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