While most of the local fall high school sports have already concluded for the season, and practice for the winter sports is getting started, the Bronco girls swimming and diving team begins the Class A Section competition this Thursday in Grand Rapids.
In each individual event, the top 16 swimmers in tomorrow’s preliminary competition will advance to Saturday’s finals.
Based on seeding times, Falls has a number of top-10 swimmers competing among as many as 36 entries in each individual event from the nine teams, which include the Falls, Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Mesabi East, Two Harbors/Silver Bay, Eveleth-Gilbert, Chisholm, Virginia and Northeast Range/Ely each allowed to enter up to four per event.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Broncos sophomore Breanna Shofner and senior Rachel Adams are seeded fifth and sixth with times of 26.99 and 27.13 seconds, respectively. The top-seeded time is 24.24 from Grand Rapids sophomore Solveig Viren.
Shofner is also seeded sixth in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:09.53. Two Harbors senior Stephanie McGregor is the top seed at 1:07.78.
Seniors Morgan Bruess and Ashley Hasbargen are both seeded fourth in their respective specialty events, the 100 backstroke (1:09.5) and 100 breaststroke (1:18.47).
A freshman from Grand Rapids, Katie Welshinger, is the top seed in the 100 backstroke (1:08.91), while Hibbing senior Kristy Rudberg has recorded the top time this season in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.52).
In the relay races, the Falls is seeded second in the 200 medley relay (2:03.48) behind top-seeded Hibbing (2:01.91).
The Broncos are also seeded fourth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:50.47) and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:10.15). Grand Rapids has the top-seeded times in both events in 1:45.19 and 3:54.82, respectively.
Going into the Section competition, the Falls compiled a meet record of 9-2-1.
