
Not wanting to be outshined, the Varsity 50FR hit the water and the Winhawks swam 1,2,and 3. Bridget Bawek finished first in 26.77 followed by Sr. Co-Captain Amiee Peterson in 27.70 who touched out 8th grader Hailey O’Neil at 27.89 The sweep pushed the Winhawks lead out to 39-23.
In the diving event at the WMS, the Austin 8th grader Sela Fadness took advantage of Winhawk FR Crystal Franswa nursing a sore knee to win the event with a total of 215 pts. Winhawk JR Lianna Hawthorne took second, followed by Winhawk SR Erin Buswell and Winhawk JR Katie Albrecht. The 2 – 4 finish added to the lead, now at 48 – 30.
In the 100FL JV, Winhawk JR Mallory Porter returned to competition after missing two weeks of practice. Here 1:22.13 was a good sign that she is starting to get into shape.
The Varsity 100FL saw the Winhawks dominate again. JR Samantha Quandahl and 8th grader Reese Galewski finished 5 seconds ahead of the closest Austin swimmers. With those points the Winhawks really started pulling away at 58 – 36.
In the 100FR, the Winhawks continued their dominance in the Sprints with JR Bridget Bawek finishing first and 8th Grader Hailey O’Neil touching out Sr. Nicole Haugland of Austin for second by 0.01 seconds!
In the 500FR the “Kenzies” scored for the Winhawks. In the JV event 7th Grader McKenzie Porter continues to drop time, swimming a solo 6:39.49. In the 500FR Varsity heat, Winhawk SO Mackenzie Brosnahan won going away by 14 seconds. SR Co-Captain Amiee Peterson having already swum the shortest and fastest event in the meet, now swam the longest taking 3rd with 8th grader Gabby Kleinow taking the 5th place. The Winhawks are now up 78-48.
The Winhawk 200Fr Relay of JR Bridget Bawek, 8th Grader Hailey O’Neil, SO Mackenzie Brosnahan and Sr. Aimee Peterson won with 10 yards to spare making the score 86-54.
The 100BK saw Winhawk JR Sam Quandahl delivering another solid performance wining first in 109.82 with 8th grader McKenna Marg touching in 3rd. Score 95 – 61.
The 100BR JV looked very promising for the future with Winhawk 8th graders Greer Kosidowski, Razil Campbell and McKenzie Porter finishing 2, 3, &4. The Varsity event showcased Winhawk FR Alexandra Zuelke winning in 1:13.72. Winhawk JR Taylor Johnson brought home the 3rd position and JR. Melanie Jones-McMillan the 5th spot. At this point the Winhawks had the meet won with their 95 points and chose to swim these and the remaining relay as exhibition scoring no points.
The Winhawks entered the 400FR Relay with the meet in the bag. With a carefree air about them, the A & B relays finished first and second. The team of Hailey O’Neil, Reese Galewski, Mackenzie Brosnahan and Alexandra Zuelke finished in 3:58.22 and the Team of Sam Quandahl, Gabby Kleinow, Taylor Johnson, and Bridget Bawek touched out the Austin team by 0.19 seconds!
Winhawks win 95-86.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Best Seat in the House
Being a referee, a.k.a. Starter, Stroke & Turn Judge, Head Referee, Chief Judge, etc. I thought I would do a sporatic post highlighting some of the lesser know rules that parents and even some swimers may not be aware of.
My first one will be the rule regarding lap counting at the end of the pool for the distance events, (500, 1000 and 1650 in yards). I have seen some near DQs and been questioned by coaches who either did not understand the rule regarding counting or hoped I did not.
In the National Federation of State High School Assoc. Rule Book, it is Rule 3 Section 4. In the USA Swimming Rule Book, Section 102.5.6
Lap Counting is OPTIONAL. As such, a swimmer does not HAVE to have someone counting. So while the Starter and Referee may look to make sure a single counter in each lane at the end opposite the start end is in place prior to the start, they are not required to. In some of the larger meets where there are time constraints, they will not try to confirm if there should be one or wait for counters to get in place. If a swimmer sees their counter is not in place and delays getting on the block or doesn't follow the instruction to take their mark, they run the risk of DQ'ing themself for delaying the meet. Distance swimmers, always make getting your counter ready to get in place, a part of your pre-heat preparation.
