Winhawks see payday over their Big 9/Section Foes.

Before I report on the Finals, I would like to emphasize that if you get the chance, bring your young swimmers to the Minnesota State Swim Meet! To watch their sport of choice, in this kind of an electric, inspiring atmosphere, is something to take advantage of. I go to referee, and I heard this from my fellow refs, to enjoy ref'ing in that environment of energy and excitement . Some of those officials been coming back for 25+ years, as volunteers, just so they can be on deck, sharing the energy, enthusiasim and atmosphere that these young athletes both create and feed off of.


2009 Minnesota State Girls' Swimmign & Diving Finals

They say he who laughs last, laughs best (well it may not be the most sportsmanship like thing to do). Does it also apply to the swimming season? The Winona Winhawks whisked themselves away from the Minnesota Girls Swimming & Diving Meet with what appeared to be a level of discontentment. Naturally heading off to the Big Swim holds all kinds of potential possibilities. The only prelim/final format of the entire season, each prelim swim carries the potential of coming back later to be announced in front of thousands of swimming fans. In swimming, as with all sports, there are lots of underlying dynamics at play. First and foremost, you gotta make sure you are going to the dance, so you get to dance. If you compete in a hotly contested Section, you need to manage your preparations accordingly. You taper for Sections or start your taper to incorporate Sections. Otherwise, you are sitting home come State time wondering what you could have done when your name was announced while you stand behind that block.

The Winhawks swam well at Conference. They took 5th place behind Roch JM, Faribault, Roch Century, and Owatonna. At Sections, they swam better, but took 6th behind those same five and Farmington. In that 6th place finish, they qualified two individual swims and two relays for the State Meet.


But at State, where everyone is watching, it's a whole new ballgame. While everyone is watching individual swims, teams are scoring points from those swimmers that can make it to the Finals. It was here, that the Winhawks got their chance to shine.


Final Standings:

7. Rochester John Marshall 126 (Tied with Maple Grove)
22. Winona/Winona Cotter 25
25. Rochester Century 24
26. Owatonna 18
27. Rochester Mayo 13
36. Faribault 5
36. Farmington 5


So Winona Winhawk Girls, while dreams of State Meet podium visits may not have come to be, you did yourself proud! You saw that the game has nine full innings and Sections was just the seventh inning stretch. Congratulations and take that feeling of leapfrogging your Conference / Sections foes where it counted. In front of the eyes of thousands of swim fans at the Minnesota State Class AA Girls’ Swimming & Diving Championships.

Recap:


In the Saturday Evening Finals, four of the five qualifying swims were coming back to score points. Winona Cotter Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan would swim her 11th seed in the 50 Freestyle first, followed later after diving, by her 11th seed in the 100 Freestyle.  The the 200 Freestyle relay consisting of Senior Co-Captain Aimee Peterson, Junior Bridget Bawek, Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan and Freshman Alexandra Zuelke would take their turn at adding points to the team total.


In the 50 Freestyle, Winhawk Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan was seeded 11th overall (3rd in the Consolation Heat) and swimming in Lane 3. To her Right, Mary Van Metre of Edina who had beaten MacKenzie in the 100 Freestyle way back in September at the Apple Valley Relays. On her left was Alison Schmacher of Rochester JM (a repeat of their 1-2 show down at the Sections Final where there was a 0.22 separation between them). So not only did MacKenzie know she was in for a battle, there was history and she knew her foes. The 50 is so fast there is not much separating winning from loosing. They went down the pool and back as one massive wave of white water. In the end, MacKenzie moved up to 10th place jumping over the swimmer from Minnetonka ( and that one point for the team was the difference in beating Roch Century in the Team Standings), and finishing an eyelash 0.01 seconds behind Schumacher. BTW, Mary Van Metre was a distant 0.15 back in 13th place and MacKenzie’s time in a timed final would have been good for a podium spot, she was quicker than two of the girls in the Championship Final! Congratulations MacKenzie.


                                                                 Prelim      Final
10 MacKenzie Brosnaha 10 Winona     24.46      24.39



Then came diving, which I have to comment on, was a great show of talent and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to watch the best divers from around the state compete against each other. One story I have to share, Defending State Champion Maggie Keefer of Stillwater won the state title again going away. The Senior diver, who is moving on to the U of M next year, won using 10+ dives, as she nearly failed a very difficult dive she really wanted to throw, netting practically no points. So in the end she finished 50 points ahead of everyone else in spite of spotting them one dive each. But that is not the amazing part. The amazing part is that 5 ½ months ago, working out at the U of M performing an Inward Dive on the 5 meter platform, she drove her forehead into the platform’s concrete ledge. After hospitalization and recovery, she still dove sporadically due to headaches and did not rejoin the team until midseason. I heard it from a trusted source and very few others in the diving community I talked to were aware of it having happened. An amazing story of perseverance and determination that was underplayed a great deal.


Back to swimming, Winhawk Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan once again stepped up to the blocks. This time she was there for the Consolation Heat of the 100 Freestyle. MacKenzie was seeded 11th overall (3rd in the Consolation Heat) and again, stood in front of the block in Lane 3. This time her Section foe Caitlin Fujan was to her left. (BTW Edina’s Mary Van Metre that beat MacKenzie back at the Apple Valley Relays, did not make it out of prelims). After a clean start MacKenzie was in still in 3rd through the 50 split, but lost ground in the second 50, and finished in 13th overall.
                                                                  Prelim      Final
13 MacKenzie Brosnaha 10 Winona      53.56       53.71
      25.69       28.02





Lastly, the Winona Winhawk 200 Freestyle Relay consisting of Senior Co-Captain Aimee Peterson, Junior Bridget Bawek, Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan and Freshman Alexandra Zuelke were up. They stood behind the Lane 5 starting block as the second seed in the Consolation Final Heat. To their right, the top seeded Woodbury team, to their left, their Conference/Sections foes from Owatonna. The 200 Free Relay is all about starts and turns. Each swimmer only does two lengths and is in the water for 24 or 25 seconds, so efficient turns and crisp exchanges make or break the race. It also means that the race can see some back and forth jockeying, as teams put faster swimmers early or late in their relay line up. Such was the case with this Consolation Final and in the end the Winhawks improved on their preliminaries swim by almost 0.5 seconds and held their ground with Owatonna and Woodbury flip-flopping their positions.


                                                   Prelim           Final
10 Winona/Winona Cotter      1:40.45         1:39.99

1) Alexandra Zuelke 9 2) Bridget Bawek 11

3) Aimee Peterson 12 4) MacKenzie Brosnahan 10

25.52     24.94      25.62        23.91


The Winhawks packed up their wet towels and headed home. Being quintessential swimmers, they were dreaming about the times they could have had and felt like they could have swam better.

But they need to be reminded that they pulled out a major victory here, and showed that the game isn’t over until it is over and all that is left is next year's season!

Great finish Winhawks, you did us proud.

State Prelims in the books

State Prelims for both Class A and AA wrapped up today with the Winhawks swimming AA.


For Class A I got to work the bulkhead, the section between the two pools at the U. I was judging turns for Lanes 1-2-3, which meant I had to center myself, in the middle of Lane 2. The flip turns all afternoon were sending waves over my feet. I had to wring out my socks when the session was over.


Class AA saw the arrival of the Winhawks and their date with the 2009 MSHSL Championships. After a crowed pool warm-up, they had to wait for the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Free and 200 IM, before they could finally get involved in the swimming. Winona Cotter SO McKenzie Brosnahan was in the final heat of the 50 Free. Seeded at her 24.56 from Sections, she is seeded 10 out of 21 swimmers. The quick romp down the pool and back has McKenzie finish in 11th good for the Consolation Round Saturday night.

Two events later, and McKenzie was back at it in the 100 Freestyle. McKenzie is seeded 11th, with her Sections time of 53.42. There is some jockeying of position above her, but after the last heat goes she remains in 11th place, another place in the Saturday Evening Consolation Finals.

Two events later, the 200 Freestyle Relay calls more Winhawks to the starting area. Coach Burt shakes up the order of swims a little, hoping to break the girls free early and get them into clean water. Lead-off will be Winona Cotter Fr. Alexandra Zuelke, second is Winona Cotter So MacKEnzie Brosnahan. Third off will be Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek and the anchor falls to Sr. Winhawk Co-Captain Aimee Peterson. The Winhawks are seeded 7th, swimming in Lane 3. The team from Maple Grove in Lane 2 goes out gangbusters spoiling the clean water plan. While Maple Grove, seeded 13th, drops 5 seconds, the Winhawks swim a 1:40.45 good for 10th place and a swim in Saturday’s Consolation Finals. Matching their seed time would have landed a Championship berth, but having tapered for Sections to get here, it is hard to hold that taper for 10 days.

Lastly comes the 400 Free Relay. The Winhawks are seeded 22nd and will swim the same order of Winona Cotter Fr. Alexandra Zuelke, second is Winona Cotter So MacKEnzie Brosnahan. Third off will be Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek and the anchor falls to Sr. Winhawk Co-Captain Aimee Peterson. They ahev their work cut out for them if they want to swim a final time on Saturday having to move up seven spots. The Winhawks swim uninspired and finish up 21st, he 400 Free Relay is done for the Season.

