Girls’ swimming competes in finals Nov. 16
Park places 21 in State
Junior Elie Grassley competes in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:23.53 minutes, placing 16th overall. Park competed at the State finals Nov. 16. at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center at the University of Minnesota.
November 16, 2019
After placing second in the 100 yard breaststroke at State Nov. 16, senior Hattie Kugler said going into State she was fully invested in the meet.
“This is my last race ever because I’m not going forward with (swimming), so I was just like why not make it the best I can have,” Kugler said.
Junior Grace Loveland said the State meet was meaningful because of the inspiration she drew from seniors Hattie Kugler and Franny Bevell.
“Seeing (seniors Hattie Kugler and Franny Bevell) put in all their hard work from not just this season but from over the years and doing super well and having that pay off really inspires me to do really well next season,” Loveland said.
According to Loveland, the 200 yard medley relay placed fourteenth highlighting the strong swim.
“It went really well. Everyone on the relay performed super well, a lot of best times for everyone and all together everyone did amazing,” Loveland said.
Kugler said in preparation for State the team reduced the length of workouts in order to prepare.
“We have been tapering down our yards and just really focusing on the little stuff to make sure this meet was as big as it really is,” Kugler said.
According to Loveland, on top of tapering yardage, the State swimmers focused on mindset.
“We rested a lot and visualized before we swam and we do a meditation. It is just a time where we can think about our races and get in the right mindset to go fast and accomplish great things,” Loveland said.
Coach Amanda Forsberg said the main goal going into State was to qualify events for the finals Nov. 16.
“(Our goal was to) get everyone back to day two, which we did. We have never done that before,” Forsberg said. “I wanted the seniors to end their careers on a high note which I think Hattie (Kugler) and Franny (Bevell) definitely did. I’m very proud.”
Park placed 21st in State, according to the Minnesota State High School League.
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