2024 Girls High School Preview: Section 5AA

Teams: Champlin Park, Irondale, Maple Grove, Osseo, Park Center, Spring Lake Park, Wayzata

  • 2023 Section Champion:  Wayzata – 615 pts
  • 2023 Section Runner-up:  Maple Grove – 457pts

Notable Graduates: 

  • Geneva Fackler (Wayzata) – 50 Free (2nd Sections), 100 Free (1st Sections)
  • Linnea Kallebo (Wayzata) – 200 IM (2nd Sections/12th State), 100 Back (2nd Sections/8th State)
  • Amelia Krigelski (Wayzata) – 200 IM (10th Sections), 100 Fly (7th Sections)
  • Addie Weimert (Wayzata) – 100 Fly (8th Sections), 100 Breast (4th Sections)
  • Hallie Wermerskirchen (Wayzata) – 500 Free (6th Sections), 100 Breast (5th Sections)
  • Sarah Kahl (Maple Grove) – 200 IM (7th Sections), 100 Breast (8th Sections)
  • Kylie Nordenstrom (Spring Lake Park) – 200 Free (9th Sections), 500 Free (8th Sections)
  • Brynna York (Spring Lake Park) – Diving (7th Sections)
  • Abby Ahlquist (Osseo) – Diving (5th Sections)
  • Sarah Wang (Irondale) – 50 Free (8th Sections), 100 Free (6th Sections)

Team Outlook

Maple Grove closed the gap some last year but still has a way to dethrone Wayzata in 5AA.  Wayzata has a slew of high-section point scorers returning that should carry them to another title.  To start with, they have returning seniors Liya Dai, Ava McNanley, Lucy Troyak, and Abby Freshwater.  Dai placed 4th in the 200 IM and 7th in 100 Back and McNanley was 6th in the 50 Free and 5th in the 100 Free.  Troyak was section champion in the 200 and 500 Free and placed 6th in both at the state meet.  Freshwater placed 4th at sections in diving.  The junior class is led by Emily Alberts, Evie Holmes, Brynn McNanley, and Ella Stark.  Alberts joined Troyak as section champion in the 200 Free and placed 6th in the 100 Back.  At the state meet, Alberts placed 13th in the 200 Free.  Stark scored a 3rd place finish in the 200 Free and 2nd place finish in the 500 Free at sections and went on to a 12th placed finish in the 500 at state.  Holmes placed 3rd in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Fly while McNanley placed 4th in the 200 Free and 500 Free.  Joining that group of juniors is Effie Fesenmaier, who placed 9th in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Fly in 2023.  For the sophomores, Brooke Huldeen returns after a 4th place finish in the 50 Free and a 3rd place finish in the 100 Free.  Also in that class is Paris Peng who finished 7th in the 100 Free and 2nd in the 100 Breast at sections.  Sophomore diver Ashley Mouyenga placed 2nd at the section meet and 4th at the state meet.  Fellow sophomore diver Hannah Hagg scored an 8th place finish at section and will be looking to challenge for a top 4 spot this season.

Maple Grove also sports a strong squad led by seniors Libby Bakker and Kaya Flaherty.  Bakker was a double section winner in the 200 IM and 100 Back and placed 4th in 5th in those events at state.  Flaherty also was a double winner at the section meet in the 50 Free and 100 Fly.  She went on to score a 12th place finish in the 50 Free and 5th place finish in the 100 Fly at state.  A third senior, Charlotte Woods had an impactful 2023 section meet.  She placed 5th in the 50 Free and 4th in the 100 Free.  Junior Maddie Hetland returns after a 3rd place finish in the 100 Fly and 500 Free and fellow junior Ellis Landry is back after a 3rd place finish in diving.   Hetland placed 15th in the 100 Fly and Landry placed 6th in diving at the state.  Mogan Thompson leads the sophomore class after an impressive 2023 season.  Thompson placed 2nd in the 100 Free and 4th in the 100 Back.  At the state meet, she placed 15th in the 100 Free.   Sophomore Molly Manning will also look to have an impact this year, coming off a 7th place finish in the 200 Free and 9th place finish in the 500 Free.  Classmate Sophie Nelson was right behind her, placing 8th in the 200 Free and 10th in the 500 Free.  Freshman Lily Peterson scored a top 8 finish last season with an 8th place finish in the 100 Free and 9th in the 50 Free.

Other Notables

Three juniors are at the core for Champlin Park.  Sophie Norsted placed 2nd in the 100 Fly and 3rd in the 100 Back in 2023.  She tallied 11th and 9th place finishes in those events at the state meet.  Olivia Knox placed 8th in the 200 IM and was section champion in the 100 Breast, while Mia Sanders scored a 5th place finish in the 200 IM and 6th place finish in the 100 Fly.  Senior Mari Lachinski also had a strong section meet in 2023, placing 5th in the 200 Free and 6th in the 500 Free.  Junior Breaststroke specialist Sierra Emery returns after a 3rd place finish in the 100 Breast and freshman Lara Deschene scored a 7th place finish in the 50 Free and 9th place finish in the 100 Free.

Spring Lake Park junior Cora Roseborough placed 3rd in the 200 IM and 5th in the 100 Back and will be looking to qualify for state in her events in 2024.  Junior Ellis Rotzenberg placed 6th in diving in 2023 and will also be looking to be a state qualifier this season. 

Osseo is a younger squad and will be led by junior Lexi Johnson, who placed 6th in the 200 Free and 7th in the 500 Free, and sophomore Paige Krings who finished 6th in the 200 IM and 9th in the 100 Breast.

Irondale senior Lulu Semakula returns to defend her section championship in diving and looking to build on her 8th place finish at the state meet in 2024.

Park Center eighth-grader Hailey Brockmann looks to be a key building block for Park Center.  In her rookie season, she placed 15th in the 200 IM and 11th in the 100 Breast.

Scroll to Top