More tomorrow night after Finals.

We're off

Yesterday started the end of the season for the Winhawk girls. Prelims for 1 meter diving were held yesterday:

Class AA through Semi-Finals  (qtr finals score - semifinals score)

1 Maggie Keefer 12 STIL 162.40 295.10 q
2 Merissa Gatti 12 Lakeville No 200.15 292.70 q
3 Erin Kohlbeck 11 Woodbury 181.75 281.90 q
4 Sarah McCrady 12 Eagan 168.95 267.40 q
5 Rachel Waldbillig 12 CENT 166.50 260.60 q
6 Emily Bonfig 10 Woodbury 170.25 258.35 q
7 Tessa Kahring 12 Cambri Isanti 172.40 257.80 q
8 Katy Etterman 11 Braind/Pillar 161.00 253.85 q
9 Megan Lawson 11 RochJMarshall 169.15 246.75 q
10 Cassidy Tangeman 11 Shakopee 151.00 245.10 q
11 Sammi Wright 12 Robb Armstron 155.05 243.35 q
12 Olivia Olesiak 10 Forest Lake 157.25 243.10 q
13 Chelsea Borwege 11 Faribault 156.55 240.55 q
14 Jennifer Anklan 11 RochJMarshall 159.00 238.55 q
15 Anna Heine 12 St Cloud Tech 150.65 236.70 q
16 Jessica Ramberg 10 Forest Lake 151.85 236.10 q
17 Olivia Evanson 11 Maple Grove 169.50 232.60
18 Alivia Bavier 11 CENT 151.20 231.10
19 Bryanna Sudman 12 Eden Prairie 159.90 231.05
20 Kaleigh Eason 10 STIL 150.90 226.05



Class A Semi-Finals (qtr finals score - semifinals score)

1 Chole Timm 11 Storm 175.35 277.90 q
2 Jenna Karrow 9 East Ridge 169.65 270.60 q
3 Tori Raihle 11 SpringLkPark 168.95 260.85 q
4 Chelsey Bethke 11 Storm 151.75 247.90 q
5 Lindsay Carlson 11 Chisago Lakes 152.45 247.75 q
6 Bailee Meyer 11 East Ridge 157.55 240.35 q
7 Courtney Miller 9 Richfield 157.10 238.60 q
8 Alissa Lager 11 St Peter 133.85 234.80 q
9 Shayna Dugger 12 Detroit Lakes 135.65 234.15 q
10 Maggie Klabunde 12 Fridley 145.40 234.05 q
11 Dayna Pitts 12 Mound-Wstonka 154.15 233.70 q
12 Alex Thomsen 12 Chisago Lakes 165.60 229.65 q
13 Kelsey Metz 11 Richfield 148.55 229.55 q
14 Kyja Penning 12 Panthers 149.50 227.55 q
15 Jana Hedstrom 10 Bemidji 147.55 226.00 q
16 Katie Becker 11 Mahtomedi 143.20 224.35 q
17 Bre Halbur 11 Detroit Lakes 139.70 221.60
18 Megan Mattson 11 Breck School 136.35 213.15
19 Shelbie Walsh 10 Litchfield 143.10 212.85
20 Krista Erickson 9 St MichAlbert 139.10 205.40

Going down the list of divers, you notice lots of underclasswomen. The swimming is no different.

Like our own Winhawks, swimming has had a large influx of younger talent.

Of the nine individual events at the championships, seven have returning defending champions.

I get to referee both Class A and AA the next two days. Mallory, McKenzie and Katie Taylor are coming along to see the pagentry and excitement. From the starting parade of Sections, through the prelim races and final races, the meet is like no other swimming meet you have ever been to.

I will post a synopsis of prelims tonight and after the Finals Saturday night.

St. Mary’s Cardinals drop a heartbreaker to Macalester

SMU thought they might pull this one out, and it was closer than the final score indicates. There were some great swims by the Cards, including Winonan John Fox and adopted Winonan Tom Walsh including winning the 200 Medley Relay.


1 Saint Mary's University 'A' NT 1:45.12 

1) Ross, Mark FY 2) Fox, John SR

3) Tysk, Tim SO 4) Walsh, Tom SR

27.80 27.93 25.59 23.80



Going 2-3 respectively in the 50 Freestyle

2 Fox, John SR Cardinals NT 23.08

3 Walsh, Tom SR Cardinals NT 24.03


John won the 100 Breaststroke

1 Fox, John SR Cardinals NT 1:02.41         28.15 34.26


Women - Team Rankings

1. Macalester College 133 2. Saint Mary's University 81



Men - Team Rankings 

1. Macalester College 117.5 2. Saint Mary's University 92.5

Last weekend’s swimming results

Headlining was the Minnesota Grand Prix taking place at the University of Minnesota.




On Friday, we saw the 200 Freestylers hit the water. In the Women’s Preliminary Heats Winonan/MN Gopher Abbey Staats was seeded 47th with a 1:56.55. She swam midway through the prelims and turned in a great drop to 1:53.96. The time stood to the end, good for 19th place and a spot in the evening’s “C” Final. Swimmers in front of her included accomplished Olympians Chloe Sutton and Kate Zigler, and National Team member Erika Erndl. Afterward in the Men’s 200 Freestyle Winonan/MN Gopher Matt Papenfuss was seeded 35th with a 1:42.38. Matt swam a 1:42.29 for a prelim finish in 19th place and a slot in the evening’s “C” Finals. Swimmers in front of Matt included National Team Members Charlie Houchin, Michael Klueh, Dan Madwed, Patrick Shirk, and Alex Wold. And Great Britan Olympian Simon Burnett.



In the Friday evening’s Finals after an awesome opening ceremony that included, the Twin Cities Diving Club perform an exhibition of 8 – 14 year olds on the 1 and 3 meter boards, the U of M Divers performing routines off of the 3 meter board and 10 meter platform, and a 50+ year old playing the Star Spangled Banner on a trumpet from the 10 meter platform, and then setting it down and leaping off performing a reverse somersault into a dry ice clouded diving well! Abbey swam the evening session in 1:55.03 for a 22nd place finish. In his evening final Matt improved to a 1:42.03 but remained in 19th place.



Saturday saw the 50 Freestyle come up and both Abey Staats and Matt Papenfuss were entered as well as Ryan Whalen, a Winonan swimming at the Grand Prix unattached. Abbey seeded 21st out of 97 entries in 24.32. Matt was seeded 34th out of 125 entries at 21.79. Ryan was seeded 16th at 21.27. When their heats came up, Abbey moved WAY up to finish 8th and a spot in the Championship Final that evening. Matt too moved, up to the high seed in the “C” Final that evening with a 21.61. Ryan swam a 21.76 for the 22nd seed and a return trip to the evening fun in the “C” Final right behind Matt. Later in the morning, Matt was also entered in the Men’s 500 Freestyle, the 57th seed with a time of 4:46.77. In his heat, Matt swam a 4:45.07 moving up to 36th place. Ryan was seeded in the 100 back and swam a 57.42 to finish out of the finals. Come Saturday evening in the Women’s 50 Free Championship Final, Abbey swam a 24.22 for an 8th place finish. Matt swam a 21.22 to finish in 21st place. Ryan swam a 22.00 to finish in 24th place.



Sunday had all three of the Winonans swimming the 100 FR with Ryan also entered in the 200 Backstroke. Abbey was seeded 26th with a 52.87. Matt was seeded 29th in 47.03 and Ryan was seeded 36th in 47.16. In the Prelims, Abbey swam up with a 52.21 good for 11th place and a spot in the Consolation Final. Matt swam a 47.60 which put him in the Evening “C” final in the 19th seed. Ryan swam a 49.70 in the prelims finishing out of the Finals. In the Evening Finals, Abbey moved up one more spot to finish 10th in 52.01. Matt too moved up one spot in his Final to finish 18th in 47.18.

Last Weekend's Grand Prix

First off, I want to elaborate on some facts I learned and events that took place at the 2009 Minnesota Grand Prix Swim Meet. I learned that the Minnesota LSC made the decision some time ago to make sure any disabled person that wanted to participate in any meet would be allowed to do so. We had a number of disabled swimmers competing in the events this past weekend. I was performing Stroke & Turn on Lanes 1-4, and after the start of a heat, I noticed the swimmer coming toward me had a awkward style. Turned out he was missing 2/3rd of his left arm and 2/3rd of his left leg. Alex Dionne, an 18 year old swimming with the Twin Cities swim club was competing in the 100 Butterfly and swam it in 1:14.33. Turns out he is an American Record holder and set more records at Last Weekend’s Grand Prix Meet. I watched him set a new Disabled Swimmer American Record in the 1650 Freestyle (yes that is the mile, swam with one arm and one leg) in 19:43.37. Each evening we had an all Disabled heat (Friday was 100 Butterfly) to start the evening. In that heat 20 year old Mallory Weggemann set a new American Record of 1:14.89. More remarkable is that she set it at the peak of her training for the World Disabled Swimming Championships in Brazil in a few weeks. She starts her taper next week which means she should be scary fast. Read this story and watch this video from the Friday Evening news in the Twin Cities.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=828422


Mallory was awarded Disabled Swimmer of the Year from USA Swimming on Saturday night and the Twin Cities Swim Club Coach Jim Anderson was awarded Disability Swimming Coach of the Year. They both came and spoke to us at our Official’s Pre-meet meeting Sunday morning. They talked about how being included in the Grand Prix events meant so much to them. That their disabled swim meets are usually pretty small, and it was so motivating to be swimming in front of a crowd. Mallory was a swimmer prior to the loss of her legs, and thought she was done with that part of her life. A friend talked her into visiting the Twin Cities Swim Club and meeting with Jim. She thought she was safe not having any gear with her, but her friend had a suit, cap and goggles for her to use. Mallory’s Father was petrified. That even after having watched Mallory compete prior to her disability, he was worried she would sink like a rock. Mallory hit the water, started swimming and she hasn’t stopped. She has a wonderful story to tell about how swimming has pushed boundaries for her and it can for others too, if they just give it a try. It was quite a moment listening to her talk about her life now. The six or so disabled swimmers we had at the meet competing were really excited about being there and I felt good being able to be a part of that making that happen.

