CWP's Winona Swimming & Diving Blog

The Crescendo

2012-02-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Things are ramping up/down. Final duals of the season are taking place. Big 9 JV Thursday and Varsity next Saturday, Sections Prelims 10 days after that and then, The Big Show!

Can't preview the Winona vs Mankato West swim meet as I have few stats on Mankato.

Here are the Big 9 Standings through Thursday:

Big Nine Standings		Overall			Big 9
Teams	W	L	T	W	L	T
Rochester Century	10	0	0	10	0	0
Rochester Mayo	9	2	0	8	1	0
Owatonna	6	3	1	6	3	1
Faribault	5	5	1	5	2	1
Mankato East/Loyola	5	3	0	5	3	0
Rochester John Marshall	5	3	2	5	3	1
Austin High School	3	5	1	3	5	1
Winona H.S.	1	6	0	1	6	0
Mankato West	1	7	0	1	7	0
Albert Lea	0	10	0	0	9	0

Sorry, I got nuttin' for ya.

2012-02-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

So, the Winhawks got their first win a week ago in Albert Lea. I do not have the meet scoring sheet to write from. I could have used the Team stats that Ms. Brosnahan puts together along with the reporting in the Albert Lea paper and extrapolated what happened, but..... I am just too darn busy to make that work right now. I have had a hell of a week and little energy to try and do that.

Same goes for the Red Wing invite last Saturday, I lack info, so we will have to try and summarize later.

As for a pre-meet analysis for the Winhawks - Mayo, let me see what I can do. Suffice it to say, this will be a real test for the Winhawks. I can't predict what Mayo will do for event entries, having the second best record in the Big 9, they may do some switching up as we enter the post season period.

See you at WSHS Thursday night for Winona vs Roch Mayo!

Oooooops Sorry I was mistaken

2012-01-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

The Winona vs Albert Lea meet on Jan 26 is at Albert Lea, not Winona.

“Gotta get that win.” “But, dual meet scores don’t mean nuttin’ at the end of the season.” “Gotta get that win.” “Dual meet season is about getting stronger.” “Gotta get that win.” “Dual meet season is about getting race experience.” “Gotta get that win.” “Yeah you’re right, gotta get that win!”

2012-01-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

Thursday night the Winona Winhawks (0-5-0), (0-5-0) swim adual meet against the Albert Lea Tigers (0-8-0), (0-8-0) and SOMEONE is going towalk out of the WSHS Natatorium with their first dual meet win of the season.

Aswith earlier meets, how the meet shakes out will be determined by what happens afterthe first wall touch in each race. It’s not who wins, but who takes 2-3-4 thathelps determine outcomes.

200 Medley Relay The Opening relay should be the closestrelay of the evening.

200 Freestyle – Winhawks Hodd Gorman and Sr. Co-Captain JoeyKleinow have a good chance of finishing 1-2 in this one.

200 IM – Winhawk Cal Dretske shouldn’t need to look around afterhis final turn on this one, they should all be coming back at him still.

50 Freestyle. Winhawk Roger Brosnahan should have bodylengths to spare here. Behind him will be a wall of water and 5 swimmers veryclosely matched.

Diving – Winhawk Dan Karnick should out score his Tiger competitorsover at the Middle School. The problem is he is flying solo so the Tigers willout score him.

100 Yard Butterfly will be a great race between Winhawk KyleSchneider and AL’s Preston Smith.

100 Freestyle will be a repeat of the 50 Free.

The 500 Freestyle – Winhawk Hodd Gorman will cruiseunmolested for the second straight meet. Sadly the Tigers may outscore the Winhawkshere just due to the number of entrants.

The 200 Freestyle Relay should fall to the Winhawks with RogerBrosnahan anchoring.

The 100 Backstroke should be AL’s with Sr. Issac Olsenleading the way. Winona will counter with young Aaron Whyte and he may justsurprise everyone.

The 100 Breaststroke will be Winhawk Cal Dretske taking the fieldfor a ride. Winon’a Jake Johnson may just make this a rare Winona 1-2 finish.

The 400 Freestyle Relay looks to fall to the Winhawks. Albert Leamay be the one Big 9 school with less depth than Winona.

Big 9 Standings thru 1/24

The Big 9 is a little cluttered at the top but not for long.The Big 9 leader will be established Thursday evening when Century and Mayo squareoff.

Big Nine Standings		Overall			Big 9
Teams	W	L	T	W	L	T
Rochester Century	8	0	0	8	0	0
Rochester Mayo	7	1	0	7	0	0
Mankato East/Loyola	5	2	0	5	2	0
Owatonna	5	3	1	5	3	1
Faribault	4	5	1	4	2	1
Rochester John Marshall	4	3	1	4	3	0
Austin High School	3	4	0	3	4	0
Mankato West	1	6	0	1	6	0
Winona H.S.	0	5	0	0	5	0
Albert Lea	0	8	0	0	7	0

When the stars align, the kids appear, health is assured and everything goes their way………..

2012-01-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Winona Winhawk Boy’s Swim & Dive Team isn’twondering what it will take to win a dual meet. Some things they can control,others well……… After winning 2 of the 3 relays, and 5 of the 9 individualevents, you would think the Winhawks (0-5-0), (0-5-0) would have notched theirfirst W. The fact is swimming and diving is indeed a TEAM sport and after the coveted 1^stplace finish, it is what happens afterward in 2-3-4 that helps win swim meets. SoWinona knows what it takes to win swim meets, swimming faster than the other team.Having things fall into place to accomplish that is what seems to elude theWinhawks.

Austin (3-4-0), (3-4-0) came into Winona feeling it wastheir time. They had lost two really close meets, coming down to the finalrelay. As Coach Gulbrandson put it, “barely losing them means we were REALLYclose to winning them”. Their 2-4-0 record could easily have been 4-2-0 priorto Thursday night’s contest. They rely on having a solid core of swimmers thatdeliver 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th finishes, the pointsyou need to pull off a win.

Besides swimming fast(er), athletes need to behealthy. Winter means enclosed spaces and germ factories otherwise known asschools. To have 25 boys all be healthy at once is, well, a feat, or luck. Putall that together plus two closely matched teams competing and you have adifficult outcome to predict.

The 200 Medley Relay went as expected with the Winhawkstouching first. Cal Dretske showed what type of night he might have recodinghis quickest split of the season. More importantly, the “B” Relay saw AaronWhyte lead things off with a quality backstroke, Jake Johnson swam his bestbreaststroke split of the season, Alex Kline was an eyelash off of his best flyof the year and Connor Kosidowski set a personal best Free split and they touched3^rd giving the Winhawks a big leg up after the first event.

Winona 10 Austin 4

The 200 Freestyle was Winona’s first peak at Nick BrehmerAustin’s powerhouse freestyler. Ninth at last year’s Class A StateChampionships he dominated showing he is looking to makethe finals at State this year. Winona’s Hodd Gorman and Sr. Co-Captain Joey Kleinowboth swam season low times in scoring 2^nd & 4^threspectively.

Winona 16 Austin 14

The 200 IM was a perfect example of what the pre-meet prediction framed. Winona’s Cal Dretske showed that his relay swim was anindicator and took the varsity heat out hard. He finished body lengths aheadbettering his season low by 2 ½ seconds to win. Behind him though were 3 Austinswimmers and while the Winhawks win the event, they lose on points and the scoreevens.

