Just 13 days into the high school swim and dive season and the racing has begun. Mound Westonka/Holy Family (MWHF) welcomed Orono, Benilde-St. Margaret’s (BSM), Delano and Big Lake to the pool Aug. 26 for the annual Tim Daly Invitational. This season kickoff event honors the beloved long time MWHF swim coach, Tim Daly.

Coach Ben Hanson’s MWHF girls swim and dive team has a strong lineup of underclassman. “We’re coming off of a 3rd place state finish last year and we’re ready see what this new team can do,” said senior captain Abigail Ries. 

“The energy at home meets is electric,” added senior captain Catherine Dueck. “Though we had some great athletes graduate last year, we have no shortage of talent again heading into the new season."

Known to leave ears ringing, the relay events of the Tim Daily Invitational lived up to their reputation. In front of a standing room only crowd, the MWHF team of junior captain Onna Sullivan, Dueck, and juniors Camille Ness and Grace Warden finished just behind Delano in the 200 medley relay. Orono and Delano finished first and second, respectively, in the 200 freestyle relay with Ries, Ness, junior captain Annemarie Johnson and Dueck finishing third.  Johnson, Warden, Sullivan and Ries took third in the 400 freestyle relay behind Delano and Orono.  

Dueck had a strong season opener with first-place finishes in both the 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle. Sophomore Amelia Olson finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke. Ness finished third in the 50 freestyle and newcomer freshman Jaylen Juras placed eighth.  

Juras finished fifth in the 100 butterfly ahead of Warden in sixth place. Ries led the team in the 100 freestyle with a fifth-place finish, while junior Peyton Schmidt took eighth. 

Johnson and Warden placed fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 200 freestyle. Johnson was strong in the distance event of the afternoon, finishing less than one second behind Orono’s top place finisher in the 500 freestyle to take second place. MWHF’s Olson finished sixth in the 200 individual medley ahead of teammate Ries, who finished seventh.  

The MWHF divers delivered an impressive array of dives, with sophomore Erica Johnson finishing in second place behind BSM and ninth grader Jillian Schmitz finishing eighth. Johnson’s combination of difficulty and execution will be a strong asset for the team throughout the season.  

MWHF’s next meet is Thursday, Sept. 7, at Dassel-Cokato.