November 16, 2009
Contact: Lisa Lissimore or Howard W. Voigt / MSHSL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

State Girls' Swimming and Diving Meet
Visitation seeks fifth consecutive team title

The Visitation Blazers will be in hot pursuit of their fifth consecutive Class A title at this week's 2009 State Girls' Swimming and Diving Meet. The Stillwater Area Ponies are hoping to win their second consecutive Class AA title.

Visitation, which is located in Mendota Heights, returns at least one relay team or individual to every event except the 200-yard freestyle. Stillwater Area returns competitors in every event.

This year's meet features 733 athletes representing 103 teams. Nineteen teams or individuals are returning in both classes to defend 2008 titles.

Here are some highlights of the state meet that will be conducted Thursday through Saturday, November 19-21, at the Aquatic Center of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

200-Yard Medley Relay
Class A - All eight teams that earned medals at the 2008 state meet are returning, including the defending champions from Visitation of Mendota Heights. The other returning teams are: Monticello, runner-up; Fergus Falls, third; the Hutchinson Tigers, fourth; Breck School of Golden Valley, which owns the fastest qualifying time of 1:50.71, fifth; Red Wing, sixth; The Blake School of Minneapolis, seventh; and Orono, eighth.

Class AA - The Edina Hornets return as the two-time defending champions. They also own the best qualifying time of 1:47.22. The other returning teams are: Eden Prairie, runners-up; Lakeville South, third; Maple Grove, fourth; Stillwater Area, fifth; Woodbury, sixth; and Minnetonka, eighth.

200-Yard Freestyle
Class A - Ninth-grader Marisa Wood of Sartell-St. Stephen, who earned runner-up honors last year, has this year's best qualifying time of 1:55.62. Two other medal-winners also return from the 2008 field: junior McKenna Jones of Northfield, fifth; and sophomore Ashley Drazkowski of Monticello, seventh.

Class AA - Junior Kiera Janzen of Cretin-Derham Hall of St. Paul returns to defend her 2008 title with the fastest qualifying time of 1:51.31. Four additional medal-winners also return: senior Molly Mason of Minnetonka, fourth; junior Emily Blasko of Robbinsdale Armstrong, fifth; junior Elizabeth Kleiner of Lakeville North, sixth; and junior Sarah Deis of Wayzata, seventh.

200-Yard Individual Medley
Class A - Junior Audrey Kumm of the Hutchinson Tigers returns to defend her 2008 crown. She also has this year's fastest qualifying time of 2:10.06. Four other medalists also return: senior Taylor Foster of Breck School, runner-up; sophomore Caley Oquist of Monticello, third; senior Megan Ostrom of St. Louis Park, sixth; and junior Naja Harvey of Orono, eighth.

Class AA - Champlin Park junior Abby Duncan returns to defend her 2008 title. Duncan also has the best qualifying time of 2:04.91. Sophomore Nikki Larson and ninth-grader Madeleine Eden, both of Edina, also return from the 2008 field. They placed second and sixth, respectively.

50-Yard Freestyle
Class A - Junior Heidi Busack of Fergus Falls is the highest returning qualifier, having earned runner-up honors in 2008. Four additional medal-winners also return: sophomore Abby Schnaith of Red Wing, third; junior Amanda Paulson of Monticello, fourth; senior Kate Hellie of Sartell-St. Stephen, fifth; and senior Jenna Thompson of Warroad, seventh. Paulson and sophomore Kaitlin Kamm of St. Peter both have the best qualifying time of 23.97.

Class AA - Junior Hannah Bowen of Stillwater Area, who has the fastest qualifying time of 22.95, is looking for her second consecutive title. Three other medalists also return: senior Tess Behrens of Maple Grove, third; senior Mary Van Metre of Edina, tied for fourth; and junior Britta Sortland of Woodbury, seventh.

One-Meter Diving
Class A - Six qualifiers return from the 2008 field, including defending champion Tori Raihle, a junior at Spring Lake Park. The others are: junior Chelsey Bethke of Sauk Rapids-Rice, runner-up; senior Shayna Dugger of Detroit Lakes, fifth; junior Alissa Lager of St. Peter, sixth; senior Alex Thomsen of Chisago Lakes Area of Lindstrom, seventh; and senior Kyja Penning of Park Rapids Area, eighth.

Class AA - Senior Maggie Keefer of Stillwater Area returns to defend her 2008 title. Five other medalists also return: junior Erin Kohlbeck of Woodbury, third; senior Rachel Waldbillig of Centennial of Circle Pines, fourth; sophomore Emily Bonfig of Woodbury, fifth; senior Tessa Kahring of Cambridge-Isanti, sixth; and senior Sarah McCrady of Eagan, seventh.

100-Yard Butterfly
Class A - Junior Audrey Kumm of the Hutchinson Tigers, who earned top honors last year, has this year's fastest qualifying time of 58.42. In addition to Kumm, three other 2008 medalists also return: junior Melissa Paakh of Detroit Lakes, runner-up; senior Kate Hellie of Sartell-St. Stephen, third; and sophomore Kaylee Kucera of the Hutchinson Tigers, fourth.

Class AA - Edina sophomore Nikki Larson is the highest returning qualifier, having placed third last year. Three other medal-winners also return: ninth-grader Alexandra Yaeger of Prior Lake, fifth; junior Kayla Hutsell of Eastview of Apple Valley, seventh; and junior Emma Lawrenz of Minnetonka, eighth. Meghan Cummings, a sophomore at Eden Prairie, has the best qualifying time of 56.21.