Also, you are allowed ONE counter, restricted to the lateral limits of the lane their competitor is in. (For USA you are allowed to locate on the sides of the pool for the outer lanes.) Meaning teammates can cheer for the swimmer, but NOT from the end of the pool alongside the counter.
That one counter can communicate to you visually and/or verbally. Numbers can be held in the air or placed into the water. With the immersion in the water, in the judgement of the referee, the counter cannot aid their swimmer or interfere with another competitor. They are also allowed to use watches and indicate intermediate times.
You can count either up or down.
Also, regardless of the number displayed by the counter, it is the responsibility of the swimmer to know they have swam the entire length of the event. The referee will keep track of the correct number of laps and may or may not correct a counter that gets off. There is no requirement for when the number on the counter get flipped, but the standard practice is to turn it just as the swimmer turns at the start end.
My first one will be the rule regarding lap counting at the end of the pool for the distance events, (500, 1000 and 1650 in yards). I have seen some near DQs and been questioned by coaches who either did not understand the rule regarding counting or hoped I did not.
In the National Federation of State High School Assoc. Rule Book, it is Rule 3 Section 4. In the USA Swimming Rule Book, Section 102.5.6
Lap Counting is OPTIONAL. As such, a swimmer does not HAVE to have someone counting. So while the Starter and Referee may look to make sure a single counter in each lane at the end opposite the start end is in place prior to the start, they are not required to. In some of the larger meets where there are time constraints, they will not try to confirm if there should be one or wait for counters to get in place. If a swimmer sees their counter is not in place and delays getting on the block or doesn't follow the instruction to take their mark, they run the risk of DQ'ing themself for delaying the meet. Distance swimmers, always make getting your counter ready to get in place, a part of your pre-heat preparation.
Also, you are allowed ONE counter, restricted to the lateral limits of the lane their competitor is in. (For USA you are allowed to locate on the sides of the pool for the outer lanes.) Meaning teammates can cheer for the swimmer, but NOT from the end of the pool alongside the counter.
That one counter can communicate to you visually and/or verbally. Numbers can be held in the air or placed into the water. With the immersion in the water, in the judgement of the referee, the counter cannot aid their swimmer or interfere with another competitor. They are also allowed to use watches and indicate intermediate times.
You can count either up or down.
Also, regardless of the number displayed by the counter, it is the responsibility of the swimmer to know they have swam the entire length of the event. The referee will keep track of the correct number of laps and may or may not correct a counter that gets off. There is no requirement for when the number on the counter get flipped, but the standard practice is to turn it just as the swimmer turns at the start end.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Winhawks this Week
The Winhawks this week host the Packers of Austin at the WSHS Pool for Swimming and the WMS pool for diving.
Austin is 0-4 in dual meet competition, but will have some talented swimmers and a diver to throw at the 3-1 Winhawks to keep them honest. Austin has a very similar squad to Winona, 40+ girls competing with just a small handful of seniors and a host of young talent.
Look for Austin’s Brooke Johnson, Kelli Bednar, Averi Splinter, and Helen Heimark, all underclassmen that are back after gaining some Class A State meet experience last year.
For the Winhawks, the look to the girls placed in the IM, Fly and sprints to make or break the meet.
Practically all the events will have some good races, depth will determine the winner of this meet. It will be interesting to see where Winona’s Coach Burt and Austin’s Coach Lynn Gulbrandson place their heavyweights in their line ups and how their placement of the younger swimmers do capturing those important 2nd and 3rd places.
If you are partial to diving, the competition at the WMS will be a good battle. The 8th grader from Austin, Sela Fadness will give Winhawks Crystal Franzwa, Lianna Hawthorne and Erin Buswell all they can handle.
Austin is 0-4 in dual meet competition, but will have some talented swimmers and a diver to throw at the 3-1 Winhawks to keep them honest. Austin has a very similar squad to Winona, 40+ girls competing with just a small handful of seniors and a host of young talent.
Look for Austin’s Brooke Johnson, Kelli Bednar, Averi Splinter, and Helen Heimark, all underclassmen that are back after gaining some Class A State meet experience last year.
For the Winhawks, the look to the girls placed in the IM, Fly and sprints to make or break the meet.
