Outstanding

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters girls' swimming and diving team is sending six student-athletes to the Class 1A state meet after a truly outstanding day in the final round of the Section 6A meet in Alexandria.

Tiana Molitor advanced in both the 100 freestyle (second place) and the 100 backstroke (fourth place).
Hanna Waldhart is going to state in the 100 butterfly (fifth).
In the 200 freestyle relay, Waldhart, Molitor, Alyssa Kohorst and Julie Bushard is going to state after taking second at the section meet.
Finally, the 400 freestyle relay of Molitor, Waldhart, Sarah Nelson and Danielle Banal is going to state after setting a new school record in that event with a time of 3:43.08.

Great job, Mainstreeters! More details to follow on what is taking place next week.

Big time drops at Section 6A swimming and diving meet

For example, the 200 medley relay squad had a seed time of 2:04.21, but they shattered that at prelims last night with a time of 1:57.83 which was good for fourth place out of 11 teams. That Sauk Centre squad was made up of Emily Mensen, Julie Bushard, Sarah Nelson and Tracy Kortan.

Sarah Nelson came in seeded 11th in the 200 freestyle race, but the senior captain blew up that and her seed time (2:11.8) with a fifth-place finish and a time of 2:03.87. Kaylee Hanson shaved almost six seconds off her seed time in the 200 FS with a finish of 2:13.35. Savanna Metzger took over five seconds off her seed time in the 200 FS and finished with a time of 2:19.84.

All those seed times were beaten with just two events completed.

Quite the night at Section 6A prelims

Emily Mensen, Sarah Nelson and Alyssa Kohorst.

A large group of Mainstreeters cheer on the 400 freestyle relay squad in tonight's final event.

At the 11-team Section 6A girls' swimming and diving preliminary round tonight, the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters had numerous drops in times - including some huge drops - to build a great deal of momentum heading into the finals on Saturday.

Head coach James Schreiner had this to say after the last race tonight, "Holy Cow!!!!  We had some amazing swims. I wouldn't even know where to start there were so many! I'm so happy for them all. What a great way to represent our school."


Here's more of what Coach Schreiner had to say after prelims tonight:


 Action resumes on Saturday at Discovery Middle School with diving at 11 a.m. in Alexandria.

Shania Baum in the 100 breaststroke prelims. PHOTO BY TIM MIECZKOWSKI

One example of the huge drops Sauk Centre swimmers had in times was with freshmen Sarah Bushard in the 100 breaststroke event. Her seed time was 1:21.58, good for 25th place coming into the night. She turned in a lifetime best time of 1:16.08, good for ninth place in the field and putting her in the finals round.
That type of night brings this type of smile...!

Sarah Bushard right after hearing her name announced as a qualifier for the 100 breaststroke finals.

Tracy Kortan with the lap board while cheering for Josephine Mensen in the 500 FS. PHOTO BY TIM MIECZKOWSKI

In another example of a stellar performance, senior Josephine Mensen swam the 500 freestyle race with a career-best time and dropped under six minutes for the first time ever.

Menley Rehm flies off the block in the 500 freestyle race. PHOTO BY TIM MIECZKOWSKI

Coach Schreiner giving some last-minute instructions. PHOTO BY TIM MIECZKOWSKI

Additional details will follow tomorrow as well as Saturday night after the conclusion of the meet.

Section 6A swimming and diving coming up!

Team members Morgan Marthaler, Morgan Adams, Jenna Kill and Menley Rehm gather after a successful day in the pool at Morris for the West Central Conference championships on Oct. 26.  PHOTO BY RACHEL FRERICKS

The preliminary round of the Section 6A girls' swimming and diving meet is tomorrow night (Thursday) beginning at 5 p.m. at Discovery Middle School in Alexandria.

The final round is on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. (diving) with the swimming races to follow at 3 p.m.

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters have a group of 20 excited athletes gearing up for the big meet. Check back later tonight to see a few highlights from the meet and other updates from Alexandria.