Girls’ swimming ends season with State run

Team finishes year with success, positivity

Sophomore+Hattie+Kugler+swims+the+100+yard+breststroke+at+State+Nov.+17.+Kuegler+finished+with+a+time+of+1%3A06.96.+

Adam Johnson

Sophomore Hattie Kugler swims the 100 yard breststroke at State Nov. 17. Kuegler finished with a time of 1:06.96.

Sophie Yarosh

As sophomore Hattie Kugler reflected on her final high school meet of the season, she said the team’s support at State encouraged her throughout the meet.

“(The meet) was pretty good. We had a lot of cheering, and our team really came together like it did at Sections,” Kugler said.

Coach Joe Yaeger said qualifying for the State meet in two events was a huge accomplishment for the team.

“At State, we had one relay and one individual girl. Our relay went first overall and I think the jitters got to the girls, and we actually (disqualified) on it,” Yaeger said. “The race didn’t count, but the girls swam great.”

According to Kugler, although the 200 medley relay team got disqualified, they swam very well.

“We all swam pretty well on the relay. I was not expecting (us to get disqualified), but to us it just doesn’t matter, because we came together,” Kugler said. “Even though we got disqualified, we’re still a team no matter what.”

Yaeger said the season proved successful with the team placing second in the conference.

“I think the season went very well for us. We made a definite splash in the conference, beating Chaska and finishing second in this conference and then going to Sections,” Yaeger said. “I think it was a great opportunity for these girls. Most of them will be back next year so they’ll know what the atmosphere is and what the competition is, so I think it’s a great building block.”

According to Sophomore Franny Bevell, a member of the 200 medley relay team, her favorite memory of the season was the moment after her relay raced at Sections.

“The best moment was when our relay qualified for State because we got the State (qualifying) time exactly and it was just a really exciting race,” Bevell said.

Although the high school swim season is over, Bevell said girls will continue to swim during the off-season.

“All of us that were in the relay swim all year long for club teams, so we are always in the water,” Bevell said.