A fourth-place finish, both in the team standings and the individual and relay events, was the best the International Falls girls swimming and diving team could do in Saturday’s Section 7A finals in Hibbing, where none of the Broncos qualified for this week’s state meet.

Grand Rapids finished on top of the team standings with 564 points, followed by Hibbing (491), Two Harbors/Silver Bay (268), the Falls (211) and Mesabi East (194) rounding out the top five.

“I thought we swam really well,” said Broncos head coach Jill Herzig, who also noted senior Sarah Todd and junior Breanna Shofner both earned medals in four events. 

The Section’s top two in each individual swimming and relay event and the top four in the diving competition all advanced to the Class A State Girls Swimming and Diving Meet being held Nov. 15-17 at the U of M Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

In the eight swimming events in which the Falls advanced to the finals, the Broncos placed fourth in three of them.

Todd and Shofner joined freshman Abby Kostiuk and eighth-grader Emily Saari to place fourth in the 200-yard medley relay in 2 minutes, 4 seconds. Grand Rapids won in 1:57.98.

Shofner also placed fourth in the 50 freestyle (26.42). Grand Rapids junior Solveig Viren placed first in 24.14.

Kostiuk placed fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:08.65), while junior teammate Courtney Klow came in fifth in 1:09.75. Grand Rapids senior Nicole Pardinas won the event in 1:03.53.

Shofner added a fifth-place finish in the 100 freestyle (59.29), which was also won by Viren in 53.00, 3.89 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.

The Broncos recorded another fifth-place finish from Shofner, Todd, junior Blair Johnson and eight-grader Claire Herzig in the 200 freestyle relay (1:50.14), which was won by Grand Rapids in 1:43.03.

Todd placed sixth in both the 200 individual medley (2:31.05) and 100 breaststroke (1:18.1).

Saari added an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:19.22).

Falls’ other top-eight finish came in the 400 freestyle, in which Kostiuk, Johnson, Klow and eighth-grader Emma Misner placed seventh in 4:12.35.

Two Broncos qualified for Saturday’s finals in the diving competition, in which sophomores Clara Wenger and Jessie Hell placed ninth and 11th, respectively, with 253.85 and 245.1 points.

Falls also advanced swimmers in five events to the consolation finals, in which the top 9-16 finishers in the preliminaries qualified. Those results included:

• 200 individual medley — 15. Klow, 2:42.89.

• 50 freestyle — 16. Johnson, 28.37.

• 100 freestyle — 14. Misner, 1:02.06; 16. Johnson, 1:03.27.

• 100 backstroke — 11. Carolann Stone, 1:13.67.

• 100 breaststroke — 11. Claire Herzig, 1:20.22.

With only four swimmers graduating and Todd being the only senior who advanced to the Section finals, Jill Herzig said the prospects for the team look good for next season.

 

Girls Section 7A

Swimming and diving

Team scores: Grand Rapids 564, Hibbing 491, Two Harbors/Silver Bay 268, International Falls 211, Mesabi East 194, Virginia 150, Eveleth-Gilbert 114, Northeast Range/Ely 73, Chisholm 70.