Winhawk seedings for the State Meet

Well of course the big news of the weekend was the Winhawk Girls earning their trips to state in the 200 Free Relay, the 400 Free Relay and two individual performances in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles.


Interesting in that with 8 sections and two entries per event per section, two heats would fill up. That means that three of the eight additional 200 Free relays came from Section 1AA. Drives home just how competitive that relay was!


It appears that Stillwater is still the team to beat at State. In winning Section 4AA by 412 points (707 to the next highest 295), The Ponies secured 18 of the possible 22 state meet entries available. Not only did they win all three relays and every individual event except the 100 Fly, they placed 1-2-3 in the 200IM, 50 Free, 100 Free, 500 Free, 100 Back & 100 Breast. Just to round out the package, they also have the returning State Champion in 1 Meter Diving.


The Winhawk seeding looks like this:

By Lane, Name Grade /School seed time

Event 4 Girls 50 Yard Freestyle

Heat 1 of 3 Prelims

2 Melissa McMahon 12 Lakeville So 24.87

3 Mary C Van Metre 12 Edina 24.46

4 Britta Sortland 11 Woodbury 24.10

5 Meghan K Cummings 10 Eden Prairie 24.27

6 Nicole Grimit 11 St Cloud Tech 24.72

7 Emily Punyko 11 Duluth East 25.21

Heat 2 of 3 Prelims

2 Monica Radecke 12 STIL 24.77

3 Brita Skalbeck 11 Hopkins 24.34

4 Tess Behrens 12 Maple Grove 23.96

5 Heather Arseth 11 Wayzata 24.22

6 Jenny Einhorn 10 Minnetonka 24.64

7 Emily Schleif 10 C-D Hall 25.17

Heat 3 of 3 Prelims

1 Tiffany Vetsch 12 Coon Rapids 25.86

2 Katie Olson Mounds View 24.75

3 Allison Schumacher 9 RochJMarshall 24.34

4 Hannah Bowen 11 STIL 22.95

5 Emily DeVore 9 Buffalo 24.16

6 MacKenzie Brosnahan 10 Winona 24.56

7 Steph Bierman 10 Apple Valley 25.03



Event 7 Girls 100 Yard Freestyle


Heat 1 of 3 Prelims

1 Nicole Hutchins 10 C-D Hall 54.54

2 Claire Rutscher 9 STIL 53.80

3 Brooke Evensen 09 Robb Armstron 53.34

4 Hailey Campbell 12 Lakeville So 52.22

5 Heather Arseth 11 Wayzata 52.85

6 Katie Olson Mounds View 53.43

7 Mary C Van Metre 12 Edina 54.02

8 Tiffany Vetsch 12 Coon Rapids 56.54

Heat 2 of 3 Prelims

1 Elizabeth Gross 12 Woodbury 54.43

2 Taylor Bass 8 RochJMarshall 53.62

3 Emily DeVore 9 Buffalo 53.31

4 Kelsey McMurtry 12 Minnetonka 52.11

5 Allison Schumacher 9 RochJMarshall 52.53

6 MacKenzie Brosnahan 10 Winona 53.42

7 Monica Radecke 12 STIL 53.85

8 Abby Devries 12 Cambri Isanti 56.53

Heat 3 of 3 Prelims

1 Steph Bierman 10 Apple Valley 54.10

2 Isabel Wyer 8 Minnetonka 53.52

3 Caitlin Fujan 11 RochJMarshall 52.87

4 Hannah Bowen 11 STIL 51.08

5 Sam Feulner 12 BloomJefferso 52.29

6 Emma Paulson 9 Wayzata 53.37

7 Brita Skalbeck 11 Hopkins 53.84

8 DaNae Volkers 12 Elk River 55.29


Event 9 Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

Heat 1 of 3 Prelims

1 Centennial 1:43.92

2 Burnsville 1:41.49

3 Buffalo 1:39.88

4 Stillwater 1:37.80

5 Lakeville South 1:39.19

6 Apple Valley 1:40.51

7 Cretin-Derham Hall 1:41.82

Heat 2 of 3 Prelims

1 Mounds View 1:42.51

2 Eastview 1:41.40

3 Eden Prairie 1:39.72

4 Rochester John Marshall 1:37.13

5 Wayzata 1:38.27

6 Rochester Century 1:40.31

7 Farmington 1:41.65

8 Coon Rapids 1:45.60

Heat 3 of 3 Prelims

1 Woodbury 1:42.34

2 Maple Grove 1:41.04

3 Winona/Winona Cotter 1:39.34

4 Minnetonka 1:36.58

5 Edina 1:37.85

6 Owatonna 1:40.03

7 Lakeville North 1:41.56

8 Cambridge-Isanti 1:44.25





Event 12 Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay



Heat 1 of 4 Prelims

3 Anoka 3:52.39

4 Duluth East 3:50.38

5 Roseville 3:50.49

Heat 2 of 4 Prelims

1 Rosemount 3:42.50

2 Buffalo 3:40.58

3 Elk River 3:37.81

4 Wayzata 3:34.58

5 Maple Grove 3:35.63

6 Lakeville North 3:39.06

7 Eastview 3:41.01

Heat 3 of 4 Prelims

1 Prior Lake 3:42.34

2 Robbinsdale Armstrong 3:39.40

3 Edina 3:36.86

4 Stillwater 3:32.60

5 Cretin-Derham Hall 3:35.24

6 Eden Prairie 3:38.69

7 Hopkins 3:41.00

Heat 4 of 4 Prelims

1 Bloomington Jefferson 3:41.97

2 Apple Valley 3:39.33

3 Rochester John Marshall 3:36.14

4 Minnetonka 3:31.12

5 Woodbury 3:34.84

6 Hastings 3:38.46

7 Burnsville 3:40.90

8 Winona/Winona Cotter 3:42.56

Winhawks headed to MN State Meet

The Winona Winhawks went to Rochester Saturday afternoon looking to loose some time. If you work hard enough and loose a little time here and loose a little time there, a trip to the State Championships is yours to celebrate. If you try to do it in the fastest races in the pool, your task gets even harder. Winona has excelled at producing sprinters in the last few years and Saturday’s results showed this year is no exception.


The Winhawks will be sending a contingent to Minneapolis next weekend by qualifying one individual and two relays. Winona Cotter Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan qualified for the State Championships in both the 50 Freestyle and the 100 Freestyle. She will be joined by her teammates on the 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle relays, Jr. Bridget Bawek, Sr. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson, and Winona Cotter Freshman Alexandra Zuelke.


The First event, the 200 yard Medley Relay was fast, 5 of the seven relays qualified for the state meet. The first two teams qualified by place, the last 3 teams by meeting the state qualifying time standard. Winona was not among them. The very Young group of 8th Grader McKenna Marg, Jr. Taylor Johnson, 8th Grader Reese Galewski and 9th Grader Haley O’Neil placed 7th in 2:01.89.


The Winhawks placed no one in the Finals for the 200 Freestyle (Sophomore Olivia Staats just missed the cut by 0.05 seconds) or the 200 Individual Medley. But, true to their tradition, there were four individuals in the finals of the 50 yard Freestyle. Sr. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson improved on her second seed in the Consolation Finals raced to a Win in the Consolations with a time of 26.28 seconds. In the Championship Final Heat, Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek swam to a seventh place finish in 25.48 seconds and Freshman Alexandra Zuelke touched in 6th place with a 25.37. Cotter Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan entered the Finals seeded second, but needed a win or at least hold that spot to earn a trip to State unless they all dropped time as she was still not under the qualifying standard. When it came time to race, MacKenzie was up for it and dropped 0.34 seconds to place a solid second and earn that trip to the State Championships.


The Finals of the 1 Meter Diving had Winhawk Freshman Crystal Franzwa sitting in 6th place with 3 dives remaining between her and a trip to State. The top four positions qualify and Crystal needed to score well to pull it off. Her first dive was a Forward 1 somersault with 2 twists, a degree of difficulty (dd) of 2.3. She pulled it off beautifully stopping the twist dead on and scored 5 and 6’s for 34.5 pts. After the first round she was 0.2pts out of 5th place. Her second dive was a Back 2 somersaults in the tuck position, dd 2.2. she scored 4.0 to 5.5’s and 31.0 pts which moved her up to 5th place. Her final dive was a Back 1 somersault with 2 ½ twists, dd 2.7. She executed it very well, stopping the twist perfectly and scored 4.5’s to 5.5’s and 42.50 points for a final score of 320.25, just 4 points out of 4th and missing out on that trip to State. I predict Crystal will make that trip to State in the years ahead and will turn some heads.


