Spartans tame Wildcats, remain undefeated in conference

The Waconia Wildcats Swim and Dive team has been promoting their undefeated record all season, but they proved to be no match for the Spartan swimmers and divers last week.

Orono asserted dominance early by out-scoring Waconia 39 to 23 in the first half of the meet. To kick things off, the 200 Medley team of Reilly Anderson (12), Celia Howard (11), Ileana Berg (9), and Mallory Knutson (12) touched the wall nearly three seconds ahead of the top Wildcat relay. Lola Schottler (11) took the top spot in the 200 Free, followed by teammates Sophie Berg (9) and Shelby Sloneker (9) in third and fifth.

In the 200 IM, the Spartans were dominant again, with Senior captains Knutson and Anderson taking first and second and Sutton Williams (10) in fifth. To keep things rolling, Elle Davis (12) sprinted to victory in the 50 Free, with Audrey Crawford (8) and Sofie Dyvik (11) also scoring points.

Diving was a highlight of the evening as the JV and Varsity divers performed very well. Senior Captain Eliza Hansen led the charge, scoring a season-high 215.40 points. Kaleigh Francis (11) followed Hansen to take second place. With the score now at 49 to 29, the swimmers returned to the pool. In the 100 Fly, Graycin Andreen (11) and Knutson finished first and second, nearly five seconds ahead of the top Wildcat flyer. Freshman Ileana Berg achieved a season-best time to claim fourth. Waconia got their first win of the night in the 100 Free when their top entry narrowly out-touched Spartans Howard, Dyvik, and Crawford who were right behind her in second, third, and fourth. In the 500 Free, the Wildcats came out on top again, this time taking the top two spots, followed by Orono’s Davis and I. Berg in third and fourth.

The Spartans still maintained a twenty-four point lead heading into the 200 Free Relay where their depth would be on display again, giving them first and third place finishes. The Wildcats made one last attempt to claw back some points in the 100 Back and did take the victory, but Anderson swam a season-best to take second and teammates Shelby Sloneker (9) and Katherine Springmeyer (11) grabbed fourth and fifth. The 100 Breast was dominated by the Spartans with Howard touching first, S. Berg in third, and Williams in fourth. To seal the deal for Orono, the 400 Free Relay team of Davis, Schottler, Knutson, and Andreen, the 2023 State Champions, sprinted into the wall nearly twelve seconds ahead of the top Waconia relay. The final score was Orono 113, Waconia 73.

Next up, the Spartans travel to Pioneer Ridge Middle School twice in the same week to battle Chanhassen on Tuesday October 1st and Chaska on Thursday October 3rd. The following week, Orono will host BSM for its final home meet of the season on Thursday October 10th and celebrate Senior Night that same night.