Raiders send several to state swim meet

The bus ride home from Rochester on Saturday was one very loud one for the Hastings girls swimming team. The Raiders had plenty to celebrate, after all.

The Raiders qualified swimmers in 10 of 12 events, including all three relays. It’s the first time Hastings will be represented in all three relays in more than a decade, coach Katie McAlpin said.

“They were pretty enthusiastic on the bus on the way home,” McAlpin said. “Some days, when we have a meet that doesn’t go so well, it’s really quiet. They plug in their iPods and nobody really says anything. That wasn’t the case this ride. It was a fun trip home.”

During the section meet, Hastings set two school records and one Section 1AA record.

“It was a crazy weekend,” McAlpin said. “It was just stressful. I was just really nervous and stressed out, but it ended up going really well.”

The meet got off to a great start when the 200 medley relay team set a school record and qualified for the state meet with a time of 1 minute 50.03 seconds. The team of Brina Kari, Alyssa Spitzack, Allissa Smith and Leah Wallace placed second. The school record that the team broke has been on the books for about 15 years.

In the 200 freestyle, Abbie Gjelhaug placed fourth but qualified for the state meet with a time faster than the state cut. She finished in 1:56.63.

“She was a little nervous about it going into that one,” McAlpin said. “She was close to the cut in the prelims. She knew she had a lot of work to do, but Abbie is a racer. You can put her in anywhere.”

The state cut time was 1:57.02. Gjelhaug had a time 1:58.05 in prelims, which was already two seconds faster than her personal best. She cut another 1.5 seconds to qualify.

Smith dropped three seconds in the 200 individual medley to finish in 2:13.04, but it wasn’t enough to get into the state meet.

In the 50 freestyle, Kate Reilly cut a second at the section meet and finished second with a time of 23.70, earning a trip to the state meet. She was touched-out for the section title by just seven hundredths of a second.

“She was excited (to qualify) but still bummed (she didn’t win the section title),” McAlpin said.

In the 100 butterfly, Smith, an eighth-grader, finished in 58.81 and Leah Wallace finished in 59.42. Both qualified.

Reilly’s time of 52.05 was her lifetime best in the 100 freestyle, and she was the section champion in the event, earning a trip to the state meet. She cut half a second off her lifetime best.

“She was out to get that one, definitely, after getting second in the 50 freestyle,” McAlpin said. “She was ready to take that one down.”

Kari was five hundredths of a second away from qualifying in the event. The state cut time was 53.82 and she had a time of 53.87.

“She was really bummed,” McAlpin said.

In the 500 freestyle, Abbie Gjelhaug qualified with a time of 5:11.10, which was two seconds faster than the state cut. She placed third.

Gjelhaug cut five seconds in prelims and then another five seconds in finals to qualify. The state cut was 5:13.

The 200 freestyle relay team of Leah Wallace, Mariah Wallace, Gjelhaug and Reilly finished third in the race with a time of 1:39.32, which was about two seconds under the state cut.

“That’s the one that’s always the hardest one to get into the state meet with,” McAlpin said.

Kari qualified in the state meet in the 100 backstroke with a school record time of 57.58. It was her lifetime best, and breaks an 11-year-old school record. She is a freshman.

“It was a really flawless swim,” McAlpin said. “She did everything right.”

Lastly, the 400 freestyle qualified with a Section 1AA meet record. The team of Kari, Smith, Gjelhaug and Reilly finished first in 3:34.59. The time is just one second off a Hastings school record.

“The girls are hoping to take down that record this weekend,” McAlpin said.

Results from the meet went like this:

200 medley relay – team of Brina Kari, Alyssa Spitzack, Allissa Smith and Leah Wallace, second, 1:50.03.

200 freestyle – Abbie Gjelhaug, fourth, 1:56.83; Leah Wallace, second, 2:00.73; Morgan McCullough, 17th, 2:04.83; Megan Jahnke, 27th, 2:21.12.

200 individual medley – Smith, fifth, 2:13.04; Breanna Kimmes, ninth, 2:20.06; Spitzack, 10th, 2:21.95; Sam Matsch, 18th, 2:30.51.

50 freestyle — Reilly, second, 23.70; Mariah Wallace, 11th, 25.93; Melanie Waibel, 14th, 26.23; Jahnke, 27th, 29.13.

100 butterfly – Smith, third, 58.81; Leah Wallace, fifth, 59.42; Mariah Wallace, 14th, 1:04.37.

100 freestyle – Reilly, first, 52.05; Kari, third, 53.87; Waibel, 16th, 59.60; Christina Gillard, 23rd, 1:00.74.

500 freestyle – Gjelhaug, third, 5:11.10; Kimmes, 17th, 5:48.57; Nikki Girgen, 20th, 5:59.95; Valya Tipler, 22nd, 6:06.74.

200 freestyle relay – team of Leah Wallace, Mariah Wallace, Gjelhaug and Reilly, third, 1:39.32.

100 backstroke: Kari, third, 57.58; Morgan McCullough, ninth, 1:03.82; Sam Matsch, 25th, 1:12.49.

100 breaststroke – Spitzack, sixth, 1:10.46; Gillard, 19th, 1:20.37; Girgen, 20th, 1:21.79; Tipler, 24th, 1:23.30.

400 freestyle relay – team of Kari, Smith, Gjlehaug and Reilly, first, 3:34.59.

Honors

Hastings assistant coach Gerry Rupp was named the section’s assistant coach of the year.

“He’s got a lot of experience, and is really good at getting the girls pumped up,” McAlpin said. “He’s always got some inspirational words for them. He’s really good at that.”

Tags: raider swimming, sports, hastings, minnesota, spiral, prep