The 100 Butterfly featured Winhawks in both the Consolation and Championship heats. Winhawk 8th Grader Reese Galewski was seeded fourth in the Consolation Final and brought that same finishing place into the wall in 1:4.90. Winhawk Jr. Samantha Quandahl swam in a tough Championship Final that saw the top four seeds drop an average of one full second. Sam finished 7th in 1:01.02.


The 100 Freestyle being a Sprint meant of course, a contingent of Winhawks would be present. That was the case with three of them in the Consolation Final and one in the Championship Final. Winhawk Jr. Bridget Bawek was seeded 2nd in the Consolation but had to withdraw due to illness. Sr. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson was seeded 3rd right behind her and 8th Grader Haley O’Neil owned the 7th spot. They finished 6th and 7th, Aimee in 57.12 and Haley in 58.18 seconds. Cotter Freshman MacKenzie Brosnahan was seeded 4th going into the Final and knew she would have to move up to qualify for another State Swim event. MacKenzie was 3rd at the 50 split and then held off the field to finish in 3rd but qualify for the State Championship by swimming under the qualifying standard.


The 200 Free Relay seemed an anomaly with the typically quick sprinting Winhawks seeded 4th for the Championship Final. The Team of Freshman Alexandra Zuelke, Jr. Bridget Bawek, Sr. Aimee Peterson and Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan had their work cut out for them if they were to maintain the Winhawk sprinting tradition. Alexandra opened with a 25.32 to keep them even with the pack. Bridget had withdrawn from the individual 100 Free to save herself for this relay and she delivered gutting out a 24.56 split. Aimee swam home a 25.52 split setting MacKenzie up to swim a monster anchor leg of 23.94. Their Final time of 1:39.24 is an All American Consideration time but more importantly was second place and a trip to the State Meet for all of them. As happened earlier, 5 of the 7 teams qualified for State either by place or time standard.


The 100 Backstroke also had Winhawk representation in both Consolation and Championship Finals. Sophomore Olivia Staats swam the Consolation Final in 107.03 for 16th place. Winhawk Jr. Samantha Quandahl swam her second Championship Final of the evening in 1:05.42 for an 8th place finish.


The 100 Breaststroke was no different in that a Winhawk was in both Consolation and Championship Finals. Winhawk Jr. Taylor Johnson, seeded 4th in the Consolation Final led wire-to-wire dropping an awesome 1.57 seconds and winning the Consolation Final in 1:13.43 seconds. Cotter Freshman Alexandra Zuelke swam the Championship Final in 1:09.81 for a 5th place finish and just missing out on a qualifying time for State by 0.29 seconds.


Annual the 400 Free Relay is a Winhawk strong suit and this class was no exception. The team of Bridget Bawek, Aimee Peterson, MacKenzie Brosnahan and Alexandra Zuelke were seeded 2nd going into the Championship Final and they intended to maintain that position. The girl’s carried through on their commitment and brought home a State Meet Entry winning second place finish with a 3 second buffer over the next team.


So the Winhawks wrapped up the 2009 Section 1AA meet with MacKenzie Brosnahan qualifying for the 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle individual events and Bridget Bawek, Aimee Peterson, MacKenzie Brosnahan and Alexandra Zuelke qualifying for both the 200 Freestyle Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. The Winhawks as a team finished in 6th place with 232 points. The separation between 4th and 6th was only 18 points.


Final Scores:

Rochester JM           524
Rochester Century    332
Faribault                  265
Farmington               246
Owatonna               242
Winona                   232
Rochester Mayo      171

Refing at the Minnesota Grand Prix and other Swimming activities.

Day one of the Minnesota Grand Prix is in the Record Books. Both Matt Papenfuss and Abbet Staats were swimming and BOTH qualified for the evenings finals. Both were in the “C” Finals of the 200 Freestyle. Matt with a 1:42.29 and Abbey with a 1:53.96. Matt finished 3rd in his Final heat, Abbey 5th in hers.


Besides standing next to Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte and Rebecca Soni on the pool deck, I was assigned to ref the turn end of Lanes 3 & 4. So I got to judge all the fast swimmers like Soni, Bulgarian Olympian Michael Alexandrov, Kenyan Olympian Jason Dunford, and Brazilian Olympian Thiago Pereira in the Fly and IM. In the Freestyle I moved to the side of the pool and was watching over US Olympians Chloe Sutton and Kate Ziegler, as well as US National Team member 31 year old Erika Erndl.


From USA Swimming.org: http://www.usaswimming.org/usasweb/ViewNewsArticle.aspx?TabId=80&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&ItemId=2675&mid=4553

Olympians Chloe Sutton and Rebecca Soni both won two medals and set meet records Friday on the first night of the Minneapolis Grand Prix. Sutton, of Mission Viejo Nadadores, won gold in the women’s 1000-yard freestyle with a meet record of 9:33.72, and also took silver in the women’s 200y free in 1:48.18. Soni, of Trojan Swim Club, set the meet record in the finals of the women’s 100y breast in 59.69 and later took silver in the 200y IM in 2:01.75.

Sutton came out on top of a close race in the 1000 free, edging 2008 Olympic teammate Kate Ziegler by four-tenths of a second. The former meet record of 9:33.98 was set in 2007 by Swiss Olympian Flavia Rigamonti. Both Sutton and Ziegler finished more than eight seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Soni bested the former meet record in the 100y breast, set by Trojan Swim Club’s Jessica Hardy in 2007, by about a half a second. Soni touched nearly a second ahead of second-place finisher Katlin Freeman of Santa Barbara Aquatics (1:00.67), while Jillian Tyler of Minnesota was third in 1:01.16.

Besides Sutton and Soni, a number of other swimmers claimed multiple medals on day 1. Andre Schultz of the University of Michigan won gold in the men’s 1000y free (9:05.01) and silver in the 200y IM (1:46.83); Erika Erndl of Swim Florida won gold in the women’s 200y free (1:47.84) and bronze in the 200y IM (2:02.62); Talor Whitaker of Washington State won gold in the women’s 200y IM (2:00.89) and bronze in the 100y fly (55.66); and U.S. National Teamer Dan Madwed of the University of Michigan won bronze in the men’s 200y free (1:38.18) and bronze in the 100y fly (49.04).

Other swimmers winning gold in individual events Friday included Bulgarian Olympian Michael Alexandrov in the men’s 100y breast (53.61); Cal’s William Copeland in the men’s 200y free (1:36.16); Washington State’s Michaela Ahlin in the women’s 100y fly (54.11); Kenyan Olympian Jason Dunford in the men’s 100 fly (47.25); and Trojan Swim Club’s Thiago Pereira in the men’s 200y IM (1:45.41)


So it was an exciting day, coupled with getting to watch diving! Between the Prelims and Finals of swimming, they held a diving meet between U of MN and U of Nebraska. While I was watching the competition, Women’s Team Co-head coach Kelly Kremer sat next to me and we talked. He said right now the Distance swimmers are doing 65,000 yards per week. The mid-distance swimmers are at 50,000 yards and Sprinters 40,000 yards per week. He is very excited about the future of the Gopher team, they have a great underclass. A core of seniors graduated last year that will make scoring more difficult this year, but the future is very bright. They also have a new diving coach, Wenbo Chen the USA Diving Coach so the diving program is looking up as well. I asked him if the lack of diving was what cost him the Big Ten title last year. And he said no, Indiana deserved it, the U of M could not have scored enough points in diving to allow for the difference. So that was kind of cool as well as getting to watch 1 ½’s 2 ½’s and even 3 ½’s being thrown on the diving boards with most scores being in the 6’s & 7’s. I cannot wait to go back on Sunday.


On the rest of the Winona & Midwest Swimming scene, Mankato was swimming at the Border Battle Meet at Wisconsin Stevens Point today (Friday) and Saturday. In action Saturday are the Winona Winhawks at Section 1AA Finals in Rochester. The Winona Winfins travel to Mankato to swim against the Marlins, the St. Mary’s Cardinals are at home against the Macalester Scots, UW Eau Claire is swimming against UW Oshkosh, UW – La Crosse is swimming against Lawrence, and the Gopher Men & Women are of course wit hme at the Minnesota Grand Prix.

Winhawks finish Section 1AA Prelims -

Things went pretty much as expected Friday at the Section 1AA Prelims. There were some big times drops, there was some coasting into the finals, and there were some near misses.



