Swimming: Tigers win their first True Team title
True team scoring was designed to reward teams for their depth, rather than just their high individual finishers. The format was perfect for Farmington, which showcased both on Saturday while upsetting Rochester John Marshall for its first Section True Team championship Saturday at Faribault.By: Matt Steichen, The Farmington Independent
True team scoring was designed to reward teams for their depth, rather than just their high individual finishers.
The format was perfect for Farmington, which showcased both on Saturday while upsetting Rochester John Marshall for its first Section True Team championship Saturday at Faribault.
The Tigers scored 722 points, while John Marshall settled for second with 688 points. Faribault (648), Winona (571) and Owatonna (510) rounded out the five-team field.
“The depth of the team really came through this weekend and the girls are starting to understand what the coaches have been talking about all season — we are a talented and very deep team,” Farmington coach Jen Marshall said. “This meet overall really boosted the confidence in the girls and their abilities. They now believe that we are contenders in both the conference and section meets. Once a team believes in something that powerful, there’s no limits to what they can achieve together. Things are coming together at the right time for us all around.”
The Tigers didn’t win an individual title until the meet’s 10th event when Kaitlyn O’Reilly set a pool record with a time of 1:01.38 in the 100 backstroke. She was backed by three teammates in the top seven as Kirsten Kracke placed fifth, Robin Ellis sixth and Delaney Wright seventh, helping the Tigers outscore John Marshall 65-40 in the event and take a 20-point lead in the team standings.
Elizabeth Wolfe followed with a winning time of 1:11.60 in the 100 breaststroke. Abby Haugen added a seventh-place effort, helping the Tigers to a 48-28 edge over the Rockets in the event and a 40-point lead going into the meet’s final event.
The Tigers closed out the meet by placing teams fourth, sixth, 10th and 14th in the 400 freestyle relay. The relay teams performed well throughout the meet, placing second, sixth, eighth and 14th in the 200 medley relay and fifth, eighth, 10th and 13th in the 200 freestyle relay.
“The relays performed very well. We’ve been playing around with personnel on our A relays and I think we’ve finally nailed down who will go where at Conference and Sections,” Marshall said. “The B, C and D relays performed exceptionally well as they raced and beat teams that were seeded faster than them.”
The team competes again tonight in the True Team State Meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis.
Other Top-10 finishers
200 freestyle 5. Ellie Sundet; 7. Sarah O’Reilly; 9. Kirsten Kracke; 10. Sara Kintner
200 IM 2. Kaitlyn O’Reilly; 7. Cora Ruzicka; 9. Delaney Wright; 10. Chloe Holton
50 freestyle 4. Caitlin Kracke
1-meter dive 9. Nikki Cayard
100 butterfly 5. Cora Ruzicka; 6. Hannah Seitzinger
100 freestyle 6. Caitlin Kracke; 10. Ellie Sundet
500 freestyle 5. Sara Kintner; 6. Sarah O’Reilly; 8. Maddie Alexander
Tags: sports, farmington, tigers, prep, swimming
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