Swimming: North streak continues, but South’s ends

Seventh-ranked Prior Lake defeats Cougars in SSC dual

Lakeville North won its third consecutive South Suburban Conference girls swimming and diving meet Oct. 3, defeating Burnsville at Burnsville High School.

The diving event took place at the Eagle Ridge Middle School pool, one hour before the swimming events at Burnsville High. The Panthers took an 11-4 lead after eighth-grader Grace Maakestad won diving and seventh-graders Courtney Krukow and Jillian Springer took third and fourth.

North took first and second in the 200-yard medley relay. Swimming on the first-place team were junior Whitney Szorcsik, sophomore Justine Anderson and ninth-graders Chandler Offerman and Adry Sallander, while the second-place team consisted of senior captain Addie Marsolek, sophomore Sydney McCusker, ninth-grader Theresa Anderson and eighth-grader Lauren Colbert.

North junior Payton Hultgren came in first in the 200 freestyle by more than 5.5 seconds over second-place Liv Vatafu of Burnsville; third place went to seventh-grader Lucy Anstadt and fourth place went to senior captain Emma Ruff.

Theresa Anderson and Marsolek swam season-best times in the 200-yard individual medley to finish in first and second places. The 50-yard freestyle had Sallander and Szorcsik placing first and second with season-best times.

Burnsville’s Madeline Noble won the 100 butterfly, just out-touching Colbert in second place, followed by McCusker in third and eighth-grader Madison McKinney in fourth, with all three North girls having personal-best times.

Offerman got to the wall first in the 100 freestyle, half a second ahead of Burnsville’s Lauren Bachmeier. Also scoring points for North were Justine Anderson in third and Anstadt in fourth.

Szorcsik held back for the majority of the 500 freestyle but came back in the final laps to win the event. Burnsville’s Vatafu was second, and third went to North’s McKinney, who swam a personal-best time.

The Panthers clinched the varsity meet by finishing first and third in the 200 freestyle relay. The first place team was Hultgren, Sallander, Justine Anderson and McKinney. Third place went to the team of senior captain Yasmin Dalal, sophomores Kaitlyn Carlson and Kirsten Dunbar and ninth-grader CC Kinny.

“We had a great meet highlighted with our divers all having lifetime-best scores. Overall we had 35 lifetime bests,” North coach Dan Schneider said.

Lakeville North also won the junior varsity meet, starting with a victory in the 200 medley relay (Dalal, Ruff, eighth-grader Audrey McClain and seventh-grader Olivia Garner).

Dunbar won the 50 freestyle, followed by eighth-grader Lillie Schaffer in second place and seventh-grader Madelyn Thoreson in fifth, all three with season-best times. Senior captain Elena Walker won the 100 butterfly followed by Ruff taking second place. The top three spots in the 100 freestyle went to Dalal, McClain and Garner.

North teams took first and second in the JV 200 freestyle relay, with the first-place team consisting of Schaffer, Garner, eighth-grader Sayuri Flory and sophomore Natalie Biggs. Thoreson, eighth-grader Devki Patel, ninth-grader Meera Patel and sophomore Cassie Paquette swam on the second-place team. Theresa Anderson, Meera Patel and ninth-grader Elsa Batty took the top three places in the 100 backstroke, all with season-best times.

Lakeville South

Prior Lake, ranked seventh in Class AA by Minnesota Swim and Vibe, defeated Lakeville South 97-86 on Oct. 3. It was South’s first loss in six South Suburban Conference dual meets.

Lakeville South took an early lead with a victory in the 200 medley relay. Ninth-graders Lily Wilkinson and Madi Parent and juniors Ana Clemon and Karly Trewin swam the event. The Cougars’ lead proved to be short-lived as Prior Lake swimmers took the top three places in the 200 freestyle, sophomore Kaylee Krohn placed fourth for South.

The 200 individual medley saw the Lakers’ Ivy Solt take first while season best-times were recorded by two Cougars, Wilkinson (second place) and sophomore Gracie Weishaar (fourth).

Lakeville South’s Clemon sprinted to first place in the 50 freestyle. Sophomore Bella Moritz had a season-best score in diving to come in third place.

Clemon got another first place for the Cougars in the 100 butterfly with a season-best time. The 100 freestyle was a battle for first, with Parent beating Laker Livy Solt to the wall by 0.09 seconds to take first place. Wilkinson took third.

Krohn and sophomore Hailey Gross got season bests in the 500 freestyle, taking second and third places. The Cougars were second in the 200 freestyle relay with a team of Weishaar, sophomores Bianca Silkey and Hailey Gross, and junior Julia King.

Parent had another first place in the 100 backstroke. Weishaar came in a close second place in the 100 breaststroke, only 0.10 seconds behind Ivy Solt of Prior Lake.

Prior Lake also won the junior varsity meet against South. Highlights for the Cougars included seventh-graders Ari Zak and Kate Rivers coming in first and second in the 200 individual medley, both with lifetime-best times.

Sophomore Lauren Hawkins sprinted to first place in the 50 freestyle with a season-best time. Eighth-grader Daisy Trewin took second in the 100 butterfly with a personal-best time. Senior Hannah Butler raced Prior Lake’s Lauryn Coulson in the 100-yard freestyle, getting a season-best time and coming in second by 0.07 seconds.