White Hawks on Fire at Section Swim Meet

by Tom Polusny

The Mound Westonka-Holy Family swim and dive team arrived at the Section 3A finals in Hutchinson over the weekend with high expectations. 

They were not disappointed. 

The girls broke a number of records and will be sending a large contingent to the State Meet at the University of Minnesota this weekend.

“I knew that the toughest section in the state would bring out the best in our team," second-year coach Gretchen Rouse said. "They turned in a number of impressive swims.”

Section 3A honors included Swimmer of the Year, Mackenzie Braden; Diver of the Year, Kayla Lindeman; and Coach of the Year, Gretchen Rouse. 

Competing as separate teams at the section level, the Mound Westonka White Hawks 200 medley relay of juniors Rose Inglis, Sari Mailey, Erin Haug and eighth-grader Rhiannon Mailey led off with a 10th place finish. Expectations spiked in the championship heat when the Holy Family medley relay of freshmen Shea Braden, Brie Lavelle and Clare Simon and senior Mackenzie Braden dropped three full seconds to finish 4th with a time of 1:52.41, qualifying for the state meet. It was the first of many state-qualifying swims the teams would experience.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Rhiannon Mailey swam a personal best of 2:06.62, earning a 13th place finish. Red and green would dominate the winners’ stand in the 200 free championship heat, with half of the eight finalists coming from Westonka and Holy Family. Mackenzie Braden hit a season best time of 1:56.12 to take first place, while three of her teammates posted times that qualified for state. Senior Captain Paige Beyer took 4th, setting the first of many Mound Westonka records at 1:59.05. Senior Co-Captain Grace Polusny was 6th at 2:00.49; Holy Family’s Clare Simon was directly behind at 2:00.51.

“The 200 free is really a fun race for us," Polusny said. "As a team, we’ve really become a distance powerhouse and this just proves that.”

In the 200-yard individual medley, season best times were posted by freshmen Emily Staunton, Mound Westonka and Stephanie Begalke and Sally Stark, Holy Family. Stark won the consolation heat in 2:24.07. Junior co-captain Maggie Green took 8th place in the IM championship heat, and would later take 8th again in the 100-yard butterfly finals.

Holy Family diver Kayla Lindeman finished first with a final score of 322.10, earning a spot at the state meet. Mound Westonka senior Marilee Saatzer and junior Emily Minzel finished 11thand 16th respectively in the diving finals. 

The 500 free was again dominated by the White Hawks and Fire, with half of the winners in the championship heat coming from Westonka and Holy Family. 

Mackenzie Braden took the top spot with a time of 5:14.57, setting a Section 3A record. Grace Polusny set another Westonka record, finishing 3rd with a time of 5:21.87 and qualifying for state. Sari Mailey (5:38.91) edged out sister Rhiannon (5:40.37) to capture 7th and 8th place, respectively, in the championship heat. Senior Fire Co-Captain Libby New, who finished 12th in the event with a personal best time of 5:46.65, commented on the team’s strong distance performance, “This is just crazy!”

Paige Beyer and Grace Polusny then teamed with sophomore Hannah Daly and 8th grader Ryann Beyer in the 200 Free Relay in a very tough field.   The White Hawks were up to the challenge, breaking the 3rd Westonka record of the evening with a time of 1:42.67, good enough for a 6th place finish and qualifying yet another relay for the state meet.

In the 100-yard vreaststroke, sophomore Liz Mason had a season best time of 1:21.64, while Sari Mailey took 15th in the consolation finals. The Fire’s LaVelle dropped two seconds from her seed time but narrowly missed the state cut at 1:10.32 and 6th place overall. 

The meet’s 400 free relay finale could not have ended better for the White Hawks and Fire. The Mound Westonka team of the Beyer sisters, Polusny, and Daly finished 4th at  3:42.93, narrowly missing the White Hawks record set last year. They were followed closely by the 5th place Fire team of Simon, LaVelle and the Braden sisters, who finished at 3:44.96. Both teams’ times would send more relays to state.

It was a fitting end, with Fire and White Hawk teammates celebrating their accomplishment along side one another on the awards podium while the Village People’s “YMCA” blasted over the speakers.  The team had much to celebrate.

Combined, the White Hawks and Fire teams are sending 7 individuals and 4 relays to the state swim and dive meet. 

Section 3A honors included Swimmer of the Year, Mackenzie Braden; Diver of the Year, Kayla Lindeman; and Coach of the Year, Gretchen Rouse. 

In an unprecedented season, Coach Rouse added, “As coaches we could not be happier with how the Section meet went. Our girls worked really hard this season and it showed. It was a great honor to be nominated as Coach of the Year as well as having Kayla and Mackenzie recognized as diver and swimmer of the year. This season has been phenomenal. We can't wait to see what the girls can do at state!”