Winona 23 Austin 23

The 50 Freestyle is a Winona highlight with Roger Brosnahanswimming quick enough to win handily. Co-Captain Alex Kline swims a hair offhis fastest of the season to eek out 3^rd and Kyle Schneider, who wasswimming ill, is placed in the 50 free for the first time ever (as best I cantell) securing the 5^th place scoring and Winona is back in the lead.

Winona 33 Austin 29

Diving results feed over from the Middle School and althoughDan Karnick is only a half point off his season high of last week, he places 2^ndto a stellar effort by Austin’s Caleb Bently. Adding to the picture, Austin hastwo more divers to Winona’s none and Austin vaults into the points lead.

Winona 37 Austin 40

The 100 Butterfly was a major blow to the Winhawks’ hopes. Evenwith the diving break to settle things, an ill Kyle Schneider still swims butcannot match any of his prior season performances. Though Sr. C-CaptainAlex Kline guts out his 2^nd best swim of the season, Austin finishes1-2-3 and takes a commanding lead!

Winona 40 Austin 53

The 100 Freestyle was the battle of the titans this evening.For Austin, they send to the blocks their 2011 State semi-finalist in the 100Freestyle Nick Brehmer. Standing on the blocks next to him is Winona’s big gunRoger Brosnahan looking to re-establish his presence after being gone a season.The result was the experienced Brehmer touching out Brosnahan. Austin’sChristopherson places 3^rd while Sr. Co-Captain Joey Kleinow swims 2tenths off his season low for 4^th. Senior Connor Kosidowski for thesecond met in a row is denied his membership in the Minuteman club by merehundredths of a second scoring in 5^th place. The high Austinfinishes add to their lead.

Winona 47 Austin 62

The 500 Freestyle went off as predicted, with Winona’sbudding distance swimming Hodd Gorman taking the field out for a ride. Followingmeet after meet of being pushed hard, one might think Gorman would welcome anice easy victory, but that is not his way. Gorman went out hard and pushed theentire way lowering his season best by 3 seconds and finishing nearly half aminute ahead of the pack. While a great outing for Gorman, the problem with the500 Free is that Winona is woefully short of competitors. Winona’s only otherentry, Freshman Alex Vaslow takes 5^th and the Winhawks fall furtherbehind on points.

Winona 54 Austin 71

The 200 Freestyle Relay looked like it was going to slam thedoor shut on Winona when Austin’s “A” Relay jumped out to a body length lead. Thenthey committed the biggest sin in swimming, jumping early with a HUGE lead.With Austin’s relay DQ’ed, Winona benefits from it and that door opens wide afternow placing 1-2. A 2 point deficit turns into a 10 point advantage and narrowsthe gap in a big way giving Winona renewed hope.

Winona 66 Austin 73

In the 100 Backstroke, perhaps inspired by their goodfortune, Aaron Whyte steps up and performs by swimming a new personal best towin. As feared, Austin’s contingent of backstrokers overcome a huge personalbest improvement by Winona’s Jeremy Roberts and Austin places 2-3-4 winning thepoint side of the equation and extending their lead again.

Winona 73 Austin 82

The 100 Breaststroke was one of Winona’s highlights for thenight. Cal Dretske performed as expected outdistancing the field. Even moresignificant was the performance of the other two Winhawk entrants. Jr. JakeJohnson AND Sr. Connor Kosidowski stepped up to place 3-5 and A) break-up theresults of the Austin swimmers and B) give the Winhawks the edge in points andputting the meet into the hands of the 400 Freestyle Relay swimmers.

Winona 83 Austin 88

The 400 Freestyle Relay was going to decide who won thiscontest and that is never a good place for Winona. Winona could pull off thecome from behind victory but it would take a 1-3 finish to do it. Alas, Winona’sfeeder system of youth swimming is not bringing enough boys into HS and assuch, their squads have been small. With the limitation on the number ofentries a swimmer can have, coupled with the diminished numbers on the team,Winona does not have much fire power left at the end of each meet. The result isa first place finish for the Austin packers going away and as such, anotherloss for the Winhawks. Further complicating matters was the disqualification ofthe Winhawk “B” relay for an early jump, thus making the win an impossibilityeven IF the Packers had done the unthinkable and DQ’ed their “A”relay again.

Final Score Winona 87 Austin 96

“Hey aren’t you a Packer?” “Yeah and that’s Mr. Packer to you Bub!”

2012-01-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

The Austin Packers (2-4-0), (2-4-0) are coming to Winona lookin’for a little respect at the expense of the Winhawks (0-4-0), (0-4-0). Austin’srecord includes two losses that were determined in the final event, losing byone and two points respectively. Their other two losses are to Class AApowerhouse Rochester teams, so I suspect the Packers are coming to Winonafeeling a little disrespected or maybe misrepresented is a more accuratedescription. In either case, like determination, frustration can be a heck of amotivator.

As for the Winhawks, they may be of a similar mindset. After hosting and loosing to a frustrated Owatonna team, (they lost a meet to alast event controversial DQ) then getting beat up by a pair of Rochester Teams,the Winhawks may be looking to say “enough is enough” themselves. What it allboils down to is the makings of a really good Big 9 dual meet!

Sizing up how the meet may progress is a tough assignment.Austin’s long time Coach Lynn Gulbrandson is a master strategist. Looking athis past meets, he uses his swimmers where they are needed in each meet and hascreated a versatile bunch of young men. One consistent trend is that the Packersdo not possess many big guns, just quality swims that score well in the middleof the pack. It is possible to not win any of the 12 events and still win themeet. The Winhawks will have to look notto Brosnahan, Gorman, Schneider and Dretske but swimmers like Kline, Kleinow,Johnson and Kosidowski to try and pull this one out.

The 200 Medley Relay looks to fall to the Winhawks if theyare healthy. Four of their six swims this year are better than Austin’s bestswim but look for Austin to challenge and if not win, take 2-3.

The 200 Freestyle may feature Austin’s one big weapon. Nick Brehmeris a 1:52 and should give Winona’s Hodd Gorman a good target to aim for.

The 200 IM could be Cal Dretske’s to command, the key willbe for Kyle Schneider to place ahead or break up the Austin pack of Ben Carroll,Sawyer Myers, and Ben Carroll who are all in the 2:23 – 2:25 range like Kyle.

The 50 Freestyle, if he's healthy, should be all Roger Brosnahan. Whenhe touches and looks back, he will look to see if Conner Kosidowski and AlexKline are ahead or mixed amongst Austin’s Craig Heimark and Carson Hackel. the middle finishes here will determine the victor.

Diving, taking place over at the Middle School will beanother one we wish we could watch. Dan Karnick set an all-time high last weekand he will need it against the Austin divers. Winona having only one diver means even with a win, Austin will outscoreWinona in diving; it is just a matter of by how much.

The 100 Butterfly may be THE race to watch Thursday night.Winona’s Kyle Schneider and Sr. Co-Captain Alex Kline will likely be matchedagainst Ben Carroll, Craig Heimark, and Seth Clasen. All are VERY evenlymatched and should be shoulder to shoulder for ALL 100 yards.

The 100 Freestyle should again fall to a healthy RogerBrosnahan going head to head with Nick Brehmer. Austin has two more sub-minutefreestylers in Jordan Bentley and Jacob Legried. Connor Kosidowski has thechallenge before him, break up the 2-3-4 and enter the Minuteman Club all atthe same time.

