Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts... that's what little girls are made of. TO HELL with the sugar and spice! - Unknown

The Finals day at Sections is about two things. 

1) The final team scoring and 

2) WHO QUALIFIES FOR STATE!

As for the first, if you scored the meet based on how prelims shook out you came up with:

Mayo                     417

Hastings                354

Farmington           335

Winona                  279

JM                           277

Century                  222

Owatonna             156

That includes a lot of ifs, like some jockeying around at the top the Championship Heat where swimmers left some stuff for Finals. More importantly it doesn’t account for relays where all preliminary relays pass into finals so some may have swum alternates or just swam very safe. With double the points scoring in relays, it could make projections moot.

As for the second, at the onset of Finals Day, only 10 girls had swum state qualifying times in prelims. We knew they would have to repeat or better that time AND there would be at least 10 more swimmers and four divers heading to the Twin Cities in 9 days for the Big Show, the MSHSL Girls Swimming and Diving Championships. 

Section Finals is a pretty cool place to be, on pool deck is even cooler! Unlike youth swim meets, high school meets require quiet at the start of a race. During the dual meet season that can be a bit of a challenge, but during Sections when the whistle blows, EVERYONE knows what is next and EVERYONE is watching, quietly.

The 200 Medley Relay was, as expected, jostled between prelims and finals. The Winhawk team of Senior Abbey Quandahl, Senior Greer Kosidowski, Sophomore Hanna O’Neill and Senior Emily Thurow had seven seconds to shed to qualify for State and they gave it everything! Abbey led off and bettered her 50 split by nearly a residing in 4^th place! Both Hastings and Farmington in the lanes on both sides of eth Winhawks bagged their prelims and are now BOTH are out in front of the Winhawks. The Winhawks will have to swim within themselves to maintain their splits. Team leader Greer took off next and she swam her personal best by 1.3 seconds yet the Winhawks slip into 5^th. Young Hanna O’Neill takes her leg out and while matching her personal best of prelims keeps Winona in a solid 5^th. Emily takes her start out  hard and touches just off her personal best split from Prelims but the Winhawks hold their 5^th place finish.

The 200 Freestyle has but one Winhawk survivor from Preliminaries. Sophomore Morgan Whyte is seeded 12^th after Thursday, swimming in Lane 6 of the Consolation Finals. At the start she takes her swim out controlled, touching in 4^th at the 50 ahead of the swimmers in 5 & 7 bracketing her. At the 100 she has gained a little ground on the leaders but still resides in 4^th. The third leg is where her training comes into play. Maintaining her output she moves up into 3^rd at the 150 passing the girl in Lane 3. The final 50 she negative splits  by nearly a second. The top seed in 4 burns out and Morgan passes her as well moving up to finish 2^nd in the Consolation heat. Morgan finishes 10^th overall on the strength of her new personal best, an eight second drop off of last year, and the 6^th fastest Winhawks 200 Free ever!

Team Scores – Hastings jumps out to the early lead with the Relay win and a 2-3-5-6 in the 200 Free! Winona and JM are tied for 4^th!

Hastings                100

Mayo                     67

Farmington           59

Century                  47

Winona                  35

JM                        35

Owatonna             26

The 200 IM has two Winhawks featured, some youth in the Consolation and a Co-Captain in the Final. Alexandra Arnold on the strength of her new PB in prelims is seeded 1^st in the Consolation Final just missing the Championship final by 7 tenths of a second. Alex takes out the fly leg touching in fourth overall. Switching to back she turns on the jets and passes the swimmers in 5 & 7 to slip into 2^nd place. Her breaststroke leg adds to her position, but the swimmer next to her in 3 is gone, (swimming a time that would have ultimately made her 5^th in the final).  Alex finishes her free leg with a commanding hold on 2^nd in the heat and a new personal best time that would have landed her 7^th in the Final but does make her the 6^th fastest Winhawk IM’er ever!. In the Championship Final, Sr. Co-Captain Reese Galewski resides in Lane 8 on the strength of her prelim personal best. I suspect that in the back of her mind, in spite of having rest time in-between, Reese wasn’t going to try and move a few spots up here and risk her chances of making State later in the 100 fly! The 3^rd seeded 100 flyer, Reese took the race out 5^th after the fly conserving energy. Her backstroke leg kept her right in the thick of things. The breaststroke leg saw her yield ground and she brought her free home to touch where she started in 8^th. She was only off her seed by a second which put her in the books as the 7^th fastest Winhawk IM’er!