100-Yard Freestyle
Class A - Junior Heidi Busack of Fergus Falls, who placed second last year, is this year's highest returning qualifier. Four other medal-winners also return: senior Kaylin Caron of Marshall, fourth; senior Jenna Thompson of Warroad, fifth; Emily Roberts of Benilde-St. Margaret's of St. Louis Park, sixth; and senior Allison Maxwell of Rogers, seventh. Little Falls sophomore Whitney Weisz has the fastest qualifying time of 52.64.

Class AA - Junior Hannah Bowen of Stillwater Area, who took championship honors last year, returns with the best qualifying time of 51.08. Three additional medal-winners also return: senior Hailey Campbell of Lakeville South, fourth; senior Mary Van Metre of Edina, fifth; and senior Monica Radecke of Stillwater Area, eighth.

500-Yard Freestyle
Class A - Ninth-grader Marisa Woods of Sartell-St. Stephen returns in search of her third consecutive title. She also has the best qualifying time of 5:09.05. Four other medalists also return: junior McKenna Jones of Northfield, runner-up; senior Alissa Tinklenberg of Willmar, third; junior Brogan Lee of Chisago Lakes Area, fifth; and sophomore Ashley Drazkowski of Monticello, seventh.

Class AA - Defending champion Kiera Janzen of Cretin-Derham Hall returns. Three other medal-winners also return: junior Elizabeth Kleiner of Lakeville North, fourth; junior Emily Blasko of Robbinsdale Armstrong, fifth; and senior Molly Mason of Minnetonka, seventh. Stillwater Area senior Kaela Anderson has the fastest qualifying time of 4:58.29.

200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Class A - The defending champions from Sartell-St. Stephen return in search of more gold. The Sabres also have the best qualifying time of 1:37.45. Six additional teams that earned medals in 2008 also return: Visitation, runners-up; Monticello, third; Marshall, fourth; The Blake School, fifth; Little Falls, sixth; and Red Wing, eighth.

Class AA - Stillwater Area and Lakeville South, who tied for top honors in 2008, both return. The other returning teams are: Edina, third; Maple Grove, fourth; Cretin-Derham Hall, fifth; Wayzata, seventh; and Winona, eighth. Minnetonka has the best qualifying time of 1:36.58.

100-Yard Backstroke
Class A -Four of the 2008 medal-winners return, including the three-time defending champion, senior Taylor Foster of Breck School, Golden Valley. Foster also the best qualifying time of 58.83. The other medalists are: sophomore Caley Oquist of Monticello, runner-up; senior Emily Roberts of Benilde-St. Margaret's, third; and sophomore Kaylee Kucera of the Hutchinson Tigers, seventh.

Class AA - Maple Grove senior Tess Behrens, who earned runner-up honors in 2008, returns with the fastest qualifying time of 56.76. Three other medal-winners also return: senior Hailey Campbell of Lakeville South, third; junior Katie Bootsma of Eden Prairie, fourth; and senior Rachel Stearns of Hopkins, seventh.

100-Yard Breaststroke
Class A - Four medalists return from the 2008 field: senior Rachael Johnston of Orono, runner-up; junior Naja Harvey of Orono, third; senior Megan Ostrom of St. Louis Park, sixth; and senior Lindsey Lee of Hill-Murray of Maplewood, eighth. Ostrom has the best qualifying time of 1:06.89.

Class AA - Champlin Park junior Abby Duncan, who earned the title in 2007 and 2008, is the highest returning qualifier. She also owns the fastest qualifying time of 1:02.18. All seven of the remaining 2008 medal-winners also return: senior Danielle James of Lakeville North, runner-up; senior Jess Padniewski of Eden Prairie, third; ninth-grader Madeleine Edina of Edina, fourth; ninth-grader Heather Laedtke of Edina, fifth; sophomore Mady Gockowski of Stillwater Area, sixth; junior Jennifer Strom of Rochester Century, seventh; and senior Natalie Lugg of Woodbury, eighth.

400-Yard Freestyle Relay
Class A - All eight medal-winning teams, including the two-time defending champions from Visitation, return to compete again this year. The others are: Fergus Falls, runners-up; the Hutchinson Tigers, who have this year's best qualifying time of 3:37.47, third; Monticello, fourth; Sartell-St. Stephen, fifth; Breck School, sixth; Hill-Murray, seventh; and Marshall, eighth.

Class AA - The defending champions from Stillwater Area return. The other returning teams are: Cretin-Derham Hall, runners-up; Eden Prairie, third; Minnetonka, fourth; Elk River Area/Zimmerman, fifth; Wayzata, sixth; Edina, seventh; and Maple Grove, eighth. Minnetonka has the fastest qualifying time of 3:31.12.

The Schedule
This year's state meet will start on Thursday, November 19, and run through Saturday, November 21. All events will take place at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on the Minneapolis campus. The Class A one-meter diving preliminaries, the first five of eight, will begin at noon on Thursday, followed by the Class AA diving preliminaries at 6:00 p.m. The Class A swimming preliminaries begin at noon on Friday, followed by the Class AA swimming preliminaries at 6 p.m. The Class A championship finals in all events begin at noon on Saturday, followed by the Class AA finals at 6 p.m. - 30 - Harry Kitts will serve as media steward at the meet. The League will post results on its Web site - www.MSHSL.org.