The 500 Freestyle, if it plays out as expected, may be the pressure-less event Hodd Gorman has not been afforded in some time. The problem lies in Austin’s having three5:40ish swimmers that will outscore Hodd 9-6 having no Winhawks to back him up.

The 200 Freestyle Relay will be hotly contested. Winona’sfastest time is less than one second behind Austin’s. The question is, who gets3^rd to determine the point spread?

The 100 Backstroke will need to have the Winhawks’ AaronWhyte be in top form. Austin’s Caleb Asay and Carson Hackel have sub 1:08’s andwill be looking to upset. Again, with no one to compliment Aaron, the Packersmay lose by time but win by points.

The 100 Breaststroke is a “ditto” of the back only with CalDretske in the driver’s seat. Jake Johnson will be the go to guy here lookingto break up the Austin duo of Alex Laury and Chris Brown to stay on top in points.

The 400 Freestyle Relay, if it come down to it, will be the AchillesHeel of Winona. Austin has the depth to have strength here while Winona istypically spent by this point. Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that!

Preview of Thursday's meet to come, but first.....

2012-01-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

Looking at the WDN on-line, there is LITTLE coverage of swimming & diving by the WDN still!

There are 83 WSHS Winter Sports photos on-line. There are 2 that feature WSHS Swimming. That is one more than WSHS Gymnastics that had their season cancelled, and 3 LESS than the WSHS Nordic Team that has not had snow until very recently.

Swimming & Diving fans, stand up for your sport. Let the WDN know that their coverage STINKS! Let the WDN know that they are ignorant when it comes to swimming & diving ( like not knowing that HS swimming is still done in YARDS and not METERS) and they should get their act together!

I refuse to pay for a product that does not satisfy my needs, I hope that you feel the same!

Put your comments here and I will forward them on. Send them a note yourself. If you have a business and advertise with them, let them know you are not happy!

“I’m feeling ill.” “ Yeah, I know what you mean, these guys are good.” “No, I mean I might have to get off deck in a hurry!” “Gees, hang in there, we knew all the Roch teams were tough but we gotta finish.” “Urp, move, I gotta run!” “Ok, but Coach ain’t gonna be happy.”

2012-01-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

One tough opponent is bad, but two makes for a rough night.

The Winona Winhawks (0-4-0), (0-4-0) knew they were going tohave an uphill battle with Rochester Century ((6-0-0), (6-0-0) coming to WSHS.They had been having their way with most of the Big 9 and the Winhawks arestill finding their strokes. When the bug started going around, it made thenight an even tougher contest. A number of Winhawks had to bow out either priorto or during the swim meet requiring some last minute line-up shuffles and diminishedscoring.

The 200 Medley Relay gave the appearance that the Winhawkswere there with a purpose. The relay of Hodd Gorman, Cal Dretske, KyleSchneider and Roger Brosnahan turned in their best relay of the season for asolid 2^nd place just 3 tenths behind the imposing Panthers.

Winhawks 4 Century 10

The 200 Freestyle went off as expected with Winhawk times abit off prior meets.

Winhawks 9 Century 21

The 200 IM is a strong suit for the Panthers, Cal Dretske contributedhis second best swim of the season but it was rewarded with only a 4^thplace finish.

Winhawks 12 Century 34

The 50 Freestyle was one of the two highest scoring eventsthe Winhawks had. Roger Brosnahan placed a very convincing 1^st with Co-CaptainsAlex Kline and Joey Kleinow tying and splitting the point for 5^th.

Winhawks 19 Century 43

The lone event win was due to Century having no divers, butDan Karnick put on a personal show anyway and set a season high score in theprocess.

Winhawks 25 Century 43

The 100 Butterfly featured Winhawks Kyle Schneider whoplaced 2^nd and Sr. Co-Captain Alex Kline, swimming his fastest timeever gets touched out by 4 one hundredths and scores in 4^th.

Winhawks 30 Century 54

The 100 Freestyle was the high scoring event of the nightfor the Winhawks in spite of illness. Roger Brosnahan swam valiantly to 2^ndand then left the pool deck. With his teammates cheering him to the wall, Connor Kosidowski took 4^th place JUSTmissing Minuteman status by 2 one hundredths of a second! Finishing out the scoringfor Winona was Aaron Whyte.

Winhawks 37 Century 63

The 500 Freestyle has been such a great event to watch allseason. Every team the Winhawks swim against have a swimmer that closelymatches Winona’s Hodd Gorman. As such, he has been tested meet after meet aftermeet. This evening was no exception and Hodd, swimming side-by-side with thePanther for 350 yards, edged ahead for the next 100 yards looking verydetermined. The final 50 was nearly a sprint as the two pulled back even. Afterswimming side by side for 5 minutes and 24 seconds, Hodd was touched out by 2tenths of a second, taking second place.

Winhawks 42 Century 74

The 200 Freestyle Relay was where some line-up changesstarted occurring due to Winhawks having to leave the pool deck, succumbing tothe bug that has been spreading. As such, a second place finish was all thatwas in the cards.

Winhawks 46 Century 84

The 100 Back was another strong event for the Panthers andAaron Whyte’s stellar time, right there with his best of the season was onlygood for 3^rd place.

Winhawks 52 Century 94

The 100 Breaststroke was, at the risk of sounding like abroken record, another strong showing for Century. Cal Dretske rises to the occasionswimming his fastest time of the season good for 3^rd place. JakeJohnson does likewise setting a new personal best. The meet is out of reach forthe Winhawks and Century starts swimming exhibition.

Winhawks 65 Century 94

The 400 Freestyle relay is for show as Winhawks are getting sick in droves and Century has the meet in the bag. Two of the 5 relays entered areDQ’ed for early starts and the meet ends with little drama.

Winona 73 Rochester Century 94

Next up, the Austin Packers visit WSHS Thursday the 19^th.

Even off nights sometimes come with silver linings

2012-01-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Winona Winhawks (0-3-0), (0-3-0) exited the Rochester JM( (3-1-1), (3-1-0) pool having been a littlemanhandled.

All the Rochester schools are pretty powerful, and if you catchthem when they are on and you are off, it exacerbates the problem. The Winhawks ran into the proverbial brickwall Tuesday night where times were just a bit off their latest.

While most highlights involved the JV where times continueto fall, here are some notable aspects of the meet.

The 200 Freestyle relay saw Sr. Co-Captain Joey Kleinow setanother season best time, his second in 3 days. All the JV 200 Freestylers Jeremey Roberts, Mic Borsari and BenStruekens dropped time, 4, 2 and 7 seconds respectively.

In the 50 Free Roger Brosnahan shaved additional time to seta new low and is edging his way up to the all-time fastest list. He wasfollowed by Co-Captain Alex Kline and Connor Kosidowski who both also set newpersonal best times!

The 100 Freestyle was the next highpoint with Ben Struekensand Justin Konkel set the tone by setting personal best times in the JV heat.Inspired Roger Brosnahan lopped nearly a second and a half off to establish anew personal best time placing 2^nd and Sr. Co-Captain Joey Kleinowkept his stellar night going setting a season low himself.

In the 500 FreestyleHodd Gorman improved his season best by another half second.

