2018 MSHSL Girls AA Swim & Dive Championships
- November 14-16, 2018
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- University of Minnesota Aquatic Center
- Meet Central
- Full Meet Results + Scores
As the Visitation girls successfully defended their Class A state title on Saturday in Minneapolis, the Edina girls did the same in the AA division, winning their third straight championship as they topped the runners-up Minnetonka by 134 points.
They stormed their way to the title by winning six out of twelve events, including a pair of individual titles from sophomore Claudia Chang.
Chang won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:49.49 over Sierra Smith of Robbinsdale Armstrong (1:50.58), and then took the 500 in 4:54.64 over Smith’s freshman teammate Zoe Bresnahan (4:57.80). These two wins improved on 5th and 4th place finishes in these two events in her freshman season, going over three seconds faster in the 200 and almost ten faster in the 500.
She also contributed on both of their winning relays, as Brecken Merkel (23.98), Chang (23.97), Nora Clarkowski (23.15) and Lily Gremmels (23.33) combined for a winning time of 1:34.43 in the 4×50 free, and then the same four closed the meet out in the 4×100 free in a time of 3:26.73. Clarkowski had the top split in that relay on the anchor leg in 50.65.
Gremmels (23.66) and Clarkowski (23.68) went 1-2 individually in the 50 freestyle, and Edina’s other win came in the 1-meter diving where Megan Phillip broke a 21-year-old Minnesota state record with a score of 517.00. In successfully defending her title, she broke the 1997 record score of 507.00 set by Jaime Sanger of Wayzata.
OTHER WINNERS
- Eden Prairie opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:44.15, with all-around fast legs from Chloe Skogg (25.63), Kylie Rydland (29.15), Grace Logue (25.53) and Grace Witherspoon (23.84).
- Skogg, who didn’t even swim the 100 back at last season’s championship meet, won that event in a time of 54.47, with teammate Katelyn Pennell (55.24) taking 2nd for a 1-2 Eden Prairie finish.
- Sophomore Reese Dehen of Anoka won the 200 IM in 2:02.10, using strong breast and free splits to beat out Wayzata senior Jordan McGinty (2:02.83).
- McGinty had a win later in the session in the 100 free, moving up one spot from last year for the win in 50.54 over Smith (50.81).
- Peyton D’Emanuele of Minneapolis Southwest and Molly Meland of Hopkins traded places from last year in the 100 fly, with D’Emanuele coming out on top this time in 54.45. Meland, last year’s champ, was 2nd in 55.10.
- Emma Lezer of St Michael-Albertville, who was 3rd in that 100 fly, repeated as the winner in the 100 breast in a time of 1:01.98. Dehen was 2nd for a second straight year in 1:02.72.
TEAM SCORES
- Edina, 365
- Minnetonka, 231
- Wayzata, 186
- Eden Prairie, 178.5
- Robbinsdale Armstrong, 131