Practically all the events will have some good races, depth will determine the winner of this meet. It will be interesting to see where Winona’s Coach Burt and Austin’s Coach Lynn Gulbrandson place their heavyweights in their line ups and how their placement of the younger swimmers do capturing those important 2nd and 3rd places.
If you are partial to diving, the competition at the WMS will be a good battle. The 8th grader from Austin, Sela Fadness will give Winhawks Crystal Franzwa, Lianna Hawthorne and Erin Buswell all they can handle.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Results - Apple Valley Swim & Dive Relays 2009
The Winhawks drove to the Twin Cities (some earlier than others) for the 2009 Apple Valley Swim & Dive Relays. The meet included host AV, Blaine, Edina, Minnetonka, Park, Richfield and the Winhawks. There was stiff competition with Edina and Minnetonka having finished last year's MSHSL Championships in 2nd and 5th place respectively, and both Winona and Apple Valley with State championship experience as well.
Diving was the first order of the day, so the Winhawk divers had an EARLY wake-up call, needing to be at Valley Middle School for 7AM warm-ups, YUCH! It was a great early season test being an 11 dive program event. Only 2 of the 28 divers entered listed a seed score from a previous 11 dive event. The four Winhawk divers scored good points early, with Katie Albrecht scoring in 21st place, Erin Buswell in 14th, Lianna Hawthorne in 10th and newcomer Freshman Crystal Franswa finishing in 4th place against a field where half the contestants were either Juniors or Seniors.
The swimming competition started with the 200 Medley Relay finishing 5th in 2:02.30. They were seeded second, but the line-up had to be shuffled due to the injury absence of backstroker Angel Pingry.
The 200FR, the first individual swimming event of the day, gave an indication of what a hard fought swimming day it would be. Olivia Staats scored extra points, improving on her seed time by over 2 seconds, touching in 2:10.03. In the final heat, Sophmore Mackenzie Brosnahan swam in lane 3 bracketed by two Senior Edina swimmers in Lane 2 & 4. Straight off the blocks, all three swam side by side the entire eight lengths of the pool. It was a great race to watch with places changing on every turn and length. It ended with Mackenzie touching in second, a hair behind one Edina swimmer in time of 2:01.66.
The 200IM is one of the events where the Winhawks are looking to the future as their highest entries, McKenna Marg and Reese Galewski are 8th graders. Both girls swam strong equaling their seed times.
The 50FR scored good points for the Winhawks with SR Aimee Peterson JR Bridget Bawek and FR Alexandra Zuelke placing 9th, 5th and 3rd respectfully.
The 100FL demonstrated promise in the future. In an early heat, JR Erin Bernardy dropped almost 10 seconds off her seed time and 7th Grader McKenzie Porter over 3 seconds on her's. The Winhawks had two swimmers seeded in the final heat, JR Samantha Quandahl and 8th Grader Reese Galewski going against FOUR Edina swimmers finishing 4th and 5th respectfully.
The 100FR, always an exciting all out sprint with its three flip turns factoring in, lived up to its expectations. JR Bridget Bawek and 8th Grader Haley O'Neil were seeded in the second to the last heat, quite a statement in this powerful field with Bridget delivering an 8th overall finish. Seeded third in the final heat was SO MacKenzie Brosnahan behind Katie Friedlander of Minnetonka (Conslation champion at last year's State Meet) and Edina's Mary Van Metre (5th at last year's State Meet). It was a great race with Mackenzie moving up and finishing in 55.41 right behind Van Metre.
The 500FR is another event that the Winhawk's are looking to the future, lacking an entry in the final heat but seeing some younger swimmers getting stronger. FR Sami Johnson continues to inprove her pace and 8th Grader Gabby Kleinow dropped 4 seconds off her seed time to swim a 6:14.02. SR Aimee Peterson, in previous years exclusively a sprinter, has stepped up to fill a void and swam a very respectable 6:08.85.
The 200Fr relay was an example of the strength the Winhawks were up against, with Edina having both the first AND second seeded times! In the end, the Winhawk Relay of Bawek, O'Neill, Peterson and Brosnahan finished 4th in 1:47.42.
The 100BK was another event looking forward with Winhawk youth scoring in the early heats. 8th Grader McKenna Marg and SO Olivia Staats both improved on their seed times, as did JR Samantha Quandahl in the second to the last heat.