The 100 Back saw Jeremy Roberts set a new personal best, loppingoff 2 seconds.

The 100 Breaststroke featured Jake Johnson setting a new personalbest dropping over a second and a half.

Word is the Winhawks capped their evening off in a chivalrousmanner stopping to help damsels in distress. The Winhawk Girls’ hockey team buswas distressed and the boys came to the rescue to give them a ride back toWinona.

Sadly there is no slack for the virtuous, next up isRochester Century at home. The Panthers are considered to be the mightiest of theRochester threesome and will pose quite an obstacle to the Winhawks getting theirfirst W.

“Gees they were so negative, it was awesome” “What, you mean they did poorly?” “No, I mean they were great!” “I’m so confused!”

2012-01-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

It was the first big meet under new Wizards Coach ChrisMayer and everyone, the athletes, the parents, even Coach Chris were wonderinghow things were going to turn out. It was the Red Wing Winter Splash and thecompetition pool in Red Wing is a little tight for space. It was loud, it waswarm but it was definitely electric. Itwas just as he had remembered it. Eleven years earlier Coach Chris was racingin this pool. Now, he was on deck, directing his swimmers, just as his coachbefore him had done, and it felt good! Now, to see what his work with his swimmers had produced.

The Saturday morning session was led out by Wizards veteran GriffWolner. Not realizing it would set the standard for the day, Griff cruised tofirst place trimming 3 full seconds off his previous best and a solid “B” time.

What followed was a magical day with Wizard after Wizardsetting personal bests, all told, 19 out of 20 individual swims. They chalked up 10 first place finishes inspite of MN Swimming veteran clubs Med City, Hastings, Blackline, Barracudasand the Mach 3 Flyers being in attendance.

As the morning wore on, Griff dropped 3 – 4 seconds on hisIM, Breast and 200 Free to cap an awesome day for him.

Brother Grant Wolner, not wanting to be overshadowed, got intothe act logging a first and two seconds while lopping a monster 5 seconds offhis 100 Free.

Alexa Lofgren was the workhorse of the meet swimming bothdays in 7 different events. She dropped time in six events averaging 3 ½ secondsfaster per event. She excelled at the off events, shaving the most time, over 5seconds, on her fly. She also dropped over 4 seconds on both her IM andbackstroke.

Viva Graff swimming in her first competition exceeded Coach Chris’goals for her logging a solid “C” time in her 50 Free. Just think what she’lldo when she dons that Packer Backer swim cap she got!

Right with her, newcomer Samantha Wangen also swam a solid “C”time in her first competition 100 Freestyle.

Upon arrival Saturday afternoon, Wizard Seniors ReeseGalewski and Haley O’Neill were informed that their younger teammates had set thestandard and they had better live up to their end of the bargain.

With the gauntlet dropped, they responded accordingly.

Reese placed first in every event she swam, dropping 11 secondsoff of her breaststroke and 4 seconds off her 200 Free. The firsts included afirst time EVER 500 Freestyle by Reese and she broke 6 minutes while doing so.

Haley took the challenge to heart as well, in spite ofswimming all off events for her. She won the 100 Fly, set a new best standard inswimming the 200 backstroke for the first time and placing 3^rd,then finished up with a monster win in the 500 Freestyle.

Mariah Bruner swam in her first competition ever swimming agood “C” time in her 50 breast placing 7^th and bettering her seedtime in the 50 Free by 3 1/2 seconds.

Holding up his end of the deal, Alex Jorgenson placed 1^stand 2^nd in his 50 Free and 50 Back respectively and improving hisbackstroke time by nearly 6 seconds in the process.

Lastly, Senior Reese Galewski was back for Sunday. After having cranked out that 500 Freewin,she suggested that if I was to spy a lump on the bottom during the 200 Butterfly,it might be her and I should summon rescue personnel. Such was not the case andReese won the event with room to spare, setting a new personal best by over 4 ½seconds.

Come Sunday night, Coach Chris was taking down the WizardsTeam Banner from the Red Wing wall with a very big grin on his face. He wasback, it felt right, and he was ready for more.

"No Winhawks went this way, there's no tracks!" "That's because they're 3 feet off the ground, follow me!"

2012-01-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Winona swimmers came off a high flying weekend where they competingat the Packer Invitational. Hitting the water a total of 52 times in relaysand individual events, after 36 of those splashes the Winhawks were staring up at a season besttime on the scoreboard. In 23 of those 36 splashes, a Winhawk was celebrating a newpersonal best time. The boys are gaining momentum with each workout and meet.

None too soon as well, as Tuesday night the Winhawks (0-2-0) (0-2-0) travel to Rochester to swim and dive against the Rockets of JohnMarshall (2-2-1), (2-2-0).

It will be afun meet to watch, JM has some great talent and the Winhawks will need to beall over their starts and turns, needing every edge to keep the Rockets honest.

Some key battles will include:

Winona’s Hodd Gorman and JM’sTed Duff in the 200 Freestyle.

Winona Cotter Sophomore Roger Brosnahan has beenturning heads with his return to the pool this year and he will get a real testout of JM’s Senior sprinter Tanner Nimke in the 50 Freestyle.

It is an awaymeet and we ALL know what that means, you ALL get to watch diving and you arein for a treat. JM’s Austin Cook is putting on one clinic after another witheach meet he dives. After advancing to state last year but missing out on the finals,Cook has been diving with purpose this year. Winona’s Dan Karnick has madegreat strides, but Austin is something to see.

The 500 Freestyle will beanother Gorman & Duff rematch I am betting. This will NOT be the time to go outto the concession stand. The 500 Free is one race I would take in!

The Winhawkslook good to carry the 200 Freestyle Relay in this meet.

Big 9 Standings:

The Big 9 is starting to take shape as more dual meets areunder the teams’ collective belts. Dual meet records through last Thursday areas follows:

Big Nine Standings		Overall			Big 9
Teams	W	L	T	W	L	T
Rochester Mayo	4	0	0	4	0	0
Rochester Century	4	0	0	4	0	0
Mankato East/Loyola	3	0	0	3	0	0
Rochester John Marshall	2	2	1	2	2	0
Faribault	2	3	1	2	2	1
Austin High School	2	3	0	2	3	0
Owatonna	2	3	1	2	3	1
Mankato West	1	3	0	1	3	0
Winona H.S.	0	2	0	0	2	0
Albert Lea	0	5	0	0	5	0

It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. – Vince Lombardi

2012-01-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

First off, it was nice to see that the WDN gleaned fromCoach Schulz’s highlights that there were some great races like the 200 FreeRelay. Sadly, I find it disheartening that a Newspaper Sports department (the experts so-to-speak) would notbe aware of the fact that all MN HS swimming is done in yards and not meters.

But I digress.

Secondly, it was GREAT to see the large crowd at the WSHScompetition pool. The stands were fullbut with not just parents but studentbody and some of the Winona club swimmers there to see their older “teammates”compete for their town. I know the guys and the Winhawk coaches appreciated thesupport and I hope to see the attendance stay high!

The Winona Winhawks (0-2-0), (0-2-0) gave it a good tryThursday night but the Owatonna Huskies ( 2-3-1), (2-3-1) had been denied toomany times this season and were not going home empty handed.

