The Winona Winhawks seek victory in the eye of Mayo High School.

Thursday evening the Winhawk Girls Swimming & Diving Team head to Rochester Mayo. If you haven’t ever had the pleasure, Mayo is a round school building and the pool is in the inner core, the eye of the storm as it were.

The pool seating is tight, it can be loud and as a spectator you are right up and close to the swimming and diving. (As in sit in the front row and you will get wet!) Ya gotta love it!

The Rochester Mayo Spartans are 1-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big 9 coming into Thursday’s Contest while the Winhawks are 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big 9. Both are coming off dual meet losses and looking to start some momentum heading into the October countdown to the Big 9 and Sections. 

Rochester Mayo started the school year with no plans for girls swimming but had  an outpouring of interest. They pulled the program together and found a coach to lead things just as school was starting. They were hit hard with graduation and return just 2 seniors and 4 juniors but the six are quality swimmers with State Meet experience among them.

The 200 Medley relay will be contested as the Winhawks are swimming 1:59’s and the Spartans team of Sr. Kalene Wileman and Jr. Lauren Ulsh, (both swam Mayo’s IM Relay at state last year), with 8^th Graders Phoebe Wu and Shavonne Chen have swum a near 2:00 flat.

The 200 Freestyle may very well be yet another test for the dependable Haley O’Neill. The Winhawk Junior seems to have a head to head race every meet and if she goes up against Mayo 8^th Grader Michelle Campeau that just may be the case again.

The 200 IM will most likely see Mayo’s Jr. Lauren Ulsh. She was 3^rd at Section 1AA last year and finished 24^th at State. Who’s there to counter for the Winhawks but Cotter Jr. MacKenzie Brosnahan or Winhawk Freshman Reese Galewski?

The 50 Freestyle will hopefully continue to be a points windfall for the Winhawks.

Away meet at Mayo equals…….DIVING DIVING DIVING DIVING DIVING DIVING

Winhawk Sophomore Crystal Franzwa should have another night to show her stuff with minimum pressure from Mayo. In fact, it may be the night for Winhawk Freshman Janelle Mueller to battle Mayo’s Section Finalist Sophomore Kalli DeRuiter and steal away second place.

The 100 Butterfly could see a Winhawk 1-2 finish if Sr. Co-Captain Samantha Quandahl and Freshman Reese Galewski step to the blocks. Mayo 8^th Grader Phoebe Wu has been posting 1:07’s.

The 500 Freestyle should be the Spartans’ event with Mayo’s 8th grader Michelle Campeau who’s been logging 5:40’s leading the way.

The 200 Free Relay will also be contested. The Winhawks have been touching in 1:46 to 1:47. Against both Albert Lea and Faribault, Mayo did the exact same thing so it should be a great race.

The 100 Backstroke may well be a battle of the seniors. Mayo’s Kalene Wileman, 6^th at Sections last year against our own Co-Captain Samantha Quandahl who was 8^th at Sections last year.

The 100 Breaststroke could have been a great race, now we’ll have to wait for Sections! Mayo Junior Lauren Ulsh has been clocking 1:11’s just as Winhawk Sophomore Alexandra Zuelke has. They finished 3-5 respectively last year at Sections with Ulsh going on to swim prelims at State. I am pretty sure we will have to wait until Sections again for their rematch.

The 400 Freestyle Relay may very well go to the Winhawks purely due to depth by this point in the meet. Only time will tell. 

See you in the eye of Mayo Thursday!