The day started with diving 9th grader Crystal Franzwa, 8th grader Janelle Mueller, 9th grader Megan Seeley and 7th grader Sarah Scherbring all had to rise early to be at the Rochester Rec Center to start warm-ups by 9:30AM. The competition involved 23 divers performing 5 dives, and then they cut to 20 and did 3 more dives, cutting to 16. Megan & Sarah were in their first big Meet (not counting JV Big 9), learned a lot, got some experience and placed 21st & 22nd respectively. Crystal (6th place) and Janelle (tie for 15th place) advanced to the next round of three dives. Crystal threw an exceptional Inward dive Pike that scored a 5.5 and the rest 6 & 6.5’s for 29.25 pts. Next was a Reverse Double Somersault in the tuck position that scored 28.75. She wrapped up with a very pretty Reverse Dive Layout that scored 21.6pts. She finished the Semifinals in 6th place with a total of 212.25 Janelle entered the semis tied for 15 and had her work cut out for her. She threw a Back One Somersault tuck that netted 17.2 pts. Then she went with a very well executed Reverse Dive Pike that scored 20.55 pts. She wrapped up with a Front Dive Pike and 13.65 points. Janelle finished up in 17th place, just missing diving in the Finals on Saturday. Being an 8th grader, she will have great things coming ahead of her in the seasons to come.


The Relays in the Prelims were a little anti-climactic. With only 7 teams competing in Sections, each relay is guaranteed swimming in the Finals; they just have to avoid false starting, jumping at an exchange or getting a stroke infraction, so none of them pushed it, saving themselves for the Finals.


The 200 Free saw both 8th grader Gabby Kleinow and 9th Grader Grace Ell dropping time off their seeds, but no one advanced on to the Finals.


The 200IM is also an event for the future for the Winhawks. Both Jr. Mallory Porter and 8th Grader Reese Galewski shaved a half second off their seeds, but again it appears no one will be in the finals.


The 50 Free featured some of the Winhawks high performers for the year, and tonight’s prelims were no exception. All four Winhawks entered will be swimming again on Saturday in the finals. Sr. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson dropped nearly a second off her seed time and placed 10th, the second seed in the Consolation Finals. 9th Grader Alexandra Zuelke dropped over 1.1 seconds from her seedtime to finish in 7th, Jr. Bridget Bawek dropped a second to finish 5th and So MacKenzie Brosnahan swam her seed time, but that landed her the 2nd seed. All three girls will be in the Championship Final Saturday afternoon.


The 100 Butterfly saw Reese Galewski swim 0.6 seconds under her seed and Jr. Samantha Quandahl shaved a whopping 3.43 seconds off her seed for a 1:00.57 and date with the Championship Final on Saturday afternoon.


The 100 Freestyle again shone the spotlight on the Winhawk Sprinters. Sr. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson tuned in nearly a 3 second drop. Both Jr. Bridget Bawek and 8th grader Haley O’Neil dropped a second and a half and SO MacKenzie Brosnahan maintained her high placing to return for Saturday’s Finals.


The 100 Backstroke saw Erika Johnsrud reinforce why she should have been swimming back all season dropping a second and a half from her seed time. It also saw So Olivia Staats drop nearly a second and is subsequently swimming in Saturday’s Consolation Finals, and Jr. Samantha Quandahl dropped nearly 3 seconds to land the finals spot in the Championship Finals.


The 100 Breaststroke had a good swim from Jr. Taylor Johnson dropping 0.7 seconds, and 9th Grader Alexandra Zuelke dropped over 3 seconds to take a seed in the Championship Final.


All-in-all there were some good time drops and some real potential to convert dreams to State Meet visits. Only time and hard work sits between these swimmers, and a date with the U of M pool next weekend.

 

Minnesota Grand Prix Format

For those of you thionking about taking you swimmers to see the action, here are some additional meet details.

The 2009 Minnesota Grand Prix is a Prelims/Finals meet with the top 24 swimmers advancing to Finals. Each event during Finals will consist of Bonus, Consolation, and Championship Final heats, except for the 1000 Freestyle, 1650 Freestyle, and all relays, which will be conducted as timed final events. Flyover starts will be used during prelims.



                     Warm-up     Competition         Warm-up             Competition
Friday         7:00‐8:50am     9:00am               4:30‐5:50pm          6:00pm

Saturday     7:00‐8:50am     9:00am                4:30‐5:50pm          6:00pm

Sunday       7:00‐8:50am     9:00am                3:30‐4:50pm           5:00pm



ORDER OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, NOV 14

1000 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
200 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
200 Individual Medley
10 MINUTE BREAK
800 Freestyle Relay



SATURDAY, NOV. 15

400 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
500 Freestyle
10 MINUTE BREAK
400 Medley Relay


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16

1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Butterfly
1650 Freestyle
10 MINUTE BREAK
400 Freestyle Relay

Minnesota Grand Prix returns for 2009

Want a chance to get your young swimmers in front of the names that make up their sport of choice?


Some of the best of the USA National Swimming Team converge on the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center for three days of competition November 13 -15. For the National team members it is the first step in accumulating points toward the $20,000 grand prize. For other swimmers, it is a chance to do their thing and see how they stack up. They come from Washington State to Connecticut, from California to Florida, essentially all four corners of the United States. You can see former and future Olympians, teenagers and adults all appearing here in Minnesota. They are starting their preparations for the ConocoPhillips National Championships and the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships both scheduled for next August.


This is a chance to bring out your young swimmers and let them connect with the names and celebrities from the sport of their choice. You get get up close and get autographs from many of the current and future stars. Top U.S. swimmers, including Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) and World Championship silver medalist Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), will be here. In addition to Soni and Clary, the field in Minneapolis will be headlined by U.S. Olympians Kate Ziegler (Great Falls, Va.) and Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Bulgarian Olympian Mike Alexandrov. Minnesota native and Paralympic record-holder Mallory Weggemann (Eagan, Minn.) and U.S. National Team members Christine Jennings (Longmont, Colo.) and Ashley Steenvoorden (East Brunswick, N.J. & The University of MN) will also compete in the event.


The psyc sheet gives an indication of the blazing times that will be displayed this weekend. Here are the events (less relays) with the top seeds and their times. Along with a few familar names. Most of the events have anywhere from 70 to 120 entries, all seeded at times faster than any swimmer you have ever seen.


Event 1 Women 1000 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ziegler, Kate M 21 The Fish-PV 9:18.35

2 Sutton, Chloe E 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 9:33.11

3 Brandon, Bonnie D 15 Mission Aurora C-CO 9:45.47


4 Steenvoorden, Ashley N 19 University of Minnesota-MN 9:50.29

5 Brandon, Loren E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 9:58.79

6 Tommerdahl, Lissa M 19 University of Minnesota-MN 10:05.23


Event 2 Men 1000 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Koucheravy, Thomas M 24 Trojan Swim Club-CA 9:02.03

2 Daniec, Jan J 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 9:07.05

3 Cullom, Charles D 18 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 9:12.63



Event 3 Women 100 Yard Breaststroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Soni, Rebecca I 22 Trojan Swim Club-CA 58.10

2 Clark, Corrie L 27 Suburban Seahawks Club-MA 59.82

3 Freeman, Katlin N 22 Santa Barbara Aquatics Club-CA 1:00.48

4 Tyler, Jillian D 21 University of Minnesota-MN 1:01.10



Event 4 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Alexandrov, Mihail P 24 Unattached FORD-AZ 51.80 *

2 Mahoney, Sean R 21 Unattached CAL-PC 52.07

3 Lowe, Matthew T 24 Longhorn Aquatics-ST 53.18



Event 5 Women 200 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ziegler, Kate M 21 The Fish-PV 1:44.78

2 Erndl, Erika A 31 Swim Florida-FL 1:44.87

3 Jennings, Christine E 22 Unattached-MN 1:47.60

4 Sutton, Chloe E 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 1:47.72

47 Staats, Abigail E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 1:56.55



Event 6 Men 200 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Clary, Scott T 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:33.10

2 Klueh, Michael P 22 Longhorn Aquatics-ST 1:33.25

3 Madwed, Daniel L 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:33.66

35 Papenfuss, Matt J 19 University of Minnesota-MN 1:42.38



Event 7 Women 100 Yard Butterfly

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ahlin, Michaela M 22 Washington State University-IE 53.40

2 Bechtel, Christina G 16 Excel Aquatics-SE 54.61

3 Whitaker, Talor A 21 Washington State University-IE 55.19

4 Ogden, Julie R 17 Lawrence Swim Team-IN 55.39

5 Jamison, Kaylee R 20 University of Minnesota-MN 55.55



Event 8 Men 100 Yard Butterfly

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Brady, Christopher D 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 45.24

2 Dunford, Jason E 22 Unattached-PC 45.43

3 Mandel, Alon 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 46.70



Event 9 Women 200 Yard IM

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Clark, Corrie L 27 Suburban Seahawks Club-MA 1:57.80

2 Proud, Stephanie M 21 Unattached GSC-FL 1:58.65

3 Soni, Rebecca I 22 Trojan Swim Club-CA 1:58.78



Event 10 Men 200 Yard IM

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ally, Bradley K 22 Unattached GSC-FL 1:40.49

2 Clary, Scott T 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:41.67

3 Schultz, Andre 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:42.69



Event 13 Women 400 Yard IM

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Proud, Stephanie M 21 Unattached GSC-FL 4:07.00

2 Soni, Rebecca I 22 Trojan Swim Club-CA 4:15.45

3 Ahlin, Michaela M 22 Washington State University-IE 4:17.23



Event 14 Men 400 Yard IM

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Clary, Scott T 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 3:35.98