The 200 Medley Relay went pretty much as expected, theHuskies had too good of a line-up for the Winhawks to handle. WinhawksSophomore Hodd Gorman swam the opening backstroke leg for what might be thefirst time ever and swam the quickest split of the season.

Winona 6 Owatonna 8

Next up was the 200 Freestyle and it may have been a littletoo soon for Winhawk Hodd Gorman. Having just swam the 200 MR, he fought hardand took a solid 2^nd. WinhawkSenior Co-Captain Joey Kleinow took a very close race and dug deep to pull awayat the end to place 3^rd.

Winona 12 Owatonna 17

The 200 IM was a fun race to watch. Winhawk Sophomore Cal Dretske was neck-n-neckafter the fly, fell behind in the backstroke ( Owatonna swimmers specialty)then made most of it back up during the breaststroke ( Cal’s specialty). In theend Cal didn’t have enough gas left after closing the gap and placed a strongsecond. Winhawk Kyle Schneider placed 4^th and Cotter Sophomore AaronWhyte set a new personal best finishing out the Winhawk entries.

Winona 18 Owatonna 27

The 50 Freestyle was all Cotter Sophomore Roger Brosnahanswimming a season low for the win. Winhawk Alex Kline also set his season lowscoring for the Winhawks behind Brosnahan.

Winona 24 Owatonna 36

Diving was a great event, missed by most of us as it was atthe Middle School. Cotter Senior Dan Karnick and his Owatonna rival both scoredseason high marks but Dan out dueled his competition and took 1^stplace! Unfortunately, having only one diver the Huskies took the remainder ofthe places and more importantly the points.

Winona 30 Owatonna 45

The 100 Butterfly was a morale bright spot for the Winhawks.All 3 competitors set season low times with Freshman Alex Vaslow settinganother personal best. Kyle Schneider shaved a full second off his previous andwas a hair off a personal best himself placing 2nd. Senior Alex Kline alsoestablished a season low following behind Schneider for 3^rd.

Winona 37 Owatonna 54

The 100 Freestyle got the Winhawks some much needed pointswhen Roger Brosnahan took first going away and Sr. Captain Joey Kleinow placed 3^rd.

Winona 46 Owatonna 61

The 500 Freestyle was the race of the evening and was a nailbiter from start to finish. Owatonna interjected one of the utility swimmers tothrow a 1-2 punch at Winona’s Hodd Gorman. Hodd, rested after his 200 Freeearlier, gave them all they could handle. Staying side-by-side with the Huskies’plug-in, the two of them traded strokes and eventually buried the other Huskythat had been thought to be Hodd’s main competition. In the end, it was the 350 – 450 yard spanthat allowed the Husky to gain a slight one second + edge. Hodd out sprintedhim in the final 50, but could only gain back a half a second taking secondplace and setting a new season low.

Winona 51 Owatonna 72

The 200 Freestyle Relay was a back and forth affair withspeedsters salted with in the two teams’ relays rather than as anchors asusual. The Huskies sent their stud 2^nd while the Winhawks sentBrosnahan 3^rd. The Winhawks had a hair of a lead when the twoanchors jumped side-by-side. Winhawks Sophomore Cal Dretske swam a new personalbest 50 split was touched out by his counterpart, the difference being 12 onehundredths of a second.

Winona 55 Owatonna 82

The 100 Backstroke was another bright morale spot for theyoung Winhawks. Cotter Sophomore Aaron Whyte set his second personal best timeof the night dropping 2 ½ seconds to place 2^nd and First year JuniorSwimmer Ryan Magana scored in 5^th place setting a new personal bestas well improving by seven full seconds.

Winona 60 Owatonna 93

The 100 Breaststroke was the great race it was predicted tobe. Owatonna’s Junior Breaststroker Glynnmuscled a mere 4 tenths lead on Winona’s Sophomore Cal Drestske at the 50, thenover powered him going away with Cal taking a strong second. Winhawks JakeJohnson and Connor Kosidowski BOTH set personal best times for their efforts.

Winona 73 Owatonna 93

The 400 Freestyle relay is a sad familiar story, with lowernumbers the Winhawks lack depth for the final event. Having thrown the kitchensink at Owatonna earlier, the Winhawks place a solid 2^nd place.

Winona 85 Owatonna 93

What’ ya mean they’re Husky? Don’t be callin’ ‘em names now, we’ll get an unsportsmanlike called on us.

2012-01-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

The Owatonna Huskies (1-3-1, 1-3-1) come to Winona to takeon the Winona Winhawks (0-1-0, 0-1-0) in the first dual meet since the end of theHoliday Break. Owatonna managed to squeeze in a meet during the break, aheart breaker loss to Mankato East due to a jump in the final relay that deniedpoints they needed for the win. Winona has had a clear schedule since December 17^nd,so it is anybody’s guess how the teams will come up to the blocks. Eager,rusty, determined, maybe all of the above.

200 Medley Relay

The Huskies have posted 3 solid times so far this seasonthat should give them the edge in this event.

200 Freestyle

This should be a great race. Huskie Junior Mark Holzerlandhas posted consistant 1:59’s so far this season. The Winhawks’ Sophomore HoddGorman has a 2:00 flat under his belt and depending on how Christmas Breaktraining went, should give the Huskie a run for the wall.

200 IM

In a battle of the sophomores, watch for Winhawk Cal Dretsketo battle the Huskies’ Quentin Slagter. It will be a back and forth battle,Slagter is a backstroker and Cal is a breaststroker so the back and forth willneed to either even out or establish a leader by the freestyle. Cal will needto kick it up a full notch to take the win but we’ve seen him do it before.

50 Freestyle

Owatonna Junior Cole Martinez has posted a 23.99 this seasonbut Winona Sophomore Roger Brosnahan’s been quicker, is swimming at home and I am guessing he hates to lose.

Diving

As always for home meets most of us won’t get to watch Divingand that is a shame. Both Cotter Senior Dan Karnack and Huskie Sophomore Zach Dantzmanhave been posting identical scores around 160. Whoever is on Thursday nightwill win this competition but look for Dan to capitalize on the home boardadvantage.

100 Butterfly

Huskie Junior Kellen Glynn is their lead butterflier posting57’s all season long. Unless Coach Schulz does some major shuffling I don’tthink the Winhawks have a counter to this. Look for the Winhawks to press forthe mid-points to mitigate the damage.

100 Freestyle

This should be Cotter Sophomore Roger Brosnahan’s race goingaway. What will matter is what his teammates do to score points in the middleof the pack.

500 Freestyle

A repeat match-up of the 200 Free, this time the twoathletes will slug it out over 20 lengths. Owtonna’s Junior Mark Holzerland startedthe season with a 5:45 but just swam a 5:28. Winona’s Sophomore distance studHodd Gorman has a 5:31 & 5:29 so far, so watch for the fireworks! The longest race of the night could very well be the best race of the night.

200 Free Relay

This could be a fun race to watch depending on line-ups. Owatonnahas logged 1:39, 1:37 & 1:37 so far this season. Winona has got as low as1:38 depending on line-up. So the question is, who will be behind the block forWinona?

100 Backstroke

Winona will hopefully have a lead going into this event asOwtaonna has a pair of guys, Martinez & Slagter that swim 1:02 & 1:03respectively. Cotter Sophomore Aaron Whyte will have to buckle down to preventthe sweep here.

