Some goals will NOT be deterred. (With the help of your teammates.)

What had me singing in the car on the LONG drive back from Mankato and the Big 9 Girls Swimming & Diving Championships? Well, besides the fact that it was too dark for other motorists to see inside my vehicle. I had just watched a Winhawk Team that had been told:

Big 9 doesn’t mean anything (unless you are good enough to win it for bragging rights) 

AND

You won't swim that well because You’ve just started your taper, you’re still going to be tired, it’s a long bus ride, it’s a six lane pool with no warm-up and taper down area after the meet gets going.

Well, after the water settled and the racing was done: out of 42 entries they swam nearly 20 personal best times, 3 season low times, and the team placed 7^th and if not for a relay DQ and a couple slip ups very easily could have been 4^th. 

This is a Winhawks team that is coming together. They're supportive, cohesive and looking out for each other to the point that those DQ’s and miscues didn’t demoralize, it made them dig harder. 

The meet started on a high note. The Winona B Relay team finished in 14^th (of 20) and the Winona A Relay of Fr. Morgan Whyte, Sr. Co-Captain Alex Zuelke, Juniors Reese Galewski ( who swam a personal best split) and Haley O’Neill swim a season low that further cements their hold on the 3^rd fastest Winhawk Medley Relay ever and big 4^th place points. 

The 200 Freestyle was hotly contested in the final heat with Danielle Nack setting a new Meet Record. Winhawk Sr. Sami Johnson and Jr McKenna Marg swim in the 3^rd heat. Sami swims her seed but swims a personal best by over 2 ½ seconds to do it. Why you ask? Because McKenna was setting the pace swimming an “out of your mind” 6 second drop season low time moving her from her 30^th seed up to finish 21^st. 3 Heats later, Morgan Whyte drops 2 ½ seconds setting a personal best for her and moved up into the scoring in 13^th. Haley O’Neill seeded 12^th swims a season low as well moving up 4 spots to finish 8^th overall. 

The 200 IM, for long a wasteland of times for the Winhawks is beginning to show some promise. In the first heat, young 8^th grader Harper O’Neill sets a personal best dropping 7 seconds. Two heats later, Jr. Razil Campbell and So McKenzie Porter are swimming side-by-side in the middle of the pool. They inspire each other with McKenzie gaining an edge through the Backstroke and Razil them catching her during the closing freestyle, to finish 15^th and 17^th respectively. Razil sets a personal best by over 4 seconds, McKenzie by 4 ½. Two heats later, Fr. Alexandra Arnold swimming as the 15^th seed, makes it a Winhawk Quintella also swimming a personal best and moving up into 9^th place overall points. 

The 50 Freestyle is a tough race this time of year. Team are just starting their taper so bodies are still tires, sore and the 50 gives them no room for hiccups. For example, of the top 24 seeds, only 1/4^th were able to better their seed time, and many were only by hundredths. By the way, the Meet record is still held by Abbey Staats, set back in 2008. Winona 7^th grader Alexa Lofgren was one of those improvers, dropping well over a half second ( which in the 50 is a lifetime) and moves from 37^th seed up to finish 25^th. Winona  Fr. Ashley Brommerich, fighting off a cold swims her seed. Cotter Jr. Emily Thurow is another mover, setting a personal best while turning her 14^th seed into a 10^th place finish! Lastly Sr. Co-Captain Alex Zuelke, capitalizes on weakness and turns her 3^rd seed into a 2^nd place finish!

I covered the 1 Meter diving in the previous blog post; suffice it to say there were ups and downs, but some great learning experiences. Crystal scored in 2^nd but first could have been a real possibility. Sarah had some great highlights and Janelle too had some great highlights and a little learning experience. 

The 100 Butterfly sees Danielle Nack of Mankato West set her second meet record of the day which is also a new pool record. Both Seniors Sami Johnson and Ashlen Haines swim their seeds as does Fr. Hanna O’Neill. In the final heat, Jr. Reese Galewski seeded 3^rd swims a season low, is just off her personal best AND is flirting with the 100 minute mark. 