Team Scores – Mayo is catching up to Hastings, those relay points are hard to make up. JM moves up two spots and Century drops down into a tie with Winona for 5^th. Owatonna’s lone entry false Starts and they stay with their points from the relay.

Hastings                121

Mayo                     106

Farmington           99

JM                           65

Winona                  53

Century                  53

Owatonna             26

The 50 Freestyle sees Winona with two entries and both are in the Championship Final on the strength of posting personal best times. Sr. Co-Captain Haley O’Neill is seeded 3^rd swimming in Lane 3 and gunning for that State Qualifying time. Sr. Emily Thurow is seeded 6^th swimming in Lane 7 after slashing nearly a full second off of her previous PB. As one Coach put it, “ Sprinters are different, it’s like they know every race is a roll of the dice”. After a clean start the entire field swims two lengths side-by-side. In the end they finish in a water flurry where you can only discern the top 3 finishers at best. Emily repeats her swim of the prelims within 8 hundredths and places 7^th overall. Her prelim swim places her at Number 7 of the fastest Winhawk 50’s of all time! As for Haley the look up at the clock reveals it all. Haley has finished where she started in third but misses the cut-off for State by ONLY one one hundredth of a second (0.01)! Haley’s swim moves her up to number 4 on the all-time fastest Winhawk list but it is little consolation for missing a trip to State.

Team Scores – Hastings pads their lead a little with 4-6-12 finishes, Farmington with just a 2 & 16 falls off of Mayo after their 1-10-14^th finishes. Winona’s 3^rd -7th helps them pull away from Century and nearly matches JM for 4^th.

Hastings                154

Mayo                     136

Farmington           117

JM                        82

Winona                  81

Century                  68

Owatonna             40

One meter diving Finals is a conclusion of Thursday where the first 8 dives of their list were performed and now they wrap up with their final 3. Diving has no resemblance to swimming regarding semi-finals having any indication of what may happen in Finals. Championship diving rules require an 11 dive list, 5 voluntary and 6 optional dives taken from the 5 dive groups. There are requirements for what round dives of certain groups and whether voluntary or optional can be done. In Finals, a diver must perform one voluntary dive and 2 optional dives. Divers being quirkier than swimmers, vary on their desired preference for dive order on their list. Naturally there are dives that they like more than others, either based on fun or potential to score points. Some like to place their preferred dives in early rounds to make sure they get to Finals. Other are confident they will make finals and save their “bread and butter” dives for finals to give them confidence AND perhaps shake their competitors’’ confidence after they score well. Lastly, it may come down to how much degree of difficulty (DD) your final dives comprise of to score better and move up. Bottom line, what place they are at in Semi’s may mean little when competition is done. Junior Sarah Scherbring entered Finals in 12^th place, she has been struggling with ankle issues all season affecting her ability to really press the board and get more height.  Senior Co-Captain Janelle Mueller was sitting in 5^th place, one shy of qualifying for the State Championships. With the diving order pre-determined, Sarah was 11^th and Janelle was 15^th so both would be able to see scoring ahead of them and know what they would need to do to move up. Sarah led out her final three dives with  her last required dive, a 401b, Inward Dive in the pike position, DD 1.5. She hit it well for 4’s & 5’s scoring 20.25 pts. Janelle chose her 5124D, a Forward 1 ss with 2 twists, DD 2.3 and she scored mostly 4 & 4 1/2’s for 25.30. Sarah then stuck with the Inwards doing her Inward 1 ss in the tuck position, DD 1.6. She nailed it scoring 5 & 5 ½’s for 24.80 points. Janelle stuck in her last required dive next, also an Inward Dive in the pike position, DD 1.5. She hit it scoring 5 ½ & 6’s for 25.50 pts. Sarah finished up with a 303C, a Reverse 1 ½ ss in the Tuck position, DD 2.1. She muscles her way through it with minimal height but garners 3’s & 3 ½’s to score 19.95 pts. The three divers were good enough to move her up one spot to finish 11^th overall. Janelle chose her     to finish up with. She nailed it for      a total 29.70 points. Her 3 final dives added in scored her 288.65 pts. moved her up to 4^th overall by only 1.45 points! Janelle dove her way into being the first Winhawk of the day to qualify for the State Championships!