2 Ally, Bradley K 22 Unattached GSC-FL 3:38.20

3 Schultz, Andre 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 3:42.29

4 Clark, Ian R 25 Suburban Seahawks Club-MA 3:48.63



Event 15 Women 50 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Mileisyte, Rugile 21 Washington State University-IE 22.45

2 Erndl, Erika A 31 Swim Florida-FL 22.70

3 Brandon, Bonnie D 15 Mission Aurora C-CO 23.47

4 Bagan, Tori G 17 SWAC Swim Team-IN 23.48

5 Ziegler, Kate M 21 The Fish-PV 23.48

21 Staats, Abigail E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 24.32



Event 16 Men 50 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Copeland, William F 23 California Aquatics-PC 19.05

2 Dunford, Jason E 22 Unattached-PC 19.09

3 Clark, Bennett G 23 California Aquatics-PC 19.44

34 Papenfuss, Matt J 19 University of Minnesota-MN 21.79



Event 17 Women 200 Yard Breaststroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Soni, Rebecca I 22 Trojan Swim Club-CA 2:04.75

2 Freeman, Katlin N 22 Santa Barbara Aquatics Club-CA 2:08.50

3 Clark, Corrie L 27 Suburban Seahawks Club-MA 2:10.61



Event 18 Men 200 Yard Breaststroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Alexandrov, Mihail P 24 Unattached FORD-AZ 1:51.96 *

2 Mahoney, Sean R 21 Unattached CAL-PC 1:51.96

3 Lowe, Matthew T 24 Longhorn Aquatics-ST 1:56.21



Event 19 Women 100 Yard Backstroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Proud, Stephanie M 21 Unattached GSC-FL 54.36

2 Brandon, Bonnie D 15 Mission Aurora C-CO 54.77

3 Mileisyte, Rugile 21 Washington State University-IE 54.88



Event 20 Men 100 Yard Backstroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Russell, David P 23 California Aquatics-PC 45.30

2 Tullius, Rexford C 22 Unattached GSC-FL 45.82

3 Mandel, Alon 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 46.47



Event 21 Women 500 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ziegler, Kate M 21 The Fish-PV 4:32.71

2 Sutton, Chloe E 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 4:41.69

3 Jennings, Christine E 22 Unattached-MN 4:41.98

7 Steenvoorden, Ashley N 19 University of Minnesota-MN 4:53.01

8 Steenvoorden, Kristen M 19 University of Minnesota-MN 4:53.32

12 Brandon, Loren E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 4:56.03

35 Weggemann, Mallory E 20 Twin Cities Swim Team-MN 6:54.19



Event 22 Men 500 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Klueh, Michael P 22 Longhorn Aquatics-ST 4:09.32

2 Clary, Scott T 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 4:14.66

3 Houchin, Charles G 22 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 4:17.72

57 Papenfuss, Matt J 19 University of Minnesota-MN 4:46.77



Event 25 Women 1650 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Steenvoorden, Ashley N 19 University of Minnesota-MN 15:55.21

2 Sutton, Chloe E 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 15:56.97

3 Brandon, Bonnie D 15 Mission Aurora C-CO 16:11.62

4 Jennings, Christine E 22 Unattached-MN 16:16.69

5 Brandon, Loren E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 16:39.01

6 Tommerdahl, Lissa M 19 University of Minnesota-MN 16:40.00

7 Steenvoorden, Kristen M 19 University of Minnesota-MN 16:45.32



Event 26 Women 200 Yard Backstroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Proud, Stephanie M 21 Unattached GSC-FL 1:51.81

2 Brandon, Bonnie D 15 Mission Aurora C-CO 1:54.79

3 Anton, Katharine P 16 Cedar Rapids Aquatic-IA 1:59.04



Event 27 Men 200 Yard Backstroke

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Clary, Scott T 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:37.58

2 Tullius, Rexford C 22 Unattached GSC-FL 1:39.88

3 Schirk, Patrick C 22 Unattached-MA 1:40.22



Event 28 Women 100 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Erndl, Erika A 31 Swim Florida-FL 49.07

2 Mileisyte, Rugile 21 Washington State University-IE 49.81

3 Ziegler, Kate M 21 The Fish-PV 50.45

6 Caflisch, Erin L 18 Unattached-MN 50.91

26 Staats, Abigail E 18 University of Minnesota-MN 52.87



Event 29 Men 100 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Copeland, William F 23 California Aquatics-PC 41.75

2 Clark, Bennett G 23 California Aquatics-PC 42.78

3 Dunford, Jason E 22 Unattached-PC 42.79

29 Papenfuss, Matt J 19 University of Minnesota-MN 47.03



Event 30 Women 200 Yard Butterfly

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ahlin, Michaela M 22 Washington State University-IE 1:56.46

2 Belk, Molly E 20 University of Minnesota-MN 2:02.69

3 Bechtel, Christina G 16 Excel Aquatics-SE 2:02.77



Event 31 Men 200 Yard Butterfly

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Ally, Bradley K 22 Unattached GSC-FL 1:42.56

2 Madwed, Daniel L 20 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 1:43.96

3 Dunford, Jason E 22 Unattached-PC 1:46.09



Event 32 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle

Name Age Team Seed Time

1 Klueh, Michael P 22 Longhorn Aquatics-ST 14:34.96

2 DeJong, Adam J 21 Univ. Of Michigan Swim Team-MI 15:07.16

3 Daniec, Jan J 17 Mission Viejo Nadadores-CA 15:19.02

The Winhawk Girls head to Rochester to lay it all on the line at Sections.

Thursday afternoon the Winona Winhawks jump in the Rochester Recreation Center Pool with a trip to State on the line. All the dual meets, invitationals, and even the Big 9 Conference Meet have no bearing on the potential offered swimmers by the Section 1AA meet. When they enter the pool for their 100, 200 or even 500 yard swims, at the end of the event the State Meet waits for a select few. The top two finishers at Sections and any that can swim beneath the qualifying standard get to reach that promised land, the MSHSL Girls’ State Swimming & Diving Championships. The second tier of opportunities offered a swimmer at Sections is the finals. The Sections meet is a prelim and finals meet, the only one of the season for the Winhawks. There is a gratitude offered a swimmer by going up against 20 to 30 other swimmers, and finishing in the elite group that get to swim the Finals two days later. In the case of the divers, they get a double dose. Divers have to make the first cut from prelims to semi-finals, and ultimately a second cut to get into finals.


Certainly All Big 9 Conference Winhawk swimmers Junior Bridget Bawek 50 & 100 freestyle), Junior Samantha Quandahl, (100 Butterfly) Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan (50 & 100 Freestyle) and Freshman Alexandra Zuelke (100 Breaststroke) have the potential to punch their ticket to the U of M Aquatic Center and next week’s State meet. Senior Co-Captain Aimee Peterson an Honorable Mention Big 9 has the potential to pull off a big surprise and go along to State in the 50 Freestyle. The 400 Free Relay of Bawek, Sophmore Olivia Staats, Brosnahan and Zuelke has an excellent chance of heading to State if they can make safe exchanges and execute turns. The same can be said for the 200 Free Relay of Bawek, 8th Grader Haley O’Neil, Peterson and Brosnahan, but they will have to upset Owatonna to do it, which in itself is a desirable goal much less a State Meet slot.

There are a good number of Winhawks that may get that return trip to Saturday’s Finals. Sections is a pseudo repeat of the Big 9 less Austin, Albert Lea, Mankato East & West which all compete in Class A. Added to the picture is Missota Conference Team Farmington. Accounting for the positions vacated and then re-seeded, some young Winhawks have a real chance of swimming Saturday in the Finals. Some Winhawks that can work their way to the Finals and swim/dive Saturday night include:

8th Grader Reese Galewski in the 200IM and 100Fly
Junior Taylor Johnson in the 50 Free and 100 Breaststroke
8th Grader Crystal Franswa in Diving
Junior Erin Bernardy in the 100Butterfly
Junior Mallory Porter in the 100 Butterfly
7th Grader McKenzie Porter in the 500 Freestyle
8th Grader Gabby Kleinow in the 500 Freestyle
8th Grader Haley O’Neil in the 200 Free

The Section 1AA meet will be a meet of surprises, excitement and drama. That much is guaranteed, the remaining fruits to be realized are left up to desire.

Section 1AA Teams
Farmington High School
Owatonna High School
Rochester Century High School
Rochester Mayo High School
Coop: 160 "Faribault"
                    Bethlehem Academy
                    Faribault High School (HOST)
                    Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
Coop: 376 "Rochester John Marshall"
                    Byron High School
                    Rochester John Marshall (HOST)
                    Rochester Lourdes High School
Coop: 490 "Winona H.S."
                     Cotter High School
                      Hope Lutheran High School
                      Winona High School (HOST)

Local Colleges in action last Weekend

The MSUM Mavericks ran up the highway a few miles to take on Gustavus Adolphus. Both the Men & Women prevailed. Winona native Mary Bastian was not in the water.

