Lady Dutchmen repeat as conference champions

Holdingford fourth at West Central swim and dive meet

To no one’s surprise, the Melrose Area Lady Dutchmen won the 2022 West Central Conference swimming and diving team trophy Oct. 28 at the University of Minnesota-Morris in Morris.

“The conference meet is interesting,” said Nathan Meyer, Melrose head coach.  “You want to swim well, but not so well that you drop off too much before sections.Conference, though, is what people look at. They ask how many made All-Conference.”

In the five-team WCC meet, the first- and second-place individuals and relays are All-Conference. Those finishing third and fourth are honorable mention. Team points were earned with a top-16 finish.  

Melrose took the team trophy with 668 points, 136.5 points more than runner-up Sauk Centre. Holdingford finished fourth with 316.50 points, finishing 65.5 points behind Morris/Minnewaska and 21.5 points ahead of Montevideo.

The Lady Dutchmen always had someone in the top four and often three or four athletes in the top 10. Most Melrose swimmers and divers earned points.

“We flipped some things around tonight,” Meyer said. “Our relays were different. It worked out in getting more kids as All-Conference or honorable mention.”

In the 100-yard backstroke, the Lady Dutchmen placed three swimmers in the top four, taking second, third and fourth.  The team earned six first-place finishes, winning the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Hallie Drossel came away from the meet with two individual firsts and holding two section records. 

“Hallie set the records in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke,” Meyer said. “She already was the (record) holder in the breaststroke and lowered that time.”

Drossel has worked hard to improve her individual medley time this year. Her 2 minute, 14.81 second finish is under the state-qualifying time.  

“That was a big swim for her,” Meyer said. “She swims her IM (individual medley) in the morning. In the afternoon, it’s the breaststroke.”

Other firsts were earned by Paige Gruber, 200 freestyle; Jaiden Smith, 500 freestyle; the 200 freestyle relay team of Drossel, Smith, Gruber, Kaydence Bertram; and the 400 freestyle relay team of Brooke Ruoff, Makayla Zirbes, Bertram and Gruber.  Second-place finishes were earned by Bertram, 100 butterfly; Ruoff, 100 backstroke; Theresia Nathe, diving; and the 200 medley relay team of Georgia Anderson, Drossel, Zirbes and Ruoff.

Honorable mentions were earned by Smith, 200 freestyle; Ava Wensmann, 200 individual medley; Ruoff, 50 freestyle; Anderson, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke; Gruber, 100 freestyle; Maggie Frieler, 500 freestyle; Zirbes, 100 backstroke; the 200 medley relay of Lauren Reed, Madisyn Von Wahlde, Wensmann and Aubrey Braegelmann; and the 400 freestyle relay  of Maddie Kraemer, Braegelmann, Anderson and Smith.

Holdingford’s top finish was third. It was earned by the 200 medley relay of Laina Hoac, Molly Leners, Shailyn Welinski and Maggie Gross. The other third came from Leners in the 100 breaststroke. Leners had two individual honorable mentions, taking fourth in the 200 individual medley. In the 200 freestyle relay, Leners, Mekenna Bartkowicz, Gross and Madison Tschida finished fourth to earn honorable mention.

Some others came close to honorable mentions, as Tschida was edged out of fourth in the 50 freestyle by .03 of a second, and Gross missed fourth by a similar time in the 100 freestyle.

200MR: 2. (M) Anderson, Drossel, Zirbes and Ruoff 1 minute, 58.23 seconds; 3. (H) Hoac, Leners, Welinski and Gross 2:06.47; 4. (M) Lauren Reed, Madisyn Von Wahlde, Ava Wensmann, Braegelmann 2:09.14; 8. (H) Bartkowicz, Kirstyn Sand, Tschida and Kylie Breth 2:18.21.  200FS: 1. (M) Gruber 2:07.94, 3. (M) Smith 2:09.09, 7. (M) Leah Seanger 2:19.89, 9. (M) Frieler 2:19.95, 13. (H) Lynn Arvig 2:26.24 and 14. (H) Kendall Isder 2:26.83. 200IM: 1. (M) Drossel 2:14.81, 3. (M) Wensmann 2:34.03, 4. (H) Leners 2:35.90, 8. (H) Brooklyn Kuklok 2:41.88, 9. (M) Von Wahlde 2:42.13, 10. (M) Kraemer 2:42.26 and 11. (H) Afton Scegura 2:42.47. 50FS: 3. (M) Bertram 26.64, 4. (M) Ruoff 26.94, 5. (H) Tschida 26.97 and 13. (H) Bartkowicz 28.91. Diving: 2. (M) Nathe 349.10 points, 5. (M) Rylee Feldewerd 299.15, 7. (M) Elli Dockendorf 289.50 and 8. (M) Josie Eveslage 289.50. 100FLY: 2. (M) Bertram 1:06.01, 4. (M) Anderson 1:09.45, 5. (M) Zirbes 1:10.85, 6. (H) Hoac 1:12.00, 7. (M) Wensmann 1:12.36, 8. (H) Tschida 1:12.57 and 12. (H) Jordyn Kostreba 1:23.25. 100FS: 3. (M) Gruber 58.44, 5. (H) Gross 59.92, 9. (H) Bartkowicz 1:02.03, 10. (M) Reed 1:02.15, 11. (M) Ella Erdmann 1:02.55, 13. (H) Welinski 1:04.73 and 15. (M) Braegelmann 1:04.83. 500FS: 1. (M) Smith 5:49.19, 3. (M) Frieler 6:06.55, 6. (M) Seanger 6:16.65, 7. (M) Ellie Heller 6:20.35, 8. (H) Arvig 6:21.71, 13. (H) Scegura 6:42.08 and 15. (H) Lexi Reis 6:47.20. 200FSR: 1. (M) Drossel, Smith, Gruber and Bertram 1:46.36; (H) 4. Leners, Bartkowicz, Gross and Tschida 1:50.03; 6. Braegelmann, Von Wahlde, Chloe Viere and Reed 1:56.60; 10. (H) Kostreba, Isder, Reis and Mattie Olson 2:13.53. 100BK: 2. (M) Ruoff 1:05.32, 3. (M) Zirbes 1:07.64, 4. (M) Anderson 1:08.14, 8. (H) Hoac 1:13.62, 9. (M) Kraemer 1:13.97, 11. (H) Kuklok 1:18.31 and 14. (H) Isder 1:21.49. 100BR: 1. (M) Drossel 1:08.03, 3. (H) Leners 1:16.17, 6. (M) Von Wahlde 1:20.06, 7. (M) Erdmann 1:20.45, 8. (M) Heller 1:22.37, 10. (H) Sand 1:24.07 and 11. Welinski 1:24.20. 400FSR: 1. (M) Ruoff, Zirbes, Bertram and Gruber 3:55.24; 4. (M) Kraemer, Braegelmann, Anderson and Smith 4:14.74; 8. (H) Breth, Hoac, Sand and Welinski 4:27.73; 9. Arvig, Isder, Kuklok and Kostreba 4:35.94.