On Friday night at Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center in Minneapolis, Mounds View senior Ellie Bina not only put up a personal best but blew the competition out of the water during the girls swimming Class 2A state preliminaries.
Bina had a time of 5:00:65, placing her in second behind Edina junior Macy Malinski entering Friday’s 500-yard freestyle preliminaries. She finished nearly six seconds faster than the field (4:56:17) on Friday.
Bina said it was her best swim in the 500 since her sophomore year, and it boosts her confidence ahead of the finals on Saturday.
“I knew swimming that I was feeling good,” Bina said. “So, seeing the board was just like a relief, like okay, it was where I needed to be.”
Bina also improved on her section time in the 200 freestyle, dropping 1.58 seconds to 1:51:23, resulting in a third-place finish.
Marcott continues to thrive
Apple Valley senior Greta Marcott improved her 50 freestyle time from sections by 0.09 seconds to 23.12 but still finished runner-up in the prelims. Edina senior Libbi McCarthy leapfrogged her in the standings after posting a 22.55, just 0.01 seconds off a Class 2A record behind fellow Hornet Rachel Wittmer’s time set back in 2015.
Marcott led the way in the 100 backstroke, finishing in 54:37 seconds, improving by a second and a half on her section finals time.
Marcott holds school records in both the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke, snapping the previous records set by Jennifer Riggs back in 1998. She said that entering high school, these achievements had not been on her radar, especially the backstroke.
“I just became a backstroker last year, and it’s been really fun for me,” Marcott said.
It was an exhilarating state meet for the Wyoming commit as Marcott said it is the first state meet she’s been in the thick of the title chase.
Havermann one step closer to repeating
East Ridge junior Logan Havermann arrived at the prelims looking to defend two state titles. Havermann is the reigning state champ in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.
Havermann ended up as the top qualifier in the breaststroke with a 1:03:91 finish. She credits her continued success to her new approach, breaking down each race and adjusting, rather than relying on muscle memory.
Havermann entered the state meet second-best in the 200 IM to Edina sophomore Bobbi Simmons. Simmons maintained her edge, finishing 0.79 seconds ahead of Havermann’s time of 2:04:04 heading into Saturday’s finals.
Havermann said she is “excited” about being the second seed entering the 200 IM finals and getting to race against Simmons.
“I know she’s fast,” Havermann said. “She came in with a (2:01:84), I have a 2:00:00 from last year. So, if we push each other, we could both break (two minutes), which is super exciting.”
Stillwater shows out in relay
Stillwater set the tone for the Class 2A state prelims as its youthful 200 medley relay finished ahead of the pack. The Ponies squad, made up of eighth grader Maddie Mathiason, freshmen Molly Mahoney and Claire Christianson, along with junior Lucy Paczosa, put up a time of 1:45:42.
Paczosa also qualified for the 50 and 100 freestyle finals by placing fourth (23.37) in the 50 and second (50.81) behind McCarthy’s 50:00 in the 100 freestyle.
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