The 100BR had Winhawk swimmers 7th grader McKenzie Porter and 8th gr. Greer Kosidowski in early heats swimming well, JR Taylor Johnson shaved a second plus off her seed time. FR Alexandra Zuelke swimming as the last seed in the final heat moved up two spots to finish 4th at 1:13.70 in a stacked field including last year's 5th place finisher at State.
The Final Event, the 400 FR Relay helped the Winhawks finish on an up note. The 5th seeded Winhawk relay of O'Neill, Bawek, Brosnahan and Zuelke moved up one spot to finish 4th at 3:54.42.
The Final standings reflected both the status of the big name teams and what the Winhawks have to look forward to as their youth develops. The Winhawks, who at the midpoint were only one point out of the trophy placing, finshed up in 4th. They were hanging in with the big names and way ahead of the 5 - 7th place teams.
1st Edina 1416 pts
2nd Minnetonka 1094 pts
3rd Apple Valley 971.5 pts
4th Winona 920.5 pts
5th Park 596 pts
6th Richfield 535 pts
7th Blaine 465 pts
Diving was the first order of the day, so the Winhawk divers had an EARLY wake-up call, needing to be at Valley Middle School for 7AM warm-ups, YUCH! It was a great early season test being an 11 dive program event. Only 2 of the 28 divers entered listed a seed score from a previous 11 dive event. The four Winhawk divers scored good points early, with Katie Albrecht scoring in 21st place, Erin Buswell in 14th, Lianna Hawthorne in 10th and newcomer Freshman Crystal Franswa finishing in 4th place against a field where half the contestants were either Juniors or Seniors.
The swimming competition started with the 200 Medley Relay finishing 5th in 2:02.30. They were seeded second, but the line-up had to be shuffled due to the injury absence of backstroker Angel Pingry.
The 200FR, the first individual swimming event of the day, gave an indication of what a hard fought swimming day it would be. Olivia Staats scored extra points, improving on her seed time by over 2 seconds, touching in 2:10.03. In the final heat, Sophmore Mackenzie Brosnahan swam in lane 3 bracketed by two Senior Edina swimmers in Lane 2 & 4. Straight off the blocks, all three swam side by side the entire eight lengths of the pool. It was a great race to watch with places changing on every turn and length. It ended with Mackenzie touching in second, a hair behind one Edina swimmer in time of 2:01.66.
The 200IM is one of the events where the Winhawks are looking to the future as their highest entries, McKenna Marg and Reese Galewski are 8th graders. Both girls swam strong equaling their seed times.
The 50FR scored good points for the Winhawks with SR Aimee Peterson JR Bridget Bawek and FR Alexandra Zuelke placing 9th, 5th and 3rd respectfully.
The 100FL demonstrated promise in the future. In an early heat, JR Erin Bernardy dropped almost 10 seconds off her seed time and 7th Grader McKenzie Porter over 3 seconds on her's. The Winhawks had two swimmers seeded in the final heat, JR Samantha Quandahl and 8th Grader Reese Galewski going against FOUR Edina swimmers finishing 4th and 5th respectfully.
The 100FR, always an exciting all out sprint with its three flip turns factoring in, lived up to its expectations. JR Bridget Bawek and 8th Grader Haley O'Neil were seeded in the second to the last heat, quite a statement in this powerful field with Bridget delivering an 8th overall finish. Seeded third in the final heat was SO MacKenzie Brosnahan behind Katie Friedlander of Minnetonka (Conslation champion at last year's State Meet) and Edina's Mary Van Metre (5th at last year's State Meet). It was a great race with Mackenzie moving up and finishing in 55.41 right behind Van Metre.
The 500FR is another event that the Winhawk's are looking to the future, lacking an entry in the final heat but seeing some younger swimmers getting stronger. FR Sami Johnson continues to inprove her pace and 8th Grader Gabby Kleinow dropped 4 seconds off her seed time to swim a 6:14.02. SR Aimee Peterson, in previous years exclusively a sprinter, has stepped up to fill a void and swam a very respectable 6:08.85.
The 200Fr relay was an example of the strength the Winhawks were up against, with Edina having both the first AND second seeded times! In the end, the Winhawk Relay of Bawek, O'Neill, Peterson and Brosnahan finished 4th in 1:47.42.
