The Mound Westonka/Holy Family (MWHF) girls swim and dive team was one of ten competing in the Section 3A True Team meet on October 15 in Willmar, Minnesota.  MWHF finished the meet in fourth place behind Orono, Delano and Waconia. 

True Team is a uniquely scored event. Rather than points awarded only to the top three relay teams and top five individual event competitors, in True Team scoring, athletes earn one point more than the total number of competitors they finish ahead of in individual events (e.g., if 40 competitors, the winner earns 40 points and last place earns 1 point) and relay scores are doubled. Each team is allowed four entries per event, and each competitor is allowed two individual events and two relays. Performing well in this meet requires team depth in all events.

Continuing a season theme, junior Catherine Dueck had a perfect meet, with top finishes in her two individual and relay events. In the 200-yard individual medley, Dueck broke her own team record and finished first (2:09.87) by nearly three body lengths. Teammates junior Abigail Ries, eighth-grader Chella Patterson and ninth-grader Kayla Quandt finished 14th, 18th and 20th, respectively.  Dueck also led the pack in the 100-yard backstroke (59.90). Senior Kristin Collins, sophomore Onna Sullivan and sophomore Peyton Schmidt finished 10th, 14th and 19th, respectively. 

The relay team of Dueck, senior captain Kate Johnston, sophomore Camille Ness and senior Jaylyn Storm took first place in both the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:40.48) and 200-yard medley relay (1:49.45). The 400-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Grace Warden, junior Abigail Ries, sophomore Onna Sullivan and sophomore Annemarie Johnson finished sixth.

Jaylyn Storm added to her two, first-place relay finishes by winning the top spot in the 50-yard freestyle (24.78), an event where she currently holds the team record. Johnston, Ness and Collins finished fifth, eighth and 17th, respectively. Storm was out-touched in the 100-yard freestyle by 0:00.42, earning an impressive second place finish (54.68). Sophomore Grace Warden, Sullivan and seventh-grader Ashley Johnson finished 8th, 13th and 25th, respectively. 

Kate Johnston’s 100-yard breaststroke is both athletic and graceful. Already the team record holder, Johnston’s impressive finish (1:06.67) easily earned her a first-place finish. Senior captain Izzy Sullivan, ninth-grader Amelia Olson and Johnson finished 13th, 18th and 20th, respectively. 

Sophomore Annemarie Johnson also had a standout meet. She finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (2.06.04) and second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:33.95). Warden, senior captain Courtney French and Schmidt finished sixth, 13th and 21st, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle and Patterson, Olson and French finished 16th, 17th and 21st, respectively, in the 500-yard freestyle. Ness was the team leader in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 11th place (1:06.08), with Ries, ninth-grader Kayla Quandt and I. Sullivan finishing 16th, 24th and 27th, respectively.

Eighth-grader Bailey Monette’s 347 points earned her a second-place finish in the 11-round diving event and a new school record.  Monette currently holds the school record for six-round diving and will now add her name to the record board a second time in the 11-round event. Ninth-grader Erica Johnson finished fifth, eighth-grader Jullian Schmitz placed 17th and ninth-grader Britta Elliott was 18th.

Earlier in the week, MWHF hosted the JV Conference Championships. Ninth-grader Hayen Nichols won the 200-yard individual medley, and ninth-grader Isabelle Starr took the top spot in the 100-yard freestyle. Starr, Nichols, senior Skyler Kelm and eighth-grader Sadie Cline took second in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The team was one of 12 to qualify for the True Team State Meet at the University of Minnesota, which will be held Saturday, October 22 at 12 p.m.