The Westonka White Hawks boys swim and dive team kicked off the season with two meets. First up, the White Hawks dove in at the first home meet of the season versus New Prague on Dec. 14.

First to hit the water this season were sophomore Eren Alemdar and eighth grader Brody Helms in the 200 Free. Alemdar took fifth place overall with a time of 2:10:53, with Helms finishing seventh overall with a time of 2:25:60. Next to splash in were senior captain Bryce Helms, sophomore Sean Dolder and eighth grader Connor Shaw in the 200 IM. Helms finished in third place overall with a time of 2:12:47. Dolder took sixth place with a time of 2:22:64,  and Shaw took ninth place overall with a time of 2:48:67.

Ninth grader Niles Senn, swimming the 50 Free, finished with a personal best time of 30:41. Dolder took fifth overall in the 100 Fly with a time of 1:10:99, with Shaw earning a personal best time of 1:25:24 in that race. Next up was the 100 Free swum by ninth grader Tyler Finley with a personal best time of 1:21:61. Sophomore Wyatt Helms swam the 100 Back in 1:10:71 to finish in fifth place overall. Bryce Helms came in second place in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:11:63.

The final race of the day was the 400 Free Relay. Westonka's A relay team of Alemdar, Bryce Helms, Dolder and Wyatt Helms came in with a team record of 3:50:56, placing third overall. (Due to MSHSL co-op rules, Westonka is relegated to swimming JV at Metro West Conference meets. Times are reflective of overall placements.) 

Next up was the Bloomington Jefferson Invitational meet held on Dec. 17. The White Hawks  came in with a team best point total of 126 points. This is the first time the White Hawks have finished in triple digit points in the last five years with only an eight-man roster. The team was led by Bryce Helms with 48 points, followed by Dolder with 34 points, Alemdar with 29  points, and Wyatt Helms with 13 points (points are combined to reflect individual and relay points).  

First in the pool was the A relay team of Bryce Helms, Dolder, Alemdar and Wyatt Helms swimming the 200 Medley Relay. The team came in with a time of 1:58:17, finishing in ninth place out of 29 relay teams and scoring the team 18 points. Shaw and Dolder swam the 200 Free, both coming in with personal bests. Dolder took eighth place with a time of 2:03:59, scoring 11 points for the team, and Shaw finished with a time of 2:24:71, coming in 21st place out of 34 swimmers. 

Swimming the 200 IM were Brody and Wyatt Helms. Brody Helms came in with a PR of 2:41:32, taking 19th place. Wyatt Helms came in with a time of 2:33:17, taking 16th place and scoring the team one point. Finley swam a personal best time of 35:70 in the 50 Free, taking 59th place out of 75 racers. Senn had a PR with a 30:19, taking 36th place. Bryce Helms took second place with a  time of 23:12, scoring the team 17 points.

Swimming the 100 Fly were Brody Helms and Alemdar.  Helms came in with a PR time of 1:24:55. Alemdar came in with a time of 1:08:15, taking 12th place and scoring the team five points. Swimming the 100 Free were Finley, Senn and Bryce Helms. Helms, swimming one of his signature events, took first place with a PR of 50:50, earning the team 20 points. Senn finished in 29th with a PR of 1:09:50. Finley finished 39th out of 47 racers with a PR time of 1:18:98.

Dolder took seventh place out of 22 racers in the 500 Free, one of his signature events, coming in with a time of 5:33:05 and earning the team six points. Swimming the 100 Back were Shaw and Alemdar. Alemdar, swimming one of his signature events, came in with a PR time of 1:06:89, taking sixth place and scoring 13  points for the team. Shaw came in with a PR of 1:19:57, taking 23rd place out of 38 racers. Wyatt Helms swam to the 100 Breast with a PR time of 1:20:87, taking 16th place out of 32 racers and scoring the team one point.

The last event of the day was the 400 Free Relay. The White  Hawks A relay team of Dolder, Bryce Helms, Alemdar and Wyatt Helms took fifth place in a very competitive field of 23 relay teams. They beat their previous best time achieved earlier in the week by 4 seconds, coming in at 3:46:71 and scoring the team 28 points.

The White Hawks want to congratulate their Orono Spartans teammates for taking first place at the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguar invitational. They also wish to thank the OMW swim sponsors for making this swim  season possible!