Thursday evening the Winona Winhawks (0-1, 0-1) travel to Austin Ellis Middle School to compete against the Austin Packers (0-3, 0-3). It is the first competition for both teams since December 21st so they should be itching to get up on the blocks but a little rusty for the starts.
The Packers were active in December coming up short in duals against Owatonna, Roch Century and Faribault coupled with a 12th place finish in the Tiger relays. Due to a weather cancellation, Winona has only been tested once in a dual. That one dual contest was an encounter with a tough Century team. Preceding that contest was a 10th place finish in Tiger Relays.
This is a great match-up and should prove out to be an awesome swim meet. Every swim will matter and which team is the victor will be determined by who claims the middle finishes. The Packers have a roster almost 40 strong and long time Austin Coach Lynn Gulbrandson will know how to use all of them to get the most mileage by meet’s end.
The 200 Medley Relay should fall to the Winhawks. Austin has carded as low as a 2:02 where the Winhawk relay of Junior Avery Prondzinski, Freshman Cal Dretske, Senior Co-Captain Louie La Porta, and Jr. Alex Kline have been in the low 1:50’s. Look for the Winhawk “B” relay of Cotter Freshman Aaron Whyte, Sophomore Mic Borsari, 8th Grader Kyle Schneider, and Junior Conor Kosidowski to bring home 3rd and a much needed additional 2 points.
The 200 Freestyle will be owned by Austin’s star Sophomore Nick Brehmer who has been posting high 1:50’s. He’ll be chased by Winhawk Junior Joey Kleinow who is shedding seconds each time he hits the water.
The 200 IM will also be owned by Austin, this time Senior Mike Thorsheim. Winhawk Freshman Cal Dretske and Hodd Gorman will chase after him and should secure 2nd and 3rd if they stay with him. If Winhawk Coach Steve Burt can inspire Junior Avery Prondzinski, he could be right behind Dretske and Gorman giving the edge in points to the Winhawks.
The 50 Freestyle should fall to the Winhawk’s Sr. Co-Captain Louie La Porta and if the ‘Hawks get really keyed up, Alex Kline could slide into 2nd place.
Being at Austin, the crowd gets the PRIVILEGE of watching the Diving competition. Winhawk Senior Co-Captain Justin Bublitz will not disappoint as he should dive his way to first place. His scores have been pushing 200 and will be too much for any of the Packers. Winhawk Senior Stan Petkov needs to be on his game and if he is, he can secure a second place. Lastly, if his Winhawk teammates cheer him on loud enough, Cotter Jr. Dan Karnick could just possible make the diving event a sweep and swing the meet toward Winona in a big way!
The 100 Butterfly swings momentum back to Austin. Senior Mike Thorsheim has been putting up sub-one minutes swims and will most likely repeat that. Winhawk Junior Kyle Schneider with Freshman Hodd Gorman right behind him should bring home the 2nd and 3rd points.
The 100 Freestyle could be a closely contested event with Austin’s Junior Jordan Bentley squaring off against Winhawk Senior Co-Captain Louie La Porta and Junior Joey Kleinow. If Coach Burt throws Senior Co-Captain Gio Borsari into the frey, the Winhawks could emerge with 3 of the top 4 finishes.
The 500 Freestyle could be Winhawk Freshman Hodd Gorman’s first Varsity win of his career. His best time puts him in contention to take this from Austin’s Ian Christopherson in what should be a nearly 6 minute long neck and neck race. If Coach Burt can’t come up with a quality swim to follow Hodd, the Winhawks could still come out on the short end of the points.
The 200 Freestyle Relay will be a true test of the Winhawks. Austin has posted a 1:39 just before the break and the Winhawk team of Juniors Alex Klein, Avery Prondzinski, Joey Kleinow, and Sr. Co-Captain Louie La Porta have only made a 1:41. The team that takes the 10 point 1-3 finish here could just be the winner of the meet.
The 100 Backstroke will be a great race and could be the time for the Winhawks to shine. If Junior Avery Prondzinski keeps his form he can take this varsity win from Austin’s Sophomore Carson Hackel. If Winhawk Senior Co-Captain Gio Borsari does the same, he could STEAL second place from Hackel and the Winhawks could garner important points! Lastly, watch the outside lanes for Cotter Freshman Aaron Whyte. With an “on” night, he could make a surprise finish in the middle of the pack!
The 100 Breaststroke could possibly seal the deal for the Winhawks. If the meet is close and Freshman Cal Dretske and Sophomore Jake Johnson have their way, they could 1-2 this event to help buffer the upcoming final relay.
The 400 Freestyle Relay is where the numbers game will most obviously come into play. At 40 members strong, the Packers will have swimmers left where Coach Steve Burt will have suffered through event attrition. The Austin team of Nick Brehmer, Ian Christopherson, Jordan Bentley, Mike Thorsheim have been posting mid- 3:40’s where the Winhawks haven’t broken 4 minutes. This meet could come down to who takes the 2 points for the 3rd place relay. Both team’s “B” relays have almost identical times and could literally make the entire meet a breath taker.
It will be a fun meet to watch and I am playing with the idea of making the trek to Austin to take it in. YOU SHOULD TOO!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment