Teams: East Ridge, Mounds View, Roseville, Stillwater, Tartan, White Bear Lake, Woodbury
- 2023 Section Champion: Stillwater – 547 pts
- 2023 Section Runner-up: Cretin-Derham Hall – 454.5 pts
Notable Graduates:
- Norah Naatjes (Stillwater) – 50 Free (1st Sections/5th State), 100 Free (2nd Sections/7th State)
- Maddie Reed (Stillwater) – 200 IM (2nd Sections/5th State), 100 Breast (1st Sections/1st State)
- Mallory Paine (East Ridge) – 50 Free (3rd Sections/8th State), 100 Free (3rd Sections/11th State)
- Melanie Witikko (East Ridge) – 50 Free (6th Sections), 100 Fly (2nd Sections)
- Nora Kelly (Woodbury) – 100 Fly (5th Sections), 100 Back (5th Sections)
- Torun McGillis (Woodbury) – 200 IM (1st Sections/3rd State), 100 Back (1st Sections/6th State)
- Elisa Sorenson-Wagner (Woodbury) – 100 Back (4th Sections)
- Maya Tellez (Woodbury) – 200 Free (3rd Sections/14th State), 100 Free (6th Sections)
- Gabby Mauder (Woodbury) – Diving (1st Sections/2nd State)
- Erika Turkington (Mounds View) – 200 Free (7th Sections), 100 Fly (1st Sections)
- Reese Bjorklund (Mounds View) – Diving (5th Sections)
- Sophia Seifert (Roseville) – 50 Free (7th Sections), 100 Free (8th Sections)
- Mina Dahl (Roseville) – Diving (6th Sections)
- Lucy Borofka (White Bear Lake) – 50 Free (5th Sections), 100 Free (7th Sections)
Team Outlook
The loss of points through graduation looks to be about equal among the top teams so it appears that Stillwater will be the favorite going into the 2024 season. The Ponies will be led by sophomore Lucy Paczosa, who placed 2nd in the 50 Free and was section champion in the 100 Free last year. At the state meet, Paczosa placed 3rd in the 50 and 4th in the 100. Senior Margaret Reed will be among the seniors looking to score big points this year. Reed placed 4th in the 200 Free and 3rd in the 500 Free in 2023. Fellow senior Jayla Peterson placed 4th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Free at last year’s sections meet and senior Alison Poole finished 5th in the 500 Free. Senior Alex Krause placed 8th in diving and will be gunning for top 4 this year. The junior class features Shaeffer Watson, who scored an 8th place finish in the 100 Fly and 7th place finish in the 100 Breast as well as Reese Bilot, who placed 6th in the 200 Free and 8th in the 500 Free. Junior Isabel Koch was a 6th place finisher in the 100 Back and will look to add a second event this season while Annika Beck swam to a 6th place finish in the 500 Free. A couple of talented sophomores join Paczosa in that class. Audrey Serres placed 5th in the 200 IM and 100 Breast in 2023 and Grace Ganser finished 8th in the 200 Free and 7th in the 100 Back. Eighth grader Claire Christenson is coming off a big rookie season where she placed 4th in the 200 IM and was section runner up in the 100 Breast.
East Ridge sophomore Emma Wood is the top returning point scorer for her squad, placing 1st in the 200 Free and 2nd in the 500 Free. At the state meet, Wood placed 9th in the 200 Free and 11th in the 500 Free. Another sophomore, Logan Havermann placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 100 Breast at sections and placed 10th and 9th in those events at the state meet. Mia Seidel and Megyn Gillard are also a part of that strong sophomore class. Seidel placed 7th in the 500 Free and 9th in the 100 Breast, while Gillard finished 4th in the 100 Free and 3rd in the 100 Back. Senior Emma Hauch fared well last season with a 5th place finish in the 200 Free and 2nd place finish in the 100 Back. Junior Malea Johnson should be a factor this year as well, building on her 7th place finish in the 200 IM and 4th place finish in the 100 Breast in 2023. Eighth grader Sabrine Keister was a 4th place finisher in the 100 Fly last year and looks to build on that performance in 2024. In diving, senior Kiley Thrush returns, aiming for the section championship this year. She placed 2nd in 2023.
Other Notables
Woodbury graduated a powerhouse class this year and will be looking to the youngsters to fill the void. Junior Addison Forshee placed 6th in the 200 IM and 4th in the 500 Free last season and will lead the way for the Royals. Freshman Nina Faulkner and senior Halle Linn finished 3rd and 4th in diving last year at the section meet and will continue the strong diving tradition at Woodbury this year. Faulkner laced 10th at the state meet and teammate Linn placed 14th.
Mounds View junior Ellie Bina placed 2nd in the 200 Free and was section champion in the 500 Free in 2023. Bina followed that performance up with a 7th place finish in the 200 Free and 3rd place finish in the 500 Free at the state meet. Eighth grader Riley Bury scored an 8th place finish in the 100 Breast last season and senior diver Tyler Ostrom finished 7th in diving.
Roseville senior Gret Wiskus is the top returning point scorer for the Raiders. Wiskus placed 6th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Fly in 2023. Junior Linnea Brandt also fared well last season, ending with an 8th place finish in the 200 IM and 6th place finish in the 100 Breast.
White Bear Lake senior Lily Jenkins returns after placing 11th in the 50 Free and 10th in the 100 Free. Freshman Charlotte McIntyre scored a 6th place finish at the section meet in the 100 Fly and should be a top point scorer this season for White Bear Lake.
Tartan has a younger team and juniors Gabby Flemming and Ashley Hang will be the top returning point scorers for the team. Flemming placed 12th in the 100 Back and Hang 14th in the 100 Fly and 16th in the 100 Back.