Swim and Dive State Tournament, 2022: Swim Prelims
Posted: Thursday, November 17, 2022 - 10:47 PM
The Visitation Blazers look poised to claim their second consecutive Class A crown if the preliminary times are any indication of their success. The Blazers captured the fastest times in five events in the opening round of the 2022 Girls Swim and Dive State Meet.
The Class AA team race may be closer with Minnetonka earning the best qualifying times in two relays and St. Michael-Albertville sophomore Lily Van Heel qualifying with the fastest time in two events.
The Class A finals are scheduled for noon on Nov. 18 and the Class AA finals will follow at 6 p.m. The meet is held at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
Class A
The Visitation Blazers took the lead in five events during the Class A swimming preliminaries.
Seniors Ella Passe and Anna Farley led the way for Visitation. Passe turned in the fastest times in both the 200 freestyle (1:53.28) and the 500 freestyle (5:01.47). Farley won the qualifying heats in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:06.98.
Passe and Farley also swam on the qualifying 400 freestyle relay team. The Blazers took the top spot in 3:31.73 with sophomore Elizabeth Burke and senior Katie Miller rounding out their squad. Passe added a fourth best time on the 200 freestyle team that qualified in 1:38.09. Miller, Burke and sophomore Maggie Farley completed that team.
In addition to Passe, eighth-grader Adalynn Biegler of Monticello and junior Carly Bixby of Blake also had the fastest prelim times in two events. Biegler turned in a 23.27 in the 50 freestyle and a 51.86 in the 100 freestyle. Bixby went 54.89 in the 100 butterfly and 55.20 in the 100 backstroke.
Class AA
Minnetonka looks strong after posting the fastest preliminary times in both the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. The Skippers team of sophomore Annabelle Wentzel, juniors Rylie Ulett and Paige Dillon and senior Maggie Rhodes completed the 200 in 1:44.89. Wentzel, Dillon, Rhodes and junior Aralyn Vogel posted a 3:29.74 in the 400.
St. Michael-Albertville sophomore Lily Van Heel was the only individual to post the fastest time in two races. She finished in the top spot in both the 200 individual medley (2:03.91) and the 100 backstroke (54.20).