100 Breaststroke

Huskie Junior Kellen Glynn should be going head-to-head withWinhawk Sophomore Cal Dretske. Their seeds will be within a second, so look fora neck & neck race that will be decided in the last 5 yards.

400 Freestyle Relay

I think the Winhawks just don’t have the depth as theHuskies have been posting 3:42-3:44 to the Winhawks’ 3:48 – 3:50. If the meetcome down to this point, Winona will have to get PUMPED up. Owatonna has beenbitten by the jump bug this season so don’t count anything out.

Good things come to ye who waits........

2011-12-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

For those of you that have been checking in for info on the Winhawks Boys' season as it starts, we're almost there. Info is starting to flow and I will cover their results from the Tiger Relays, give you an update as to where the Big 9 Standings are at, and start looking forward.

In the mean time, I thought I would pass on to the 2011 Senior girls from the Winhawks an additional THANK YOU. Their totally unnecessary gift was put toward acquiring this:

So I always have one for 500 races no matter where I am refereeing. ( None of the Roch schools have one on site). So thank you again girls, it will always remind me of you when I use it.

And they're off.......

2011-12-09T11:46:00.001-08:00

The Big 9 Boys Swimming & Diving Season opened the2011-12 competition campaign Thursday.

Rochester Century has been the team to beat in recent years. They’ve woneight Big Nine Conference championships in a row, five Section 1AA titles in arow and they placed fourth at last year’s State Meet.

Scores from the first night of competition:

Mayo 98, John Marshall 83

Century 96, Mankato West 80

Austin 91, Albert Lea 87

Faribault 93, Owatonna 93

Yet to compete, Mankato East gets into the swim of thingsthis Saturday at the Hutchinson Invite and lastly Winona starts competitionThursday the 15^th at Faribault.

In case you are wondering what times it will take to get tostate.

2011-2012 SwimmingStandards

Boys

Class A ClassAA

200 Medley Relay 1:46.48 1:42.14

200 Freestyle 1:52.85 1:47.72

200 Individual Medley 2:09.06 2:02.46

50 Freestyle 22.80 22.25

100 Butterfly 57.50 54.69

100 Freestyle 50.66 49.05

500 Freestyle 5:11.03 4:56.02

200 Freestyle Relay 1:33.92 1:31.15

100 Backstroke 58.63 55.80

100 Breaststroke 1:05.35 1:01.95

400 Freestyle Relay 3:28.92 3:20.61

Thequalifying standards for each swimming event is established by taking the three(3) year

average ofthe 16th fastest time of the state meet preliminaries at the U of M AquaticCenter.

The standardmay not deviate more than 1% up or down in any given year. This is indicated

with anasterick (*)

She may be #55 on the court...

2011-12-06T19:40:00.001-08:00

Girls HS is over and Boy's HS swimming is ramping up, but Winfins and Wizards are in gear and looking for your participation. Girls trust me, it will warm your coach's heart to know that you are swimming, working out, being active in the off season.

Unless of course you are Greer Kosidowski. We already know she is playing round ball this winter for WSHS and I took in her game tonight. She is a dominating force in the middle and fun to watch play, check out the schedule at Big9.org and take in a game. Razil, Sam, Kayla and Ashlen were all there making sure the crowd knew that No. 55 on the court was No. 1 in the pool!

The Winfins are back with the same great team they have had for a few seasons now.

The Wizards are announcing the coaching debut of Chris Mayer. Chris, a former WSHS standout swimmer and former UW Stevens Point Pointer has a wealth of experience and knowledge to share. Still listed on the WSHS record board as part of the fastest ever 200 Free and 400 Free Relays, Chris got a lot from swimming but even more from his coaches and is looking to play that same role for Winona swimming youth.

The Winfins are in action this weekend at WSHS, taking on the LaCrosse Wave. Yours truely will be there officiating. Had a bit of a scare with dual scheduling, I was informed I was expected to be Starter at the USA BAC "A" Meet this weekend in Bloomington. Being news to me, we figured out where the communication went bad and with some maneuvering I got covered for the TC's gig and will be in Winona for the Winfins.

Although that means I will miss seeing Haley O'Neill and Reese Galewski get back in the water again, they will be representing the Wizards at the BAC "A" Meet in Bloomington.

Before ALL that, I get to pay a visit to Rochester this Thursday and referee the Rochester JM vs Rochester Mayo Boy's meet!

If it appears I am doing a fair amount of refereeing I am, as I am working to hone my skills. I was selected to be the Deck Referee for the MSHSL Boy's Class AA State Championships next March at the Univ of MN and, well, as they say, practice makes perfect.

When everything aligns

2011-11-20T20:11:00.001-08:00

If it was predictable, it wouldn’t be sport, or fun.

The Winona Winhawk Girls Swimmers & Diver state qualifiers hung it all out this weekend, looking to cap their season with glory. Two relays and four individual entries were Winona’s mark on the 2011 State Championships. Not bad after a hard fought Sectionals contest. The Winhawks finished sixth at Sections, behind of course JM, Mayo, Hastings and Farmington which had more entries than I care to count, but also Rochester Century, who as it turned out, only had one state entry. The Winhawks had edged out Owatonna at Sections, a reversal of Big 9, but Owatonna only qualified a relay and four individuals (2 divers, 2 swimmers). The Winhawks were way ahead of the game already. I am not making excuses, here, the girls need none, they gave it their maximum effort, I just like to help put things in perspective for those that were there, and more importantly not there.

The State Championships start with the Diving Prelims on Thursday evening. The University of MN Diving well consists of a separate well from the swimming, two one meter boards flanked by two 3 meter boards divided by the tower complex with platforms at 5, 7 and 10 meter heights. It is an imposing sight if you have never been there before. The divers are allowed to warm-up for a half hour by section. Many of the divers from the twin cities Sections either dive at u of MN camps or with dive clubs that work out at the Natatorium so they are familiar with the boards. The outstate divers, may not be so lucky. In groups of 8, the divers have 30 minutes to try out the two boards, pick which one feels best to them, and then practice/warm-up. After all sections have had their warm-up, there is an open period for all divers to use the boards for 30 minutes. Then competition starts. Diving features the top 4 divers from 8 different Sections. The 32 divers are allowed to perform 5 dives each, at which point the field is pared down to 20. Each dive, with the announcing, performing the dive, and the scoring takes around a minute. So from one dive to the next, you may be sitting around for 30 minutes or so. Performing well is a mixture of diving prowess AND the ability to compete under these conditions. Crystal Franzwa performed her 5 dives and missed advancing to the second round by just 5 ½ points, scoring 143.85. Her Section 1 counterparts also missed the cut, the two Owatonna divers finishing with 120+ points and the Roch Century diver ( their only State Qualifier) just 2 ½ points ahead of Crystal. As of Thursday night, half of Owatonna’s qualifiers were out and Roch Century was finished with their State Meet experience already.

On Friday, the swimming preliminaries start. With Class A warm-ups at 10 and competition at Noon, the Winhawks had to wait all day for a 4PM warm-up, occupying their time with movies and relaxing. Come time, the Class AA Girls, nearly 300 in number, have to take turns warming up, as the pool cannot accommodate all of them at once.

First up was the Medley Relay with their 14th place seed. The girls, MacKenzie Brosnahan, Alexandra Zuelke, Reese Galewski, and Haley O'Neill swim slightly off their seed time, and are 18th, just 8 tenths of a second out of the consolation round. Owatonna finishes 21st, and 3/5ths of their State team is headed home already.

