As lots of fall sports are coming to an end, the Sartell girls’ swimming and diving team is just approaching the middle of their long season. The girls have a big winning tradition, have been a powerhouse program, and usually have been the best in both their conference and section for 20+ years. This year the team dynamic has had a huge shift after graduating 12 swimmers last year, two of which went on to swim division 1 and others going to swim in college. With that being said, the Sabres are a very young team with lots of growth ahead of them. The team has about five meets left in the 2024 season. So far the Swim and Dive team is undefeated but is advancing towards the difficult meets of the season which may (but fingers crossed it won’t) break the undefeated streak.
The teams’ last meet was on October 10th against Sauk Rapids, at home. The meet was close for a bit but eventually, after the 500 freestyle, the Sabres were able to pull through to take the win. This meet was the last meet for lots of swimmers who will not be competing through the championship meet season. Some highlights of the meet were Sartell’s A and B relays taking first and second in the 200 free relay to help gain lots of points, as well as in the 100 yard breaststroke where Mara Segura, Aki Rebeck, and Marni Koosman took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the varsity heat. At the meet Sauk Rapids also had lots of great races.
The next meet for the Sabres is true team sections, this Saturday, on October 12th, in Brainerd. The “true team” meets are scored in a unique way where every swimmer, including the last, will score points for their team. The true team meets really measure the depth of a team. Head coach Hannah Nelson believes that Sartell has the depth it takes to win even after the loss of 12 seniors. If the Sabres win, they will advance to the true team state meet which is hosted at the University of Minnesota. Last year, and the year before, Sartell won true team sections and was able to go to the state meet so the pressure is on this year.
The final meet of the season for the Sabres is the sections meet. Last year, the Sabres took first and this year they are hoping for the same despite the changes in this year’s team. The section meet will be hosted in Brainerd and will have lots of competition for Sartell. The section meet is arguably the most important meet of the year as swimmers train all year long for the meet. At sections, a team can only bring four people for each event so the team totals to be around 20 swimmers and divers as compared to the 45 at the start of the season. After the conference meet which is at the end of October, swimmers will start tapering. Tapering will help swimmers drop lots of time at sections while in tech suits!
Overall, the Sartell girls’ swim and dive team has had a great season and plans to continue dominating within the conference; and hopefully the section.