Final Results

Women -
1. Minnesota State University 141               2. Gustavus 98


Men - 
1. Minnesota State University 119               2. Gustavus 117


UW - LaCrosse traveled to St. Olaf and swam in the Northfield Invitational. There were no scores kept but the Eagles had some good swims. 
http://www.uwlathletics.com/news/2009/11/7/MSWIM_1107093735.aspx

Wizards take their first splashes at the Tigershark Thankgiving Classic

On Sunday four Wizards traveled to Farmington to join 647 other swimmers trying their best in the pool.

Megan Ell    Swam the 100 Breast in 2:43.33 for 25th place and the 50 Free in 54.10 for 44th place.


Anna Kuasova  Swam a pair of solid "C" times with a 37.27 in the 50 Free for 19th place and a 1:32.35Y in the 100 Back for another 19th place.


Grant Wolner swam an awesome "B" time of 46.36 in the 50 Free for a 5th place finish.  Grant could have had another "B" time in the 50 Breast. He swam a solid 56.33Y  but DQ'ed himself with an incorrect swimming stroke that the coaches will be working on right away. Grant also swan a "C"  time of 1:04.70 in the 50 Fly but DQ'ed himself when he did not finish the race with a two handed touch at the wall. Coach Kristina will be working with all the kids on their turns and finishes.



Griffin Wolner swam a solid 100 IM "B" time in 1:36.24 for 13the place , a low "B" time in the 100 Breast of 1:41.37, (a new personal best time ) for 8th place. He also scored a solid "B" time of 34.69 in the 50 Free for 11th place.

Well done Wizards, you put out a great effort in a really big meet and did your club proud!

St. Mary’s Cardinals taste victory three times in one afternoon in St. Paul

The SMU Cardinals saw a couple of victories on Saturday.


They men swam a double dual against Univ of St. Thomas and Hamline University. The Women swam a triple dual against Hamline, St. Kate’s and Augsburg.


The Men Cardinals won their contest against Hamline. The Women Cardinals won theirs against Augsburg and Hamline.


The SMU Lady Divers took 2-3 in 1 meter competition.


In the 200 Medley Relay the SMU Woemn took took 2nd overall. The SMU Men, Featuring John Fox in the Breatstroke and Tom Walsh on the Free anchor took 1st place in 1:44.52


In the 1000 Free, Cardinal Tom Walsh took 3rd swimming in 11:56.00


Men’s 100 Free, John Fox took 2nd in 52.00.


IN the Men’s 500 Free Tom Walsh took 5th in 5:40.37


In the 100 Breast, John Fox won in a 1:02.35

Hamline Invite - 11/7/2009

Men

Saint Mary's University         111.00            78.00 Hamline University


University of St. Thomas      183.00             44.00 Hamline University


Women


Hamline University              140.00               45.00 Augsburg College



Saint Mary's Univeristy        131.00               71.00 Augsburg College



St. Catherine University       190.00               27.00 Augsburg College



Saint Mary's Univeristy        121.00               95.00 Hamline University



St. Catherine University       165.00               57.00 Hamline University



St. Catherine University       178.00                54.00 Saint Mary's Univeristy

Minnesota harvests a pair of wins south of the border.

The University of Minnesota Gophers went to corn country to swim against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Gopher Men lead their series 44-39 but have dominated lately, putting their streak of nine straight wins in a row over Iowa on the line. The Women Gophers dominated Iowa last year and looked to repeat that outcome.


The Gopher Women came out strong going 1-3-4 in the 400Medley Relay. Abbey Staats swam the Anchor on the “C” Relay swimming a blistering 23.69 50FR.


In the 1000 Free, The Gopher Women went 1-2-3-5 and the Men went 1-2-4-5.


The 200 Free had Winonan Matt Papenfuss splashing for the first time of the evening in 1:43.44 scoring for the Gophers.


After some mixed results in the 100 Back, the 100 Breast saw the Gopher Women swim 1-2-3 and the Gopher Men 1-3-4-5.


The 200 Fly was a continuation with the Gopher Women swimming 1-2-3-5 and the Men 1-2-4.


The 50 Free saw the Gopher Women produce a 2-3-4-5 finish with 5th being Winona Abbey Staats in a time of 24.39. The Gopher Men went 1-2.


The Gopher Women dominated the 1 Meter Diving, going 1-2 and winning by 50+ points.


The 100 Free saw Abbey Staats bring home a 3rd place finish in 52.96 bracketed by her teammates taking 2-3-4-5. The Men’s 100 Free had Matt Papenfuss swim 7th in a time of 47.50.


The 500 Free had the Gopher Women start to swim Exhibition. Real time had them bring home 1-2-3 but they only got points for first. The Gopher men brought home 1-2-3-4.



Same for the 100 Fly the Gopher Women would have touched in 1-2-3.


The Gopher Women ran away with the 3 Meter Diving going 1-2 and outscoring the Iowa divers by 180 and 90 points respectively.


The 400 Fr Relay saw Abbey Staats swimming with the “A” Gopher Relay in the second spot. She swam a 52.42 leg and helped bring home a 2nd place. The Gopher Men’s event had Matt Papenfuss swimming with the Gopher “A” Relay the the 3rd position. He touched his leg in at 46.59 and they finished 3rd behind Iowa and the Gopher “B” Relay.


Finals Scores

1. University of Minnesota,  Twin       176          2. University of Iowa,       118


1. University of Minnesota,   Twin       184         2. University of Iowa,       114

The coming Weekend for Winona Swimmers

The Winona SHS Winhawks are in the throws of their end-of-season taper, working toward making their statement at the Section 1AA Swimming Championships.


In the mean time, all the other squads with Winona ties are busy.


The University of Minnesota Men & Women will be lapping the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City Friday night. Both Matt Papenfuss and Abbey Staats should be making the trip and I will report on how they and the Gophers do south of the border.


Also Friday night the Minnesota State University - Mankato Mavericks will swim at home against their rivals right up the road in St. Peter, Gustavus Adolphus. Mary Bastian will be looking to help her Mavericks get into the win column for the first time this season.


Saturday sees the Winona YMCA Winfins travel to Austin for the annual Pumpkin Relays. Usually the first meet of the season, the Winfins have their National Virtual meet under their belts so they should swim well in Austin.


The SMU Cardinals will travel to St. Paul and swim against the Pipers of Hamline. Both the schools squads, men & women are close in size so it should be a good competition. As soon as I see results I will let you know how Winonans John Fox and Aaron Hayes do, as well as our adopted Winonan Tom Walsh.


Also on Saturday UW-LaCrosse will drive past us to swim in Northfield at the Cows, Colleges, & Contentment Classic with Carlton and St. Olaf.


Sunday the Winona Wizards will be traveling to Farmington for the Tigershark Thanksgiving Classic. Shannon Wolner will be directing some Wizards while they compete with 650 other USA swimmers in the second open ABC meet of the season which appears to be a very popular weekend.


I will try to post all the results as they become available.

Winhawks mirror their dual meet season at Big 9 Conference Meet.

The Winona Winhawk Girls’ Swimming Team went into the Big 9 meet having defeated, Rochester Mayo, Austin & Albert Lea, and fallen to Owatonna, Faribault, Rochester JM & Rochester Century. At the completion of the Big 9 Meet, the landscape looked similar, only now the Winhawks could add Mankato East & West to the defeated column. Winona finished 5th behind those same teams that caused them difficulty in the dual meet season. Of course Rochester JM beat up on everybody and the Faribault Falcons beat up on everyone but JM, so the Winhawks had their sights set on Owatonna, which was their closest dual meet of the season. The two teams finished 50 points apart in the end, which in Championship scoring isn’t much of a difference. Not knowing who was tapered and who will be swimming what events, the Section 1AA meet will be a great contest to watch.



The Winhawks came ready to swim and dive and appeared to have put trick or treating on the back burner and out of their minds. In spite of still working hard and only in the early throws of tapering, there were some excellent swims, some seasonal and individual bests and gusty performances.


The Diving prelims and semi-finals were held in the AM. Coach JJ had to get Crystal Franswa and Janelle Mueller up early to head to Albert Lea HS on their own. Warm-ups were at 9 and diving started at 10AM. There were 35 divers competing which made for a long warm-up and a lot of time to watch the others and contemplate. Being a championship meet, divers need to have an eleven dive list, 5 required dives and 6 optional dives. Winhawk 8th grader Janell Mueller looked a little nervous on her first dive, a Forward dive pike position, rushing it a little bit and caused the judges some issues on how to judge it. After that she settled down nicely. Her next three dives all scored 20+ points. She got good height on her Forward 1 1/2ss pike and a very pretty Back dive layout that scored her 3.5 up to 5’s. She ended up just missing the cut to semi-finals by a few points and will take some added experience into Sections. Winhawk 9th Grader Crystal Franswa was pretty consistent through out her competition. Her opening dive, a Front 1 ½ ss pike went for 4.5’s to 5.5’s and got her going well. Her final dive of the prelims, a Front 2ss in pike position scored only 3.0 – 4.5’s but the higher 2.2 degree of difficulty scored her 25.30 points and made a good transition into the semi-finals. She got a great lead-off in the Semi’s with a beautiful Back Dive layout that scored 4.5 to 6.0’s. Next she threw a newer dive for her, a Forward 1 ½ SS with 1 twist (I only recall one other diver trying it on Saturday). A little loose, the judges were widely dispersed in scores from 1.5 to 4.0, but that higher DD of 2.2 scored her 22 points, well worth the risk of throwing it. She finished the semi’s with a pretty Reverse Dive Layout scoring 4.0 – 5.5’s for a 183.95 subtotal and 11th place going into the Finals in the afternoon. Diving has an unpredictable element to it for the coaches and the divers, as to where you stand. Some divers save their best dives for last, so they know psychologically the best is yet to come. Others throw their “bread & butter” dives early to get high in the standings early and try to ride the wave into the finals to make sure they get there. So the divers themselves rarely know what is to come in the finals, only that they have to focus on what they are doing, and let the chips fall where they may. Crystal saved her “good stuff” for the Finals leading off with a Forward 1ss with 2 twists, a DD of 2.3 that netted her 28.60 points. She followed up with a beautiful Inward 1 ½ ss tuck that went for 5.5 – 6.5’s and 37.4 points. She wrapped up Finals with a Back 1ss with 2 ½ twists, DD of 2.7. The Degrees of Difficulty range from 1.0 – 3.1, so the DD of 2.7 is about as hard a dive as there is on 1 meter board. She scored 3.0 – 4.0 for the dive but that high DD got her 27.00 points. Her final 3 dives lifted her up two spots to finish 9th and a promising outlook for Sections!