Next up, the 50 Freestyle. Cotter Senior MacKenzie Brosnahan has the 7th seed swimming in Lane 3 of the 3rd heat. Of the remaining 17 seeds behind her, 16 are separated from her by a mere 8 tenths of second. MacKenzie swims just off her seed and qualified for the Consolation Final with the 11th fastest time. In Saturday’s Final, MacKenzie swims The 100 Freestyle features the next swim for MacKenzie. Her Section finish places her 4th seed, Lane 5 in the final heat. The time differential between her 4th seed and the 12th seed is under a second. She places 11th swimming off her seed time. In the Saturday final she swims the identical time, finishing 13th overall.

The 200 Freestyle Relay comes next. Having qualified by time, the girls, Alexandra Zuelke, Haley O'Neill, Emily Thurow, and MacKenzie Brosnahan swim just off their seed time but qualify for the Consolation Final, sitting in 16th place. In the Saturday Finals swimming from Lane 8, the girls kick it down a notch, Alex Zuelke delivers her teammates the lead and Haley O’Neill swims her fastest split of the season. In the end the girls swim the time that got them to State and move up to 14th overall.

Last up, Alexandra Zuelke takes to her Lane 8 block to swim the prelims for the 100 Breaststroke. Alex swims just off her seed time and outside of qualifying for Finals.

In the end, the Winhawks finish in 28th place with 14 points.

For the Section 1AA schools, both Rochester Century and Owatonna go home on Friday pointless, not having qualified for Finals. The remaining 4 teams show just how TOUGH Section 1AA is. Rochester JM finishes 4th and Rochester Mayo finished ONE point behind them in 5th. Farmington takes 13th and Hastings is right behind them in 14th. So Section 1AA takes 4 of the top 14 spots, the Winhawks did well considering.

Interestingly, Section 6 teams take 1st, 2nd & 4th as well as 20th and 30th place so their Section meet was almost a mini-state meet!

What goes up..........goes back up?

2011-11-18T21:28:00.001-08:00

The Winkhawk swim team saw day one come and go. The 200 Medley Relay swam hard but did not make finals. The 200 Free Relay qualified for the consolation finals in 16th. MacKenzie Brosnahan is in 11th place in both her events.

Al aboarrrrrrrd. Train’s leavin’ for the Big Show! Next stop, University of Minnesota Natatorium.

2011-11-16T18:49:00.001-08:00

The Winona Winhawks head out Thursday for Minneapolis. They havea date with the best divers and fastest swimmers in the state.

After an acclimating warm-up in the same pool MichaelPhelps, Ryan Lochte and Rebecca Soni were just in last weekend, the firstWinhawk to see action is Junior Diver Crystal Franzwa. Class AA DivingPreliminaries are Thursday Night at 6PM. With 8 School sections and the top 4divers from each qualifying, the field includes 32 divers from all around thestate. It will be a tough field with the defending Champion, the runner up ANDthe third place finisher all returning. Half the field are seniors, nine moreare fellow Juniors. It will be a very seasoned and experienced bunch. They willperform their first 8 of 11 dives on Thursday night, leaving the final 3 toperform in front of a PACKED University of Minnesota Natatorium grandstand thatholds just shy of 3,000 people. Like its male swimming championship counterpartand the Boy’s HS Hockey Tourney, these are the only HS tourneys where Tournament passes are notallowed. Everyone has to get their hands on a ticket.

Friday night comes the Class AA Swimming Preliminaries.

The Winhawks swing right into action in the first event, the200 Medley Relay. The team of Cotter Senior MacKenzie Brosnahan (BK) CotterJunior Alexandra Zuelke (BR), Winhawk Sophomores Reese Galewski (Fly) and HaleyO’Neill (FREE) will be in lane 2 of the 3^rd heat where there are 4 total heats. Thatmakes them the 14^th seed where only 16 get to return on Saturday.The next four teams behind them are within 8 tenths of a second but you can bet all 11 teams behind them are each gunning to not be watching fromthe bleachers on Saturday.

Next Winhawk Appearance, Cotter Senior MacKenzie Brosnahanin the 50 Freestyle. MacKenzie is swimming in Lane 3 in the 3^rd andfinal heat. Her 9^th overall seed puts her in the precarious positionof needing to move up, but so will a number of girls right behind her. Only 15hundredths separate her seed from the 12^th seed.

After a few events and a break where diving would have been,MacKenzie is back at the blocks for the 100 Freestyle. She is again swimming inthe 3^rd and final heat, but now sits in the number 4 seeded spot in Lane 5.Here there is still little breathing room, the time gap between her and the 10^thseed is only 8 tenths of a second.

The 200 Freestyle Relay, perhaps the layperson’s surprise Winhawkentry at State (Coach Burt may have known better) is next up. The girls, AlexandraZuelke, Hailey O’Neill, Emily Thurow, and MacKenzie Brosnahan are swimming inthe 3^rd and final heat. Their time from Sections has them seeded 13^thin a field of 23 teams. The next six teams behind them span only 79 hundredthsand will be after them hard.

Last up for the preliminaries, Cotter Junior Alexandra Zuelkeswimming the 100 Breaststroke. Alex is in Lane 8 of the 3^rd Heat,there are 4 heats total. Qualifying on time, Alex will need to dig deep andmake the most of her taper to make this State meet a two appearance show.

The only thing we do know going into Thursday’s Prelims, isthat these seven girls will revel in the opportunity to share water with thebest high school swimmers and divers in the state.

While there they get to takein the pageantry and excitement that is the Minnesota State High School League2011 Girls State Swimming & Diving Championships.

Winhawks continue negative part Deux

2011-11-16T18:07:00.001-08:00

The 100 Butterfly had a whole heap a talent in it,eventually there were 5 qualifiers for state from the event. Winhawks performingwell included Winhawk Junior Samantha Johnson setting a personal best in herprim swim. A Young Winhawk of the future, Bluffview 8^th Grader HannaO’Neill set a personal best and just missed the Consolation Final by 3 spots.Winhawk Junior Reese Galewski swam just off her personal best in the prelimsbut secured herself a spot in the Championship Final. Saturday night Reese wentlower and made good on setting that new personal best, landing in 7^thoverall.

The 100 Freestyle had the Winhawks sitting in their bestseedings of the evening. Cotter 8^th Grader Morgan Whyte was the firstoff the blocks for Winona and set the tone. She shaved a full second and a halfoff her seed in Sprint, not only breaking her way into the Consolation finalfor Saturday but also joining the Minuteman (girl) club! Saturday night Morgan pickedup another place in the standings and finished 15^th! Finishing right behind her in Prelims and alsoswimming a new personal best AND joining the Minutegirl club was CotterSophomore Emily Thurow. Winhawk Sophomore Haley O’Neill was swimming 57’s allseason long, breaking through at the very end of the season. Come prelims shedropped nearly a full second to set a new personal best. She wasn’t throughyet, in Finals Saturday she smoked the competition in the Consolation finalfinishing a full 2 ½ seconds ahead of the pack talking 9^th in a timethat could have been good for 7^th. Haley moves up 4 spots in the 100Free all time Winhawk list to claim 6^th fastest ever. Last but notleast, Cotter Senior MacKenzie Brosnahan, swimming her final individual event,made it count. Swimming a comfortable time just off her seed, MacKenzie gotherself qualified for the Saturday Final. Swimming out of Lane 6 MacKenziebusted loose in the Final shaving, no slashing nearly 2 seconds off her prelimswim to set a new personal best, take 2^nd place overall and qualifyherself, a 3^rd time that evening, for the State Championships.

