Winona Area Public SchoolsROCHESTER — There’s going to be plenty of black and orange on the pool deck at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus next weekend.
That’s because the Winona Senior High School girls swimming and diving team will be well represented at the state meet.
The Winahwks will send five entries and six athletes to the state meet.
“What an incredible meet,” Winona coach Chris Mayer said. “We saw some incredible races, saw some amazing diving, and are moving people on to state. Hopefully our girls will get a little rest and will be ready to rock next weekend. Even if they don’t drop time, this will be some valuable experience for some young swimmers who will hopefully be there again next year.”
The Winona coaches made the decision to put Mary Hoffman in with the 200 medley relay, and the senior delivered from the anchor position, helping a team that included Anna MacLennan, Emily Robison and Carolyn Macon to a third-place finish in a state cut time.
That seemed to get the night off on the right start for Winona.
Macon also qualified for state individually in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.39, good for third place in the race and third all-time in Winona history. Anna McCormick finished 14th in 2:13.32 after competing in the consolation race.
In the 200 individual medley, Kaylee Niemeyer placed sixth in 2:24.45 (13th all-time in Winona history) and MacLennan was 11th in 2:29.58.
Hoffman, who has battled injuries all season, finished 15th in the 50 freestyle in 26.86.
Diving was held on Thursday night, and it was a big night for Winona. Issara Schmidt nearly broke the section record in winning with 473.40 points to punch her ticket to state, where she will be joined by Morgan Walker, who was third in 336.30. Coaches were unsure if Walker would be able to compete after colliding while competing for the mountain bike team. Ashlyn Full added a 13th-place finish with a personal high score of 218.20.
Macon was in a battle with Cecilia DeJong in the 100 butterfly, placing second in 57.32 seconds, just behind DeJong’s 56.19. The times would have placed second and fourth at state last year, Mayer said. Macon easily qualified for state with the performance. Ryka Parsi added a 16th-place finish in 1:11.31.
Hoffman and Robison finished 13th and 15th in the 100 freestyle in 58.84 and 59.69, respectively. Niemeyer finished 13th in the 500 in 5:49.51, while McCormick was 16th.
In the 200 freestyle relay, Ava Pike, Hoffman, Robison and Macon placed fourth in 1:43.62, dropping two full seconds and moving up two spots from the prelims. The time was good for 11th in school history. It wasn’t a state standard, but it was a huge improvement from Wednesday.
In the 100 backstroke, Anna MacLennan won the consolation heat in 1:04.66, which would have nearly placed seventh in the finals. Harper Wolner was sixth in that race in 1:03.93.
Robison finished 10th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.26.
The 400 freestyle relay finished eighth in 4:00.27, but the real story was in the splits. Ryka Parsi, in her last high school race, clocked a 59.99 to achieve the prestigious minuteman status. Meixi Yu nearly got there as well, swimming a 1:00.75. So did Tara Ziegeweid, who swam a 1:00.35. Niemeyer, who already achieved the minute mark status earlier in her career, swam the anchor.
The Winhawks placed fifth as a team.