The 100 Freestyle becomes one of those massive high to massive low points you experience watching the kids compete. In the 4^th Heat, Juniors Emily Thurow and Greer Kosidowski are side by side in lanes 4 & 5 with visions of sub minute 100’s in their head. They’ve worked for it, trained for it and swam it in their head numerous times, they were ready.  The two of them go out fast leading the pack with Greer flipping first at the 50 by hundredths but in 28 low, plenty of buffer to make the under minute goal. They are even at the 75, and Greer misjudges flipping early and not contacting the wall, Emily stays the course. Greer has to work to make the touch and proceed on. Emily touches in a personal best under a minute! The delay for Greer adds disastrous time, and she touches in 1:01. Distraught and discouraged she heads to the bench but her team sisters rush to her side to console, but also to get her to bolster up for the upcoming breaststroke AND another shot at the 100 in the 4x100 Free Relay. In the Final Heat, Jr. Haley O'Neill swimming in Lane 6 is just off her season mark and scores points for 8th overall!

The 500 Freestyle had some exciting swimming for the Winhawks as well. Lacking scorers in previous attempts, it appears the Winhawks are on to better things. Winhawk Fr. Natasha Lewis who has made great strides and time reductions this season leads off and sets yet another personal best by 2 seconds. The 4^th heat has half Winhawks. Fr. Hanna O’Neill in 6 and for the second time today, Jr. Razil Campbell is seeded next to a Winhawk teammate, only this time it is Jr. Reese Galewski looking to help her team out with much needed 500 points. The duo goes out hard leaving the rest of the heat behind. It is just the two of them 50 after 50, until the 350 yard mark. Reese turns on the jets opening a lead and talking the bell lap. At the touch she has a new 500 personal best over 8 ½ seconds. Trailing just off her, Razil touches also setting a personal best, hers by 5 ½ seconds. Both girls are sitting just outside the Winhawk Top 12 List; I would be looking to add one or both of them not so long from now. Young Hanna touches in her seed time to finish out the heat. 

The 200 Freestyle Relay sees the Mankato West Team set a new Meet Record. It has been a strong suit for the Winhawks this year and they were looking to make some points here. The B relay is seeded 15^th and finishes in that spot. The Winhawk A relay of Haley O’Neill, Morgan Whyte, Emily Thurow and Alex Zuelke is seeded 5^th and they manage to turn in a season best time only to be DQ’ed for an early leave by one of the swimmers. Loosing those 14 points points hurt, but the Winhawks rally around each other and press on.

The 100 Backstroke is up and So McKenzie Porter is the first Winhawk to the blocks. She turns at the 25 with the rest of the field and then starts to overpower them. She has one competitor just off her hip at the 50, and takes the swim home in the lead touching in a personal best that is a 5 second reduction of her previous. She converts her 36^th seed into a 20^th place finish. Young 7^th grader Alexa Lofgren is in the next heat and she too swims a personal best time but needed it to hold her seed. Jr. McKenna Marg splashes to touch in her seeded time and place and Freshman Morgan Whyte seeded 5^th, swims a personal best dipping below 1:04 finally and taking 4^th place. 

The 100 Breaststroke sees Al star Lindsey Horejsi smash the old meet and pool record by over 2 seconds. In Heat one, 8^th grader Harper O’Neill swims a personal best and Fr. Ashley Brommerich also swims a personal best stepping up to the plate and swimming the event for the first time.  A great feat considering the venue and size of the meet! Greer Kosidowski is in the 5^th heat seeded 18^th. She takes it out hard and stys with it setting a personal best and moving up two spots into the scoring! The last Winona seed is Sr. Co-captain Alex Zuelke. Seeded 2^nd, she has to swim within herself as Horejsi pulls out in front and Alex distances herself from the rest of the field. Alex remains in 2^nd, the highest finish for a Winhawk in the swimming portion of the Championships, equaled by Franzwa in the Diving!

The 400 Freestyle relay is the vindicator for the earlier DQ, it is also Greer Kosidowski’s second chance at that all elusive Minuteman Club! The B Relay of McKenna Marg, McKenzie Porter, Razil Campbell and Sami Johnson sees McKenzie and Razil swim personal best splits. The Winhawk A Relay of Reese Galewski, Emily Thurow, Alex Arnold and Greer Kosidowski swim like they have one mission, deliver Greer to the finish with a new personal best 100 split. The first three deliver solid races and Greer, swimming last has built herself up into a coiled machine. She hits the water already kicking and powers her way through the first 50 in the fastest 50 split of any of her three teammates and then hangs on in the end to not only break one minute but smash through it in a 58.12!!! Congratulations Greer! The relay also scores in 8th place overall.

The Winhawks finish in 7^th place, a mere 13 points out of 5^th.

Team scores
John Marshall              357
Mayo                            313
Mankato West             277.5
Century                        239
Albert Lea                    216
Faribault                      208
Winona                        203
Owatonna                    174.5
Austin                          143
Mankato East                54