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.