Winhawks swimmers start out season strong.

The Winona High Winhawks were too much for the young Albert Lea Tigers to handle tonight at the Winona SHS Pool. Winning their debut meet of the season, the Winhawks took 1st and 2nd in every event they had two or more entries in except the 50 Free & 100 Back.


The opening 200 yard Medley Relay saw the Winhawks “A” relay of Sr. Ryan Whalen, Sr. Santino LaPorta, 8th grader Roger Brosnahan and Jr. Louie LaPorta win 1st handily in 1:49.49. The Winhawk “B” Relay of So. Avery Prondzinski, 8th gr. Cal Dretske, Jr. Matt Bagshaw and Jr. Gio Borsari touch in 2nd place in 2:02..06, well ahead of the Albert Lea “A” Relay.

Score, Albert Lea 2, Winona Winhawks 12

The 200 Freestyle was a Winhawk 1-2 event with Sr. Josh Danzinger swimming in clean water the entire way and touching in 2:03.04. So. Joey Kleinow drove hard with no AL Tigers in sight to a clean 2nd at 2:13.52.

Score, Albert Lea 8, Winona Winhawks 22

The 200 IM was a Winhawk 1-2-4 finish. Winhawk Sr. Ryan Whalen swam a winning 2:13.74, followed by newcomer 8th gr Cal Dretske taking 2nd with a 2:30.75. Jr. Matt Bagshaw brought home the brought home 4th place points in 2:45.80.

Score, Albert Lea 12, Winona Winhawks 34

The 50 yard Freestyle saw Winhawk 1st year swimmer 8th grader Roger Brosnahan announce his presence with a first place finish in 25.02 seconds. The LaPorta brothers, Jr. Louie and Sr. Santino brought home a solid 3rd & 4th in 25.86 and 26.47 respectively.

Score, Albert Lea 17, Winona Winhawks 45

Although the Diving was miles away at the Winona Middle School, they seemed to be clued into the theme of the night as they too finished 1-2-3. Jr. Justin Bublitz finished 1st scoring big points on his Forward 1 ½ ss Pike scoring 5 1/2 , 5 ½ , 6, and his Forward 1 ½ ss with 1 Twist scoring 6 ½, 5, 5 ½. Jr. Stan Petkov brought home 2nd place scoring on his Forward 2 ½ ss Tuck and a Forward 1 ss with 1 Twist going for 5,4,5. So Dan Karnick finished the Winhawk sweep scoring straight 5’s on both his Inward Dive and Forward dive.

Score, Albert Lea 19, Winona Winhawks 58

The100 Yard Fly was won by the Winhawk’s only entry, Jr. Matt Bagshaw in 1:122.83.

Score, Albert Lea 28, Winona Winhawks 64

The 100 Yard Freestyle was a 1-2-3 for the Winona Winhawks. Building on his 50 free win, the 8th grader touched in 56.09 seconds for his second individual win and third win of the evening. Winhawk So. Joey Kleinow took 2nd and joined the Minuteman Club winning in 58.79 seconds. Winona So. Avery Prondzinski maxed out the Winhawks possible points taking 3rd in 1:00.66.

Score, Albert Lea 31, Winona Winhawks 77

The 500 yard Freestyle featured one lone Winhawk competitor, Sr. Josh Danzinger. Josh finished in 1st place in 5:39.29, four lengths ahead of the Tigers bracketing him.

Score, Albert Lea 38, Winona Winhawks 83

The 200 Freestyle Relay saw the Winona “A” relay of 8th grader Roger Brosnahan, 8th grader Cal Dretske, So. Joey Kleinow, and Sr. Josh Danzinger finish 1st in 1:47.87. The “B” Relay would have finished 2nd but was DQ’ed for two early take-offs.

Score, Albert Lea 44, Winona Winhawks 91

The 100 Backstroke saw Winhawk Sr. Ryan Whalen swim to 1st in a 57.71, only 1.8 seconds off of the State qualifying time in this the first meet of the season. Winhawk Jr. Louie LaPorta finished a solid 3rd in 1:09.72.

Score, Albert Lea 57, Winona Winhawks 91

The 100 Breaststroke was a Winona 1-2-3 finish. Winhawk Sr. Santino LaPorta swimming like a guy making up for lost time finished first in a quick 1:08.55. 8th Grader Cal Dretske swam his all time best taking 2nd in 1:12.62 and Jr. Gio Borsari finished the WInhawk sweep with a 1:36.38 and 3rd place.

Score, Albert Lea 70, Winona Winhawks 91

The 400 Freestyle Relay had the Winhawk “A” Relay of Danzinger, Kleinow, L. LaPorta and Whalen put the final stamp of approval on the meet finishing 1st in 3:53.61. The Winhawk “B” Relay or more accurately the Diver relay took second. Led off by Sr. Swimmer Santino LaPorta, the Divers, Jr. Stan Petkov, So. Dan Karnick, and Jr. Justin Bublitz swam their way to a 3rd place finish in 4:53.54.

Final Score, Albert Lea 82, Winona Winhawks 91