Teams: East Ridge, Mounds View, Roseville, Tartan, White Bear Lake, Woodbury
- 2022 Section Champion: Stillwater – 618 pts
- 2022 Section Runner-up: Woodbury – 492 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Sophia Chau (Stillwater) – 200 Fee (7th Sections), 100 Back (2nd Sections/15th State)
- Sydney Dettmann (Stillwater) – 200 Free (1st Sections/1st State), 500 Free (2nd Sections/6th State)
- Sarah Doeksen (Stillwater) – 100 Free (8th Sections), 100 Back (2nd Sections)
- Lucy Siedschlag (Stillwater) – 50 Free (3rd Sections), 100 Fly (2nd Sections)
- Anika Wright (Stillwater) – 200 IM (2nd Sections11th State), 500 Free (3rd Sections/14th State)
- Chloe Carlson (Woodbury) – 100 Back (1st Sections/13th State)
- Lucy Jacobson (Woodbury) – 200 IM (6th Sections), 500 Free (6th Sections)
- Sophia Peterson (Woodbury) – 100 Fly (3rd Sections), 100 Back (3rd Sections)
- Ava Reich (Woodbury) – 200 Free (4th Sections), 100 Fly (1st Sections/14th State)
- Alana Schmitzer (Mounds View) – 50 Free (4th Sections), 100 Free (3rd Sections)
- Madeline Boespflug (Mounds View) – Diving (3rd Sections)
- Lily van ser Sman (East Ridge) – 50 Free (2nd Sections 3AA), 100 Back (3rd Sections 3AA)
Team Outlook
The addition of East Ridge to this section adds quite a bit to the mix, even with the loss of St. Paul Harding and North High School – North St. Paul. For all the details of the section realignments, you can visit our previous article.
Stillwater lost a lot to graduation but still has enough returning talent to be considered the favorite for the section. Freshman stand-out Lucy Paczosa returns as section champion in the 50 and 100 Free where she went on to finish fifteenth and twelfth at state respectively. Senior Norah Naatjes may have been runner up to Paczosa in sections in those events, but she finished one place ahead of her in both events the following week at the state meet. Senior Maddie Reed was section champion in the 200 IM and 100 Breast and finished fifth and second in those events at state. Freshman Audrey Serres was strong in sections with a fourth place finish in the 200 IM and third place finish in the 100 Breast. She should be eyeing state appearances in both in 2023. Junior Maya Kelly returns as a runner up in the section.
Woodbury also has some key pieces to replace, but like Stillwater, has plenty of younger talent remaining. State champion diver Gabby Mauder returns for her senior year to lead the way. Seniors Maya Tellez and Nora Kelly look to add to their contributions from last season. Tellez finished fourth last season in the 100 and 200 Free, while Kelly was fourth in the 100 Fly and 100 Back. Sophomore Addison Forshee placed third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 500 Free at sections. Forshee was just outside of top sixteen time in the 200 IM at state.
East Ridge will complicate things a bit for the section. They finished second only 37 points behind Rosemount in 3AA last year. Freshman Emma Wood is a legit threat in the 200 and 500 Free, winning both in Section 3AA last season. Senior Mallory Paine placed sixth at the state meet in the 100 Free and could be in contention for state points in the 200 Free in 2023. Senior Melanie Witikko will contend for the top four spots in the section in both the 200 IM and 100 Fly. Junior diver Kiley Thrush was a state qualifier last season and should be in the mix again this year.
Other Notables
Mounds View sophomore Ellie Bina returns as section champion in the 500 Free and section runner up in the 200 Free. She should challenge for titles in these events in the section this year.
Roseville will be led by sophomore Linnea Brandt. Brandt finished her freshman year with a sixth place finish in the 200 Free and fifth place finish in the 100 Breast. Junior Greta Wiskus placed seventh in the 50 and 100 Free last year and could factor in the top four in each event in 2023.
White Bear Lake senior Lucy Brofka had a great finish to her junior year, placing fifth in the 50 and 100 Free. She was close to state qualifying times and will be looking to break that barrier this year.
Tartan sophomore Gabby Fleming will be looking to move up the ranks in the 500 Free and 100 Back, finishing top sixteen in both events last season.