Teams: Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Eastview, Hastings, Park, Rosemount, Two Rivers
- 2022 Section Champion: Rosemount – 428 pts
- 2022 Section Runner-up: East Ridge – 391 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Grace Affeldt (Burnsville) – Diving (1st Sections/12th State)
- Paige Calvin (Burnsville) Diving (4th Sections)
- Morgan Kipka (Eagan) – 200 Free (6th Sections), 100 Free (4th Sections)
- Amber Peterson (Eagan) – 200 IM (5th Sections), 500 Free (7th Sections)
- Emma Vogen (Eastview) – 200 Free (4th Sections), 500 Free (2nd Sections/15th State)
- Maggie Anderson (Eastview) – 100 Back (7th Sections)
- Ava McNamara (Hastings) – 100 Fly (1st Sections/3rd State), 100 Breast (1st Sections/6th State)
- Emily Toenges (Rosemount) – 50 Free (6th Sections), 100 Fly (10th Sections)
Team Outlook
Section runner-up East Ridge moves to section 4AA, and Two Rivers moves up from Section 4A to fill the void. For all the details of the section realignments, you can visit our previous article.Â
Reigning section champion Rosemount drops some points through graduation but has most of the core returning. Leading the way will be seniors Gwen Moore, Amelia Labno, and Ashtyn Swenson. Moore finished second in the 200 Free and was section champion in the 100 Free while Labno was fifth in the 200 Free and section champion in the 100 Back and finished top eight in that event at the state meet. Swenson finished third in the 50 Free and fifth in the 100 Free at section and swam on two relays at the state meet. Also returning for the Irish is senior breaststroker Olivia Dolan who finished fourth in the event and seventh in the 200 IM at sections. Junior Addison Pavek will be a force in the backstroke, returning from her second-place finish last season, partnered with her fourth place finish in the 100 Fly. Diver Kelly Estebo returns for her junior year as the top returning diver in the section.
While Hastings loses some big points with the graduation of double section champion Ava McNamara, they still have plenty of power in the pool. Senior Lauren Jenkins returns after finishing eighth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 Back last season. Senior Ashtyn Stewart placed third in the 50 Free and fifth in diving and looks to accomplish the rare feat of qualifying for the state meet in both diving and a swimming event this year. Junior Kira Aarness finished second in the 200 IM last season and eighth in the 100 Free, while junior Josey Larson placed fifth in the 100 Fly in 2022. Hastings has an intriguing trio of freshman in Sofia Kovalenko, Annika Reis, and Lila Salzman. Combined, they scored 57 points in individual events at sections last year.
Eastview will have to replace some points from the graduation of Emma Vogen and Maggie Anderson but has some quality returning swimmers climbing the ranks. Junior Stella Bushard is reigning section champion in the 200 IM and placed fourth in the 100 Fly. Junior Madalyn Lindgren placed third last year in the 200 IM and second in the 100 Breast. Sophomore Lily Sisson placed eighth in the 200 Free and fourth in the 200 Free while sophomore Aimee Birmingham placed third in the 50 Free last year. Rounding out the top point scoring returnees is freshman Frances Anderson, who placed tenth in the 200 IM and third in the 100 Breast in 2022.
Other Notables
Apple Valley sophomore Greta Marcott comes back from a stellar meet last year where she was section champion in the 50 Free and second in the 100 Fly. She went on to finish sixth and twelfth, respectively, at the state meet.
Eagan senior Morgan Wall returns, finishing seventh last season in the 200 Free and third in the 100 Free. Joining Wall at the top of the Eagan lineup is junior Claire Kindseth. Kindseth finished sixth in the 200 IM and third in the 500 Free in 2022.
Park had a very small graduating class and will have senior Amber Norgaard leading the way. Norgaard finished eleventh last season in the 50 Free and sixth in the 100 Free. Junior Sarah Weston will be in the mix for the top four diving spots this year after finishing ninth last season.
Two Rivers is tough to predict as they are moving up a class. Like Park, they have a small graduating class and senior Maggie Auran should factor in the top eight in the 200 IM and top three in the 500 Free. Senior Elyse Jahn will also be a top eight contender in the 200 Free and 500 Free. Senior Diver Grace Marek should contend for the section championship after placing second in section 4A last season and second at Class A state.