The 100BK was another event looking forward with Winhawk youth scoring in the early heats. 8th Grader McKenna Marg and SO Olivia Staats both improved on their seed times, as did JR Samantha Quandahl in the second to the last heat.
The 100BR had Winhawk swimmers 7th grader McKenzie Porter and 8th gr. Greer Kosidowski in early heats swimming well, JR Taylor Johnson shaved a second plus off her seed time. FR Alexandra Zuelke swimming as the last seed in the final heat moved up two spots to finish 4th at 1:13.70 in a stacked field including last year's 5th place finisher at State.
The Final Event, the 400 FR Relay helped the Winhawks finish on an up note. The 5th seeded Winhawk relay of O'Neill, Bawek, Brosnahan and Zuelke moved up one spot to finish 4th at 3:54.42.
The Final standings reflected both the status of the big name teams and what the Winhawks have to look forward to as their youth develops. The Winhawks, who at the midpoint were only one point out of the trophy placing, finshed up in 4th. They were hanging in with the big names and way ahead of the 5 - 7th place teams.
1st Edina 1416 pts
2nd Minnetonka 1094 pts
3rd Apple Valley 971.5 pts
4th Winona 920.5 pts
5th Park 596 pts
6th Richfield 535 pts
7th Blaine 465 pts
Friday, September 18, 2009
This weekend in Winona Swimming
First and foremost, Congratulations John Fox SMU Outstanding Male Athlete 2008-09! If you are not familiar with his story, John is a local product, an athlete that got into swimming during high school. He excelled immediately and has continued to improve as he competes right here in Winona as part of Eric Lindquist's St. Mary's University Cardinal swim team. Last Spring John was the Cardinals’ first-ever NCAA Division III National Championships automatic qualifier. Congrats John! The Cardinal's season is starting to crank up and there will be meets there in Oct., Nov, and Jan, so head on up and see some great swimming AND DIVING action! http://www.saintmaryssports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mswim&
The Winona Winhawks travel to Apple Valley to participate in their Invitational along with Richfield, Blaine, AND the 2nd at the MSHSL ClassAA last year Edina Hornets. I believe Winona will handle anything that AV, Blaine and RIchfield can throw at them, but Edina will be tough and should challenge the Winhawks in the IM, Fly and sprint freestyle events. Edina, like Winona has some outstanding young swimmers, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders that will make for some fun races to watch.
Last Tuesday the Winhawks traveled to the Roch Mayo pool to take on Rochester Century. The Winhawks came up a little short in a 95-87 loss. Century has 5 big guns that repeatedly got to the wall first. The Winhawks were picking up 2nd, 3rd and 4th place all night long, but when your opponent takes 1st & 3rd in the opening Medley relay and 1 & 3rd in the 200FR, you are already 10 points behind and playing catch-up. There were some great Winhawk swims, Sam Quahdahl swam her heart out in the 500FR, and Mackenzie Brosnahan made up two body lengths on the final leg of the 200 FR, only to come up a touch short, an amazing race! Bridget Bawek and Haley O'Neil both continue to impress in the sprint freestyle events. Alexandra Zuelke was strong in her signature 100BR but also an asset in the relays. Krystal Franzwa scored one of the Winhawk's two 1st places of the night in the diving event showing tremendous skill for a diver new to the program and a constantly increasing DD dive list. The Winhawk 400FR relay scored the other first of the night, winning in 3:55.60.
The Winhawks are a very young team. There is an amazing amount of young talent and as the season progresses, they will continue to drop time. They are so young that not every meet will be their night, but they are growing to be a force to be reckoned with in the months and years to come.
The Winona Winhawks travel to Apple Valley to participate in their Invitational along with Richfield, Blaine, AND the 2nd at the MSHSL ClassAA last year Edina Hornets. I believe Winona will handle anything that AV, Blaine and RIchfield can throw at them, but Edina will be tough and should challenge the Winhawks in the IM, Fly and sprint freestyle events. Edina, like Winona has some outstanding young swimmers, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders that will make for some fun races to watch.