Team Scores – The Mayo divers help close the gap with Hastings, Farmington solidifies their hold on 3^rd and Winona’s divers pull their teammates up into 4^th place past JM.

Hastings                154

Mayo                     167

Farmington           151

Winona                  102

JM                         98

Century                  89

Owatonna             69

The 100 Butterfly sees only one contestant but she is one of the big reasons the Winhawks are on the rise. Sr. Co-Captain Reese Galewski is once again seeking that elusive trip to the State Championships. She entered the Championships seeded 3^rd, went sub-minute qualifying for the Finals in 4^th, and now stood behind the blocks looking to make the most of her final chance at State. At the start Reese took the race out hard staying with the leaders (that had already swum state qualifying paces in prelims). Reese reaches the 50 in 3^rd place just a second behind the leader (who had been 3 seconds faster than her the prior day). Coming home at 75 Reese started to pay the price for going out quick and relinquished 3^rd but kept driving to the wall looking for that qualifying time. At the wall She was in 4^th place by a half second but the glance up at the clock and the look on her face told it all! She had qualified for State clearing the mark by OVER a half a second. Reese is Winhawk number 2 to qualify for the State Championships! In doing so Reese TIED the 13 year old Winhawk all time fastest 100 Butterfly record held by the great Britta Benson!! Congratulations Reese!!!

Team Scores – Even though BOTH had four finalists, two in each final, Mayo outscored Hastings and takes over the meet lead., Winona’s high single finisher hold’s off JM even though they had 4 and the two are tied for 4^th place.

Mayo                     210

Hastings                200

Farmington           174

Winona                  117

JM                        117

Century                  101

Owatonna               69

The 100 Freestyle is a high point for Winona with four qualifiers, two in each final. The Consolation Final has Senior Emily Thurow seeded 2 in Lane 5 and the young 8^th Grader Alexa Lofgren is seeded 6^th swimming in Lane 7. Emily goes out strong turning even at the wall and at the 50 sits in a clear second behind Lane 6. Heading into the 3^rd turn Emily maintains her pace moving past Lane 6 but is overtaken by Lane 3 in a powerful kick. Emily shows the best out-and-back for a clear 2^nd place win, a new personal best over prelims by another 15 hundredths and 10^th overall. Alexa in the meantime is strong off the block and is 5^th at the 50 by an eyelash over her competitor in Lane 8. In the final 50 Alexa has the 3^rd fastest split in the field stretching her lead in 5^th and nearly catching her competitor in Lane 6. She finishes 5^th in the heat and 13^th overall with a new personal best over her prelim swim. In the Championship final, Winona’s other two qualifiers are Sophomore Alex Arnold in Lane 8 as the 8^th seed and Sr. Co-Captain Haley O’Neill in lane 3 as the 3^rd seed. Alex swims a solid event against a tough field setting a new personal best that sticks her all the way up into the 7^th fastest Winhawk 100 Free in history! Over in Lane 3, Sr. Co-Captain Haley O’Neill is thinking one thing only, 53.65 the qualifying time for state. After just missing qualifying for state in the 50 by one one hundredth, and having placed 5^th at Big 9, and third at this prelims, it was focus time and the state cut was the center of the bulls eye. Haley went out hard staying close to the leaders only a tenth off of the two of them at the 50. Hailey stayed strong through the 75 falling off slightly from the Big 9 Champion but hanging with the swimmer in 5 on the other side. At the touch and the look, you knew she was there. Haley blew through the cut dropping over a second from her seed. Haley stood upon the podium in third overall but beaming

Team Scores – Mayo extends their lead as Hastings has but one consolation entry. Winona’s 4 finalists to JM’s 3 breaks the logjam for 4^th overall.