The 500 Freestyle has been a growing event for the Winhawks allseason and Sections was no exception. Senior Co-Captain led things off swimminga personal best in her last meet as a Winhawk. Sophomore Razil Campbellequaled that feat dropping 3 seconds to set herself a new personal best. The Surpriseof the afternoon came from young Hanna O’Neill. Swimming the 500 Freestyle for thefirst time all season in competition, she goes sub 6 minutes to finish 19^thoverall.

The 200 Freestyle Relay had bounced around a bit in the dualseason, but had yet to approach the State Time Standard. That all was fixed atSections prelims as the gang of four, Alexandra Z., Hailey O., Emily T.,MacKenzie B. drop a full second and a half, flirting within 5 one hundredths ofthat state cut-off. Come Saturday nightthey left no doubt in anyone’s mind dropping ANOTHER second and a half tofinish 4^th but more importantly, claim their spot on the train tothe State Championships! Their performance bumped last year’s 200 Free RelayState Performance from the #4 All-time spot for a 200 Free Relay.

The 100 Backstroke was led out by Senior Co-Captain KaylaBerg. Swimming in her last event as a Winhawk, she went out in style dropping asecond and a half to set a new personal best for the second meet in a row.Perhaps inspired, the next heat saw not one but two Winhawks go low also. Overin Lane 6 Morgan Whyte performs well trimming off over a second and half for anew personal low herself. In Lane 2, Sophomore Abbey Quandahl sets a newpersonal best cutting off 2 ½ seconds and turning her 15^th seed intoa 12^th place qualifying for Saturday’s Qualification heat. She alsoleaps her way into the All Time top 12 list now sitting at the 10^thfastest Winhawk 100 Back ever. After all that, how can McKenna Marg do anythingbut smoke her prelim. She cuts off 2 ½ seconds from her seed to also make theConsolation Final setting a new personal best and jumping the pack to landherself in 8^th fastest Winhawk 100 Back ever.

The 100 Breaststroke is the last individual event and canget girls to realizing the end is near. Senior Co-Captain Sam Berg goes out instyle swimming a solid performance in her last Winhawk event. Alexandra Zuelketakes her prelim swim out like she means business and sets a new personal best.She comes back on Saturday and finishes under the State Cut time to add onemore swim to the reasons she is going to the U of MN for the StateChampionships.

The 400 Free Relay was a token entry as a sophomore andthree 8^th graders swam their way to the finish knowing that the Winhawkswere sending some quality representation to the State Championships.

Winhawks look positive going negative.

2011-11-15T21:39:00.001-08:00

An atom mopes onto the pool deck, and the coach says, “what’swrong?” The atom says, “I lost one of my electrons.” “Are you sure?” says thecoach. The Atom says, “Am I sure? I'm positive!”.

Sorry geek joke I just I had to repeat.

The Winona Winhawk girls’ team saw some positives in goingnegative last weekend at the Section 1AA Championships. Swimming is one of the fewsports that employ a taper, i.e. a reducing of the rigors of training, timed toallow the body to recover and perform optimally in an upcoming competition. Itis part science, part art, as swimmers react differently based on body,training, events swum and a host of other variables. For the most part, the Winhawksdropped seconds in swimming to numerous season and personal best times as well as red lining the WInhawk record book a bit!

The 200 Medley Relay was the first indication of somepositive things happening for the Winhawks. The team of Cotter Senior MacKenzieBrosnahan, Cotter Junior Alexandra Zuelke, and Winona Sophomores Reese Galewskiand Haley O’Neill, broke into the Winhawk top 12 record book with their first swimof the season. They improved on that 7^th fastest slot 4 more timesduring the season, but they weren’t done yet. Their prelim time of 1:52.27 movethem up to number 2, right behind last year’s record time from Sections andwould be good enough to go to State IF they could repeat it in Finals. Comefinals night they did one better. Each girl swam a personal best split instroking their way to a 1:50.84, not just a new Winhawk team record, (sorry Sam & Lalita, it was short lived), but a solid admittanceto the Big Show, next week at the U of MN, the Girls State HS Championships.

The 200 Freestyle saw more Winhawk drops. Winhawk SophomoreGreer Kosidowski dropped nearly 3 seconds for a new personal best! CotterSophomore McKenna Marg dropped 4 ½ seconds smashing her personal best. Lastly,Haley O’Neill dropped over 2 seconds, establishing her new personal best AND qualifyingfor Saturday’s Consolation Final. On Saturday she dropped even more timefinishing 12^th overall and moving herself up to the 6^thfastest 200 Free by a Winhawk ever.

The 200 IM has been an event of eth future for the Winhawks.Predominately swum by Sophomores and younger all season. Sectiosn was nodifferent. Winhawk Freshman McKenzie Porter dropped 3 seconds for a new personalbest, as did Cotter 8^th Grader Alex Arnold. Saving the bestperformance for last, Winhawk Sophomore Reese Galewski dropped nearly 6 secondsto not only work her way into the top 12 all time (11^th) but also leapherself into Saturday’s Consolation Final where she eventually held her seed.

The 50 Freestyle featured high performances all the wayaround. Cotter Soiphomore Emily Thurow shaved off half a second to establish anew personal best, Winhawk Sophomore Abbey Quandahl trimes 8 tenths of a secondin establishing her new personal best. The Cotter duo of Alexandra Zuelke and MacKenzieBrosnahan both qualify for Saturday’s Final, with Alex swimming a personal best.On Saturday night they pull out all the stops and Alex improves on her timemoving up to 6^th fastest WInahwk 50 Free ever and MacKenzie, seeded6^th, staring at the possible end to her season, drops 8 tenths tofinish 3^rd UNDER the State Qualifying time and extending her seniorseason one more week at the Big Dance!

Diving was conducted over two days. Prelims and Semi’s wereon Thursday during the day. The final 3 dives were performed on Saturdayafternoon during the swimming. With the conclusion of the Semi’s, WinhawkFreshman Sarah Scherbring was in 13^th place. Winhawk SophomoreJanelle Mueller was in 8^th and Winhawk Junior Crystal Franzwa wassitting atop the leader board with a 27 point lead. Sarah and Janelle both slidin the final standings but Crystal was a rock opening up a 50+ point lead towin the diving and ensure her first trip to the diving well in the StateChampionships.

The rest of the synopsis tomorrow and a preview of the Winhawksappearance in the Big Show!

The quest has only begun

2011-11-14T10:41:00.001-08:00

Sorry for no Sections summation yet, I was at the Univ of MN officiating the MN Grand Prix with Phelps, Lochte, Soni, Franklin, Schmitt, and many more all in the water. They were long days but VERY VERY FUN.

The Winhawks were able to advance 2 individuals and 2 relays to the MN Big Dance this coming weekend.

While I go in search of the Section swim information, here is a MSHSL prepper for the upcoming MN State Girls' Swimming & Diving Championships!

http://mshsl.org/mshsl/sports/11_GSW_advance.pdf