2024 Girls High School Preview: Section 8A

Teams:  Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Fosston-Bagley-Crookston, Morris Area-Minnewaska, Park Rapids, Perham-New York Mills, Thief River Falls, BMGR-Warroad-Rosseau

  • 2023 Section Champion: Park Rapids – 482 pts
  • 2023 Section Runner-up:  Alexandria – 338.5 pts

Notable Graduates: 

  • Amelia Bagstad (Park Rapids) – 200 IM (6th Sections), 100 Back (4th Sections)
  • Maya Deshayes (Park Rapids) – 500 Free (4th Sections), 100 Back (8th Sections)
  • Lizzie Seifert (Park Rapids) – 200 Free (3rd Sections), 500 Free (2nd Sections)
  • Gabi Shepersky (Park Rapids) – 100 Breast (7th Sections)
  • Claire Voigt (Park Rapids) – 100 Fly (7th Sections), 100 Back (9th Sections)
  • Jisella Haskamp (Alexandria) – 200 IM (1st Sections/8th State), 10th Breast (1st Sections/16th State)
  • Erica Johnson (Alexandria) – Diving (2nd Sections/3rd State)
  • Elise Magaard (Alexandria) – 200 Free (9th Sections), 100 Fly (4th Sections)
  • Aisling Cox (Fergus Falls) – 200 IM (7th Sections), 100 Back (6th Sections)
  • Rylie Wendt (Detroit Lakes) – 200 IM (4th Sections), 100 Free (7th Sections)
  • Brittney Lorentz (Perham-New York Mills) – Diving (1st Sections/5th State)
  • Avery McAllister (Perham-New York Mills) – Diving (3rd Sections/10th State)

Team Outlook

Park Rapids will again be the favorite in this section, although Alexandria may close the gap a little.  Park Rapids sophomore Avery Schuller will return in defense of her section titles in the 50 and 100 Free.  Sculler went on to place 16th in the 100 Free at the state meet and will be an integral part of the Park Rapids relays.  The squad follows up Schuller with a lot of depth.  Senior Addison Lauwagie placed 3rd in the 100 Fly and was on all three state qualifying relays.  Fellow seniors Nora Cederstrom, Mylee Edevold, and McKenzie Himango will add some top-tier points at sections as well.  In 2023, Cederstrom placed 6th in both the 200 and 500 Free, Edevold finished 7th in the 50 Free and 5th in the 100 Fly and Himango was 8th in the 200 IM and 6th in the 100 Breast.  Sophomores Julia Grande and Whitney Seifert will be looking to help the team out in the point total this season.  Last year Grande placed 7th in the 200 Free and 9th in the 500 Free, while Seifert placed 3rd in the 200 Free and 2nd in the 500 Free.  Senior diver Allie Rowland will look to capitalize on the top 3 divers graduating last year and move up from her 2023 5th place finish into the top 4. 

Alexandria will be led by seniors Rayna Holm and Grace Urke this season.  Holm was section champion in the 200 Free and placed 4th in the 10 Free last season while Urke was section champion in the 100 Back and runner up in the 200 IM.  At the state meet, Urke placed 13th in the 200 IM and 16th in the 100 Back.  Sophomore Hannah Hoff will also have a big impact this season for Alexandria.  Hoff finished 9th in the 200 IM and was section runner up in the 100 Back.

Other Notables

Fergus Falls will continue to build after not graduating a ton of points.  Senior Karlie Peterson and Alexis Wellman will provide the leadership on top of points in the pool.  Peterson placed 3rd in the 100 Breast and 10th in the 50 Free last season while Wellman scored a 5th place finish in the 200 Free and 8th place finish in the 500 Free.  Junior Estee VerSteeg returns as section champion in the 500 free and was section runner up in the 200 Free in 2023.  Ella Kwapinksi had a strong rookie season with 5th place finishes in the 200 IM and 100 Free as a 7th grader.  Look for her to only move up from there in 2024.

Detroit Lakes had a 7th grade sensation of their own last season in Grace Hamm.  Hamm finished 3rd in the 200 IM and was section champion in the 100 Fly.   Senior Hope Hamm qualified for the state meet in diving last season through a 4th place section finish and will be the top returning diver in the section this year.  Fellow Senior Peggy Whitteron made some strong contributions last season with a 6th place finish in the 100 Fly and 7th place finish in the 500 Free.  Junior Marian Martin will look to move up the ranks in the 100 Breast this season.  She placed 5th in 2023.

Morris-Minnewaska senior Becca Femrite and Melena Longtin will look to lead their squad of the point totals in 2024.   Femrite finished 4th in the 200 Free and 5th in the 500 Free in 2023 and Longtin placed 4th in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 100 Free.   Junior Lyla Stadtherr also had a nice section meet last season.  Stadtherr scored a 5th place finish in the 50 Free and was section runner up in the 100 Breast.  Junior Diver Ella Roering placed 6th last year at the section meet and will be in a good position for one of the top 4 state qualifying spots this year.

Perham-New York Mills will be led by junior Taylor Ziemke.  Ziemke finished 2nd in the 50 Free and 3rd in the 500 Free in 2023.  Senior Molly Meyer was a top 8 finisher in the 200 Free, senior Elle McDonald finished 3rd in the 100 Back and senior Kate Diggins was a top 8 finisher in the 100 Breast in 2023. 

Thief River Falls scored all their individual section points from their 7th and 8th grade classes in 2023.  Freshman Natalia Zoeller and Shelby Holthusen along with eighth graders Livia Thibert and Faith Hartmann will help form a young nucleus for this squad.

Fosston-Bagley-Crookston will be led by junior Chloe Boll this season.  Boll placed 3rd in the 50 Free and 2nd in the 100 Free last season and will be looking to score her first section title this season.  Senior Haidyn Friborg was section runner up in the 100 Fly in 2023 and will also be competing for a title this year.

Morris Minnewaska junior Melena Longtin will find a good spot in the new section, projecting to place in the top eighth in the 50 and 100 Free.  Sophomore Lyla Stadtherr placed ninth in section 6A in the 100 Breast and should be contending for top five in 8A.

BMG/Warroad/Roseau senior Elina Gerasimova was a bright spot for the team last year.  Gerasimova placed 5th in both the 50 Free and 100 Back in 2023

Scroll to Top