Mayo                     236

Hastings                205

Farmington           195

Winona                  155

JM                        153

Century                  116

Owatonna             83

The 500 Freestyle had but one finalist. Senior McKenna Marg was in the Consolation Final in Lane 8 after smashing her seed and setting the 8^th fastest Winhawk 500 free ever during preliminaries. McKenna took the race out keeping herself in it but aware that she had an event left and a major expenditure of effort here would only garner an extra point maybe two. She swims a very respectable 2^nd fastest personal ever and scores for the Winhawks where historically there has been none!

Team Scores – In spite of Hastings getting 2-3-9-10, Mayo betters them with a 1-9-7-11 finish and actually slightly adds to their lead. Winona and JM with one finalist each find themselves tied AGAIN!

Mayo                     289

Hastings                254

Farmington           227

Winona                  156

JM                        156

Century                  133

Owatonna             83

The 200 Free Relay is again a “who knows” event as prelims mean little. Winona’s contingent of Morgan Whyte, Reese Galewski, Emily Thurow and Haley O’Neill has the top seed going into Finals but that means little. The important number is 1:40.70 the state qualifying time. No one did it in prelims but odds were good a team would do it here. The Winhawks would have to cut nearly a second and a half off their all-out sprint of the prelims. The Winhawks touched at the 50 in 8^th, Brought back half the field with their second 50, stayed ahead of half the field in the 3^rd 50 and reeled in another team over the last 50 to touch in 3^rd place overall. They swam the 7^th fastest Winhawk 200 Free Relay of all time BUT came up a half a second shy of the qualifying time for State!

Team Scores – Mayo’s first extends their lead, Farmington 2^nd keeps them closer to Hastings. Winona’s awesome 3^rd pulls them away from JM into a clear 4^th.

Mayo                     329

Hastings                284

Farmington           261

Winona                  188

JM                        180

Century                  161

Owatonna             109

The 100 Backstroke was one of the events Winona had been waiting for all afternoon. All four Winona entries were in the Finals, one in Consolation and 3 in the Championship heat! The 8^th Grader Alexa Lofgren, was in her second final of the Championships looking to announce she is ready to be reckoned with going forward. She is the 7^th seed in the Consolation Final swimming in Lane 1. She goes out working to get settled into a rhythm. She touches at the 50 in 6^th and then finds her stroke and relies on her training to turn in the 3^rd fastest split of the second 50 to touch in 4^th and 12^th overall! Her new personal best also marks her first appearance on the All-time Winhawk list as the 12^th fastest Winhawk backstroke on record. You know she’ll be looking to move up that list real soon as well as add more entries! In the Championship Final we find Sr. Abbey Quandahl, seeded 7^th out of Lane 1, McKenna Marg who is having a great Sections seeded 6^th swimming out of Lane 7. Lastly is Sophomore Morgan Whyte seeded 5^th out of Lane 2 next to Abbey. The Heat goes out FAST, a full half second faster than prelims. Morgan is in 4^th at the 50 but they are all in a tight group 4 – 8^th separated by less than a second. On the return stretch Morgan fades slightly and finishes 5^th overall. Her time moves her up to holding the 2^nd fastest Winhawk 100  Backstroke ever! Behind her McKenna caps her Championships with a 7^th place finish and personal best that moves her into number 5 on the all-time list. Last but certainly smiling the most, Abbey touches in 8^th just a hair off her prelim swim time that placed her as number 9 on the all-time Winhawk list!

Team Scores – Mayo keeps their lead but Hastings scoring 2-4 keeps them honest. Farmington has 3 finalists but all in Consolation so stays where they are at. JM wins the event but that is their only finalist. Winona’s four swimmers extend their lead and hold on 4^th overall.