On a personal note, I really wish there was a way we could get the diving boards back to the HS so swimming & diving competitions reunite. The competition is worth the effort it would take.


The swimming got underway at 2PM and it was an exciting atmosphere. After months of duals meets against each other and a partially attended Section True Team, they were all together at once. The stands were packed to overflowing with attendants urging everyone to squeeze closer and closer together. Everyone, teams and parents were ready for a good meet.


The 200Medley Relay hasn’t been a strong point for the Winhawks all season but they gave it their all. The “B” relay of JR. Erin Bernardy, FR. Grace Ell, 8th Gr. McKenna Marg and JR. Taylor Johnson couldn’t score points (only one relay is allowed in Champ meets, the other swims exhibition) but they swam a good 2:10.93 that moved them a few places higher in the standings. The “A” Relay of JR Samantha Quandahl, 8th Gr Reese Galewski, FR Alexandra Zuelke and SR. Co-Captain Aimee Peterson all had good swims and it was necessary. Obviously the electricity of the meet had everyone inspired. The Winhawks were in a dead heat all the way through both Samantha’s and Reese’s BK and FL legs, Alexandra swam her best split of the season to open up a lead and Aimee swam her best freestyle split in 6 weeks allowing the Winhawks to maintain their 8th place seed and 0.3 seconds out of 7th. The Rochester JM team shattered the pool record by just over 2 seconds. This was the first indication this would be a hard fought day in the pool.


The 200FR led off with 8th Gr. Gabby Kleinow digging deep and pulling ahead in the last 25 yards to win the first heat, bettering her seed time by nearly 3 seconds. Haley O’Neil swam a gutsy race. Seeded sixth in her heat, she took the lead at the 100 and held it through the 150 mark falling back to touch 2nd in a season best 2:11.23. SO Olivia Staats swam a 2:10.64 for 15th place overall. The winning swimmer from JM again shattered the pool record by 3.5 seconds, a common theme for the rest of the day.


The 200IM started out with a season’s best swim from JR Mallory Porter, cutting over 4 seconds off her seed time. Fr Alexandra Zuelke’s swim produced the first referee issue. Everyone on the deck and in the stands saw Alex touch 2nd in her heat but her time on the Daktronics system scoreboard showed differently. After Coach Burt protested, the Scorer’s table had to defer to the Officials’ order of finish and subsequently the back-up times to correctly log her finish as 2:26.13 in 9th place only 0.3 seconds out of the medals.


The 50FR was one of the high points of the meet for the Winhawks. Being such a “quick” event and without having tapered yet, JR Taylor Johnson and SR Aimee Peterson swam their seed times and finished in 20th and 13th place respectively. JR Bridget Bawek swam her best time of the season to move up and medal in 5th place. SO MacKenzie Brosnahan, being the awesome utility swimmer that she is, swam the 50 for only the second time this season but set a new personal best at 24.95 moving up to 5th fastest ever as a Winhawk and good for a Big 9 2nd place medal.


The 100BF Saw JR Erin Bernardy swim a personal best 1:16.77, bettering her seed time by over 3 seconds and moving up over 9 spots in the final standings. One of the team leaders, JR. Samantha Quandahl swam a season best 1:04.00 moving up from 10th seed into the medals at 7th place.


The 100FR saw SR Co-Captain Aimee Peterson, who has been busy swimming the 500FR all season, swim a season best 59.02 and JR Bridget Bawek swam her fastest time in almost 2 months to bot score poins for the Winhawks. SO MacKenzie Brosnahan swam her second fastest 100 of the season, at 55.38 to medal again in 3rd place.


The 500FR delivered one of the most exciting races of the day. It is an event of the future for the Winhawks. All season long some of the utility Winhawk swimmers like Aimee Peterson, Samantha Quandahl and MacKenzie Brosnahan have plugged in to swim when needed. Here at Big 9 they were needed to swim elsewhere leaving the underclasswomen to fend for themselves. Winhawk 7th grader McKenzie Porter, one of only a half dozen 7th graders to compete at Big 9, rose to the challenge. Coach Burt instructed her to go out with and STAY with the 9th grader in the lane next to her, telling her exactly what he wanted her to do to accomplish it. An interesting side factor to the equation was that even though the swimmer was from Austin, McKenzie and the swimmer had befriended each other last summer during a weeks stay at the YMCA’s Camp Olsen. Although there was earlier pre-meet discussion and catch-up, there was no such interaction as they waited behind the blocks. Both knew what their mission was, to beat the other. McKenzie was so jazzed up to get going that she nearly jumped and almost false started. The Referee stood the swimmers up and after remaining motionless on the second try, sent them. McKenzie stayed right with the older “fellow camper”, causing what appeared to be some panic on the Austin swimmer’s part and a push early on that McKenzie matched. At the midway point, lap 11, McKenzie pulled ahead putting another scare into the 9th grader from Austin and the two went head to head for the remainder. The Austin swimmer could not let the younger upstart show her up and dug deep to pull out a victory in the last 25 yards with McKenzie touching a few seconds back in 6:18.29. McKenzie moved up 6 spots from her seed to 25th place in the final standings, improving her personal best by almost 5 seconds and earning a LOT of respect.


The 200 Free Relay, unlike the Medley, has been a high point for the Winhawks this season winning every dual meet contest but one. JR. Bridget Bawek, 8th Gr Haley O’Neil, SR. Co-Caption Aimee Peterson and SO MacKenzie Brosnahan swam a season best 144.92 to touch 2nd in their heat and take 3rd overall. A driven Owatonna relay had won the previous heat with a 2 ½ second time drop that took 2nd overall setting up a BIG show down for Sections. This performance also moved these girls up one notch to being the 5th fastest in Winhawk history, a half second behind the team of Jenny Bentley, Olson, Sarah Daniels and Becky Sutton way back in 1990.


The 100BK was an event of surprises and acknowledging hard work for the Winhawks. The event saw the first heat containing Winhawk JR Erika Jonsrud who was swimming the event for the first time. You wouldn’t have guessed it by her performance, executing her turns like a veteran and winning the heat and ultimately moving up 6 spots in the standings from her seed time to 26th place! Winhawk SO Olivia Staats came next, winning her heat in a personal best 1:07.74 and also moving up four spots to finish 14th overall. The last Winhawk to cash in on her hard work was JR Samantha Quandahl who swam a personal best 1:06.55 dropping 6 spots to finish in 10th place overall.


The 100BR saw Winhawk JR Taylor Johnson continue to get better and better. She swam a personal best for the fourth time this year, touching in 1:15.68 good for 10th place overall. The final heat featured Winhawk FR Alexandra Zuelke seeded 5th and medaling in that same spot. She swam a 1:13.39 just off her season’s best implying good things to come at Sections.


The 400 Free Relay has also been a strong point for the Winhawks winning every dual meet contest but one as well. Seeded third in the final heat, the Winhawks team led by JR. Bridget Bawek, SO Olivia Staats, SO MacKenzie Brosnahan and FR Alexandra Zuelke (who swam her fastest FR relay split ever at 56.95) edged out Faribault to medal 2nd overall.

Winhawk Big 9 - All Conference Selections:

Junior Bridget Bawek
Junior Samantha Quandahl
Sophomore MacKenzie Brosnahan
Freshman Alexandra Zuelke


Honorable Mention Big 9:
Senior Co-Captain Aimee Peterson



Final Standings

1st      Rochester John Marshall        527 pts
2nd     Faribault                                  299 pts
3rd      Rochester Century                  265 pts
4th      Owatonna                                251 pts
5th     Winona                                     207 pts
6th     Rochester Mayo                       179 pts
7th tie Albert Lea & Austin               138 pts
9th      Mankato West                         128 pts
10th    Mankato East                            67 pts


A SPECIAL thanks to Jan Brosnahan for keeping all the swimmer and relay season statistics which make this blog so much more information filled on season performances.