DL swimming and diving team undefeated in three meets

Three meets into the swimming and diving season and the Laker girls are getting used to winning.

DL swept a quadrangular at Crookston to notch their third consecutive victory.

“The youngsters led the night with firsts from Jen Tracy and Syd Gulon,” head coach Carol McCarthy said. “What was key in the meet was the depth of our team taking the second, third, and fourths, as well. I saw a lot of great finishes, keeping our heads down and getting to that wall, fast. Things are going swimmingly with the season, we are becoming stronger, faster and smarter with our races...lots of yards to go and things to improve on but these girls are a motivated group. The best is yet to come. That's exciting.”

The Lakers won by a comfortable margin scoring 155 points to 100 by the runner-up Pirates in their home pool. Thief River Falls scored 43 and Warroad/Roseau/Greenbush-Middle River was fourth with 17 points.

One crucial team advantage the Lakers can count on this season is diving.

DL swept the top four places with returning state entrants sophomore Emma Disse and freshman Lexi Yliniemi finishing first and second, respectively, with 234.55 and 219.75 points from the judges.

Junior Thia Olds was third scoring 196.2 and a seventh-grader Kaitlyn Peterson placed fourth with 173.25 points. The foursome combined for 27 team points, while the remainder of the diving field scored six.

Two other Laker event wins came in freestyle swimming with Gulon taking the 200-meter race in 2:19.75. Teammates Ella Henderson and Abbi Smith placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

Tracy, a seventh-grader, won the 400-free in a time of 4:51.99, with teammates Evan Westrum and Anna Schumacher placing fourth and fifth.

Gulon, a freshman and the third returning Laker with 2014 state experience, added her second event win in the 100-meter breaststroke swimming 1:24.13 to edge out teammate Clara Livermore in second place my 24-hundredths of a second.

The 400-freestyle relay team added another win for the Lakers. The underclassmen team of Tracy, Henderson Kenna Krengel and Gulon won by a solid 16 seconds in a time of 4:27.71. The B team of Anna Schumacher, Abbi Smith, Josie Retz and Elena Gilbert, another four-pack of underclassmen, placed an impressive third to give DL 13 of the possible 18 points in the event.

Retz and Smith added runner-up and third place marks in the 100-backstroke.

Livermore and Maddie Henderson placed third and fourth in the 200-individual medley.

Ella Henderson and Lucy Steinke finished third and fourth place in the 50-free, while Krengel and Steinke took second and third in the 100-free.

Detroit Lakes is back at it bright and early Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the Park Rapids Invitational.          

Laker results

Detroit Lakes at Crookston quadrangular, Thursday, Sept. 17.

Team results:

1. Detroit Lakes 155

2. Crookston 100

3. Thief River Falls 43

4. WRG-MR 17

200m medley relay

1. Crookston 2:15.27

3. DL A (gulon, Livermore, Tracy, Krengel) 2:36.43

5. DL B (Elena Gilbert, Ellie Staley, M. Henderson, Rachael Bolar) 2:41.04

200m freestyle

1. Gulon 2:19.75

4. E. Henderson 2:30.17

5. Smith 2:44.72

8. Retz 2:53.50

200m IM

1. The Oman, CRO 2:47.70

3. Livermore 2:56.33

4. M. Henderson 3:06.50

5. Schumacher 3:06.59

7. Gilbert 3:14.87

50m freestyle

1. Haley Roed, CRO 28.70

3. E. Henderson 30.37

4. Steinke 30.84

5. Krengel 31.66

9. Bolar 33.57

1m diving

1. Disse 234.55

2. Yliniemi 21975

3. Olds 196.20

4. Peterson 173.25

100m butterfly

1. Tracy 1:10.50

7. Westrum 1:26.22

9. Mckenna Ruchti 1:32.30

10. Chelsy Johnson 1:38.32

100m freestyle

1. Roed, CRO 1:02.81

2. Krengel 1:09.94

3. Steinke 1:10.65

6. Bolar 1:14.57

7. Dannah Nephew 1:17.39

400m freestyle

1. Tracy 4:51.99

4. Westrum 5:45.05

5. Schumacher 5:49.17

7. M. Henderson 5:58.98

200m freestyle relay

1. Crookston 1:57.22

2. DL A (E. Henderson, Westrum, Livermore, Steinke) 2:06.92

4. DL B (Smith, Bolar, Nephew, M. Henderson) 2:14.55

100m backstroke

1. Kate MacGregor, CRO 1:13.38

2. Retz 1:21.99

3. Smith 1:22.42

6. Gilbert 1:28.34

8. Ruchti 1:33.37

100m breaststroke

1. Gulon 1:24.13

2. Livermore 1:27.37

5. Johnson 1:35.51

6. Ellie Staley 1:37.22

400m freestyle relay

1. DL A (Tracy, E. Henderson, Krengel, Gulon) 4:27.71

3. DL B (Schumacher, Smith, Retz, Gilbert) 5:19.25