In Western days the Marshall comin’ to town was a good thing. Maybe not so much these days.

Rochester John Marshall (5-0, 4-0) brings their cast of speedsters to swim against the Winona Winhawks (3-2, 2-2) Tuesday lookin’ to put another notch on their 2011 gun handle. 

Fresh off of a 2^nd place finish in the Austin Invitational last Saturday, they are building momentum for the Big 9 and Section showdown later in the season. 

The Rockets’ 200 Medley Relay pulled off a 1:54.83 Saturday and not a one of them was a Senior. The Winhawks will need a stellar swim from all 4 legs to keep this competitive. 

The 200 Freestyle at the Austin Invite saw 4 Freshman take the top 4 finishes, with JM’s Madison Emery in 3^rd at 2:02. Right Behind her Senior Shannon Grill posted a 2:08 which matches Winhawk Sophomore Haley O’Neill’s top time of the season. 

JM’s Taylor Bass is back this season and won the 200 IM Saturday with a 2:11. Winona Cotter Junior Alexandra Zuelke will need a quality swim to stay with her and fight off any other Rockets looking to bury the Winhawks early. 

The 50 Freestyle will most likely be a sneak Peak at the Sections duel between JM’s Allison Shumacher and Winona Cotter’s MacKenzie Brosnahan. Schumacher placed second behind Mankato West’s Danielle Nack last Saturday posting a 24.4 and may be looking to bolster up her ego a little bit. MacKenzie may need to go low, even besting her current 2nd position on the Winhawk all time finish list to pull off the win. 

Diving will be a great opportunity for the Winhawks to make some points. Crystal Franzwa, Janelle Mueller and Sara Scherbring will need to be consistent and can get the edge. 

The 100 Butterfly will very likely see the return of Allison Schumacher again. She took second to Danielle Nack Saturday even though she posted a 57.96. JM’s Ellen Chen was 6^th with a 1:04, giving Winhawk Sophomore Reese Galewski some great competition and it should be fun to watch. 

The 100 Freestyle will require a Winhawk to go sub one minute with Sophomore Haley O’Neill if they want to stay even on points. Haley could take this and if Cotter Sophomore Emily Thurow can join the Minuteman Club Tuesday night the Winhawks might just have the edge in points too. 

The 500 Freestyle may just be the toughest nut of the night to crack. Saturday all 4 JM entries went sub 6 minutes led by Freshman Madison Emery’s 5:21. JM’s other 3 entries went 5:33, 5:41 and 5:52. So far only two Winhawks all year have been sub 6 minute and I don’t expect them to be in this race Tuesday night. 

The 200 Free Relay has the potential for making great drama. The Winhawks have a tradition of being a great sprinting team and 2011 is no exception. The current group of Zuelke, Thurow, O’Neill and Brosnahan are 6^th all time for Winona and could push the Rockets hard, touching them out. 

The 100 Backstroke sees the return of Rocket Taylor Bass and together with teammate Lauren Kalwasinski carded 1:03’s on Saturday. JM’s 3^rd & 4^th swimmers were at 1:10 & 1:11 respectively so the Winhawks will be hard-pressed to not get overwhelmed on points. 

The 100 Breaststroke should be Winona Cotter Junior Alexandra Zuelke’s for the taking although she will be pushed by JM’s Kalwasinski and Becker. 

The 400 Freestyle Relay will likely be a victory lap for the Rockets, the 3:50’s  they have been posting far exceed anything the Winhawks have been able to put together this season. 

The meet is Tuesday at WSHS at 6PM. If you want to see the Winhawks put up a good fight and some of the premier swimming of the Big 9 come on out and cheer the Winhawks on!

Next up, Thursday Oct 6^th at Austin.