WARROAD — Two records that stood for a decade and a half fell Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Section 8A swimming and diving finals in Warroad.
Park Rapids junior Avery Schueller set new marks in the 50 and 100 freestyle; Fergus Falls’ Heidi Busack set both records in 2010. Schueller also broke her own school records in the process.
She’ll also race in the 200 freestyle relay at the state meet set for Thursday through Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
Two Harbors senior Bella Imholte also broke two section records in 7A. In preliminaries on Thursday, she beat Meghan Minne of Hibbing’s 2016 record in the 200 freestyle. On Saturday, she broke her own record in the finals.
Imholte finished sixth in the event at state last year; she also took home the seventh-place medal in the 100 backstroke. She’ll race in both events again this year, as well as the 400 freestyle relay.
The region’s only other returning 2024 medalists are Brainerd seniors Avery Duerr and Isabelle Ploof and junior Aralyn Marcelo. Last year, the three swimmers finished second in the 200 freestyle relay and sixth in the 400 freestyle relay. Duerr also finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke.
They’ll have a chance to medal again in each of those events, with sophomore Allie Reilley and junior Kaia Iske rounding out the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, respectively.
Ploof will look to break into the finals in the 100 freestyle after winning last year’s consolation final. Marcelo will also race in the event, and Duerr will compete in the 200 individual medley. Eighth grader Blair Ahlquist will dive for the Warriors.
Schueller and Imholte will also be joined at the meet by a host of teammates.
Park Rapids qualified another swimmer, junior Molly Cederstrom in the 500 freestyle; two divers, senior Grace Officer and sophomore Karlee Rowland; and another relay, the 400 freestyle.
Two Harbors’ junior Lucy Lane will join Imholte in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay; she’ll also race in the 500 freestyle.
Bemidji qualified a swimmer in the 50 freestyle and its 200 freestyle relay, which includes KAXE North Star Student Abby Daman.
Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Rock Ridge, Mesabi East and Detroit Lakes will all have at least one individual entry and a relay team competing.
Class 1A and 2A diving preliminaries kick off the state meet Thursday, with swimming preliminaries on Friday and all finals on Saturday.
Full coverage of the meet will be streamed on NSPN. A subscription is required to watch.
Additional information can be found on the MSHSL’s website.
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