Mayo                     355

Hastings                316

Farmington           292

Winona                  230

JM                        200

Century                  162

Owatonna             112

The 100 Breaststroke has two Winhawks competing. Both are in Consolations and represent the present and the future of Winona Swimming. Swimming in the Consolation as 2^nd seed is Senior Greer Kosidowski. A natural team leader she has one last chance to pull off the swim of her career. Seeded 8^th in Lane 8 representing the future of Winhawk swimming is the 7^th grader Annika Anderson. Her first year in swimming she has taken to it like a duck in water and is here in her first Section Finals to announce she has arrived and will be looking for more. The race takes off smooth and from the first underwater pull out and their heads pop up, you know Greer is doing something special. She turns at the wall first and powers her way down the pool alone in front. At the 50 she is over a second and a half ahead of her nearest competitor and pulls underwater heading to 75 as the others go by finishing 50 still. She ADDS to the lead through the wall and down the stretch out splitting the field by another second and a half to finish 3 seconds ahead. Her time would ultimately have been good enough for 5^th overall once the Championships final was done. While thinking about the podium appearance that could have been, she can take solace in the fact that she added her name to the All-time Winhawk list when she popped off the sixth fastest Winhawk breaststroke in history!

Team Scores - Hastings had but one swimmer in Consolation, so while Mayo extends, FArmington gains some ground on them. The breathing room Winona had gained on JM slightly evaporated with JM having two finishers in the top 8.

Mayo                     403

Hastings                322 1/2

Farmington           308

Winona                  240

JM                         233

Century                  188 1/2

Owatonna             127

It’s the 400 Free Relay and just like the prior two, seeding mean nothing. The Winhawks sit in the 2^nd seed which means Lane 5, sandwiched between Hastings and Century in 4 and 6 . At stake are final standings and the state qualifying. With double the points, a DQ brings all the standings 2^nd – 5^th into play. If everyone swims clean, the only conceivable battle is Winona in 4^th and JM in 5^th. Only 5 points separates them and any more than 3 places between them in the final could flip-flop the standings. Sophomore Morgan Whyte is first off the blocks and her and the entire field starts clean. Morgan tries to stay with the leaders through the 50 which represent lanes 4,3,&2 all of them off to her right. At the 100 she is a half second out of third while putting in a split 2 seconds faster than her prelim swim and not only a PB but the 9^th fastest Winhawk 100 in history. The only thing left to do after all that is hand things off to the next sophomore Alex Arnold. Alex closes in on 3^rd through the 50, even out splitting the Hastings swimmer just ahead of her in lane 4. Her training holds up through the hundred and she swims a faster split than the entire field improving her PB by a second and a half. Now it is time for the Senior Co-Captains. While no one else was thinking it, theywere all along. They are seeing state cut, they believe and they want it bad. Reese Galewski takes from the blocks in a virtual tie for 3^rd. Reese yields only three tenths through the 50 (to JM’s 6^th place finisher in the 100), yielding another 8 tenths by the 100 but bettering her prelim swim by over a second and a new PB. Last off the blocks is Haley O’Neill knowing it is up to her to make the state dream happen. In 4^th by nearly 2/12 seconds it is the state cut or go home. Haley swims with a vengeance gaining on the entire field but Hastings, (it took their 100 Fly winner to keep Haley at bay). Through the 75 Haley is still gaining on Mayo’s 200 & 500 free champion and JM’s premier IM’er. She is swimming toward the state cut if she can just hang on! Haley touches in a personal best split by nearly a second, two tenths faster than her state qualifying 100 free and most importantly helps her teammates to punch their ticket for a trip to the State Championships! The four of them go on the books as the 3^rd fastest Winhawk 400 Free relay of all time.

Team Scores – The relay results in no shuffling, Winona’s finishing right next to JM resulted in the Winhawks holding them off to finish in 4^th place ahead of both Rochester John Marshall and Rochester Century! Amazingly even with the relay and some individual event jockeying, the results reflect the prelims calculated results!!

Mayo                     443

Hastings                356 1/2

Farmington           334

Winona                  270

JM                           265

Century                  216 1/2

Owatonna             151

Next stop the BIG SHOW, 2013 Girls' MSHSL Swimming & Diving Championships at the University Of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Nov 18-19-20th