Last Tuesday the Winhawks traveled to the Roch Mayo pool to take on Rochester Century. The Winhawks came up a little short in a 95-87 loss. Century has 5 big guns that repeatedly got to the wall first. The Winhawks were picking up 2nd, 3rd and 4th place all night long, but when your opponent takes 1st & 3rd in the opening Medley relay and 1 & 3rd in the 200FR, you are already 10 points behind and playing catch-up. There were some great Winhawk swims, Sam Quahdahl swam her heart out in the 500FR, and Mackenzie Brosnahan made up two body lengths on the final leg of the 200 FR, only to come up a touch short, an amazing race! Bridget Bawek and Haley O'Neil both continue to impress in the sprint freestyle events. Alexandra Zuelke was strong in her signature 100BR but also an asset in the relays. Krystal Franzwa scored one of the Winhawk's two 1st places of the night in the diving event showing tremendous skill for a diver new to the program and a constantly increasing DD dive list. The Winhawk 400FR relay scored the other first of the night, winning in 3:55.60.
The Winhawks are a very young team. There is an amazing amount of young talent and as the season progresses, they will continue to drop time. They are so young that not every meet will be their night, but they are growing to be a force to be reckoned with in the months and years to come.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tuesday night for the Winhawks
Tuesday night the Winhawks go up against Rochester Century at the Mayo Pool.
Rochester is 2-0 in dual meets besting Austin and Albert Lea and just came off of a 5th place finish in the Lakeville Relays last Saturday. This is an all relay meets so depth really come into play. This is an all relay meet, so depth plays a big part in how things turn out. A number of the Big 9 teams were there, results were:
LAKEVILLE RELAYS• Lakeville North 142, Rochester John Marshall 140, Faribault 109, Northfield 99, Rochester Century 96, Shakopee 83, Farmington 76, Lakeville South 75, St. Peter 71, Rochester Mayo 59, Mankato West 53, Mankato East and Albert Lea 31
Returning Century swimmers from last year with State Meet experience include Sr. Kathleen VanDeVoorde BK, Jr. Jennifer Strom BR, Jr. Claire Anderson FL, and SR. Gretchen Heidorn FR.
Look for a tough relay right out of the chute, with Century swimming three of those veterans with maybe Joey Heidorn in a sun 2 minute medley relay. Coach Steve Burt will need to throw some gig guns at Century right away.
Claire Anderson will most likely be featured in the 200IM and Mackenzie Brosnahan will have her hands full trying to swim a 2:15 or so.
Anderson also just set the Mayo pool record in the 100FL at 1:00.11 so Alexandra Zuelke and Reese Galewski will have their hands full trying to keep pace.
The 100 Fr looks like Joey Heidorn having swum a 58 recently, and will be a great head to head match-up against Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek and maybe Sr. Amiee Peterson. The Winhawks will need Haley O'Neil to step up and swim hard for some additional points.
Century has a good 500FR swimmer in Jennifer Strom swimming a 5:40 recently, so Winona will have to be looking to score 2-4 place to maximize points.
Sr. Joey Heidorn will lead Century in the 100BK and the Winhawks will have to counter with Jr. Samantha Quandahl and So. Olivia Staats.
In the battle of the Freshman, Winhawk Fr. Alexandra Zuelke should score points for the Winhawks in the Breaststroke against Century's Fr. Moriah Mercill and it will be a good race to watch. The meet may come down to this event.
This will be a night where depth may be what pulls it out for the Winhawks. There are a handful of headliners at Century and the Winhawks will need to battle them AND beat out their second tier swimmers to pull out a victory Tuesday night.
Meet time is 6PM at the Rochester Mayo Pool, (Century does not have one). See you there.
Rochester is 2-0 in dual meets besting Austin and Albert Lea and just came off of a 5th place finish in the Lakeville Relays last Saturday. This is an all relay meets so depth really come into play. This is an all relay meet, so depth plays a big part in how things turn out. A number of the Big 9 teams were there, results were:
LAKEVILLE RELAYS• Lakeville North 142, Rochester John Marshall 140, Faribault 109, Northfield 99, Rochester Century 96, Shakopee 83, Farmington 76, Lakeville South 75, St. Peter 71, Rochester Mayo 59, Mankato West 53, Mankato East and Albert Lea 31
Returning Century swimmers from last year with State Meet experience include Sr. Kathleen VanDeVoorde BK, Jr. Jennifer Strom BR, Jr. Claire Anderson FL, and SR. Gretchen Heidorn FR.
