2023 Girls Swim and Dive Advance Release

Longtime defending team champions will look to add to their traditions of success when the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Swimming and Diving State Meet commences later this week. Visitation returns as the nine-time defending champion in Class A, not including 2020 when no tournament was held. Edina is looking for its second consecutive crown and 19th overall.

This year’s state meet is scheduled for November 16-18 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Diving preliminaries are on Thursday followed by the swimming preliminaries on Friday. Championships will be held on Saturday.

Here is a snapshot of the Class A meet:

• Monticello ninth-grader Adalynn Biegler returns to defend her title in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. She also has the best qualifying time in each race; 23.04 in the 50 and 50.59 in the 100.
• Carly Bixby, a senior from Blake, returns to defend her crown in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke. Bixby has the fastest time in the butterfly (55.65) but Breck School senior Piper Crosby has the best qualifying time in the backstroke (55.63).
• Melrose Area senior Hallie Drossel is the final returning individual champion. She comes back in the 100 breaststroke where Hutchinson senior Madilyn Gehrke has the best qualifying time of 1:03.91.
• Visitation defends its titles in two freestyle relays. Monticello has the fastest qualifying time in the 200 (1:37.34) and Orono has the best qualifying time in the 400 (3:35.19).
• The co-op of Mound-Westonka/Holy Family Catholic will defend its 2022 championship in the 200 medley relay. Monticello holds the fastest qualifying time of 1:47.99 in that event.

Here is a look at the Class AA meet:

• Minnetonka returns in two relays with the fastest qualifying times. The Skippers have 1:43.49 in the 200 medley relay and 3:29.53 in the 400 freestyle relay.
• In the 200 freestyle relay, Edina is the defending champion, but Minnetonka again has the best qualifying time (1:36.42).
• Minnetonka senior Paige Dillon is looking to defend her crown in the 100 freestyle. Shakopee junior Adianna Zelen comes in with the fastest qualifying time of 50.69.
• Woodbury senior Gabby Mauder is hoping to defend her title in 1-meter diving. In 2023, she won with a score of 426.90 points.
• St. Michael-Albertville junior Lily Van Heel is looking for another title in the 100 backstroke. Minnetonka junior Annabelle Wentzel enters with this year’s best qualifying time of 55.23.

For additional information on this year’s state meet, please visit mshsl.org/girlsswimanddive