Look for a tough relay right out of the chute, with Century swimming three of those veterans with maybe Joey Heidorn in a sun 2 minute medley relay. Coach Steve Burt will need to throw some gig guns at Century right away.
Claire Anderson will most likely be featured in the 200IM and Mackenzie Brosnahan will have her hands full trying to swim a 2:15 or so.
Anderson also just set the Mayo pool record in the 100FL at 1:00.11 so Alexandra Zuelke and Reese Galewski will have their hands full trying to keep pace.
The 100 Fr looks like Joey Heidorn having swum a 58 recently, and will be a great head to head match-up against Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek and maybe Sr. Amiee Peterson. The Winhawks will need Haley O'Neil to step up and swim hard for some additional points.
Century has a good 500FR swimmer in Jennifer Strom swimming a 5:40 recently, so Winona will have to be looking to score 2-4 place to maximize points.
Sr. Joey Heidorn will lead Century in the 100BK and the Winhawks will have to counter with Jr. Samantha Quandahl and So. Olivia Staats.
In the battle of the Freshman, Winhawk Fr. Alexandra Zuelke should score points for the Winhawks in the Breaststroke against Century's Fr. Moriah Mercill and it will be a good race to watch. The meet may come down to this event.
This will be a night where depth may be what pulls it out for the Winhawks. There are a handful of headliners at Century and the Winhawks will need to battle them AND beat out their second tier swimmers to pull out a victory Tuesday night.
Meet time is 6PM at the Rochester Mayo Pool, (Century does not have one). See you there.
Friday, September 11, 2009
I'm back
OK, sadly it had been so long since I posted I struggled with my log in a password. But I deciphered it and so here goes
The Winhawk Girl's swimming Team is now 3-0 after their first Conference Win of the season last night against Albert Lea.
First and foremost, I want to comment on the depth and numbers on the Winhawk team.
With over 40 swimmers, Coach Steve Burt and Asst Coach Amy Schulz have a myriad of options to put together a JV/Varsity line up. In last night's contest, both squads swam a number of exhibition races solely for the purpose of NOT scoring points. Yes that's right, not scoring points. I am not sure how many parents know that there is an unwritten rule between Big 9 coaches that they do not drub each other. Recognizing that squad talent at the HS level can ebb and flow, over the long haul teams will each have the opportunity to score big against each other, but why do it? In a HS dual meet, it takes 94 points to win a swim meet. So in the Big 9, once a team meets or exceeds 94 points, they start swimming their swimmers as exhibition swims, so the other team collects the points. For instance last night. The real score of the contest would have been, well let just say instead of the 99-80 18 point spread, it would have been a 65 point difference. Same for the JV meet, with so many swimmers and Albert Lea skipping some events, Instead of the 89-41, it would have been 116-38. Now that is of course a Big 9 understanding, hence the 116 - 67 score against Memomonie the week prior. The Richfield meet was a bit closer at 90-80.
The Winhawk Girl's swimming Team is now 3-0 after their first Conference Win of the season last night against Albert Lea.
First and foremost, I want to comment on the depth and numbers on the Winhawk team.
With over 40 swimmers, Coach Steve Burt and Asst Coach Amy Schulz have a myriad of options to put together a JV/Varsity line up. In last night's contest, both squads swam a number of exhibition races solely for the purpose of NOT scoring points. Yes that's right, not scoring points. I am not sure how many parents know that there is an unwritten rule between Big 9 coaches that they do not drub each other. Recognizing that squad talent at the HS level can ebb and flow, over the long haul teams will each have the opportunity to score big against each other, but why do it? In a HS dual meet, it takes 94 points to win a swim meet. So in the Big 9, once a team meets or exceeds 94 points, they start swimming their swimmers as exhibition swims, so the other team collects the points. For instance last night. The real score of the contest would have been, well let just say instead of the 99-80 18 point spread, it would have been a 65 point difference. Same for the JV meet, with so many swimmers and Albert Lea skipping some events, Instead of the 89-41, it would have been 116-38. Now that is of course a Big 9 understanding, hence the 116 - 67 score against Memomonie the week prior. The Richfield meet was a bit closer at 90-80.
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