Girls swimming & diving: Meet between rival Raptors and Royals ends in tie

For most, it would seem a fitting ending.

The rival Woodbury and East Ridge girls swimming and diving teams finished in a 93-93 tie in their Suburban East Conference meet on Thursday, Sept. 6.

East Ridge outscored Woodbury 10-4 in the final event – the 400-yard freestyle relay – to eke out the tie. Both teams are now 1-0-1 on the year.

“Woodbury has a proud tradition of having very successful teams,” East Ridge head coach Billy Cuevas said. “In the past, they have dominated the meet. To be able to tie with a team like Woodbury is a big step for our young program.”

The Raptors 400 free relay team of Maddy Peters, Lindsey Lewis, Taylor Johnson and Meredith Ubel finished first in the event to garner eight points with a time of 3 minutes, 44.11 seconds, setting a new East Ridge school record. Woodbury’s team of Sydney Swanson, Kristina Swanson, Mikayla Mayer and Kelsie Carter took second place with a time of 3:46.01 for four points. East Ridge’s quad of Brianna Schmitt, Molly Patt Horan, Marissa Burleigh and Haley Dahl finished third with a time of 4:04.05 for two points.

In all, East Ridge had five first place finishes in the meet, while Woodbury had seven first-place results.

The Raptors’ top events on the night were the 200-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. East Ridge scored 11 points in each of the events.

In the 200 free, Peters finished in first place with a time of 2:01.24, edging teammate Lindsey Lewis, who had a time of 2:02.96 to take second. In addition, Marissa Burleigh placed fifth with a time of 2:13.08.

In the 500 free, Lewis took first place with a time of 5:30.72. Jessica Gotz took third with a time of 5:52.30 and Burleigh was fourth with a time of 5:55.33.

In the 100 back it was Ubel leading the way with a first-place time of 1:02.67 – which set a new East Ridge record. Haley Dahl finished third with a time of 1:08.09, just ahead of teammate Kayla Maata, who took fourth with a time of 1:08.76.

Maata earned a first place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, however, in a time of 1:03.36.

Woodbury’s top events were the diving competition and the 100-yard breaststroke, where the Royals scored 12 points in each event.

With Raptors state champion diver Jenna Karrow sidelined for the season with a back injury, the Royals dominated the event. Woodbury’s Lauren Puglisi – an All-State diver a year ago – took first place with a score of 219.55 points. Teammates Megan George finished second with a score of 168.05 points and Meghan Miller placed fourth with a score of 155.45. East Ridge’s Olivia Burleigh earned third place with 159.25 points.

Woodbury also was strongest in the 100 breaststroke, where Ana Sortland and Kelsie Carter finished in first and second place, respectively. Sortland touched the wall first in a time of 1:08.36, just ahead of Carter’s 1:12.32 time. Woodbury’s Leah Cody took fourth, as well, with a time of 1:14.11.

It wasn’t Sortland’s only individual first-place finish, however, as the sophomore won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:14.42. Not to be outdone, Mayer also took the top spot in two solo events – the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. The senior swam to a time of 24.78 seconds in the 50 and sprinted to a time of 54.64 in the 100.

Other first-place finishes by Woodbury came in the 200-yard medley relay, where Swanson, Sortland, Mayer and Marina Rizzo swam to a time of 1:56.29 to win the event and the 200-yard freestyle relay where Carter, Sortland, Swanson and Rizzo sprinted to a first-place time of 1:45.32.

Next, Woodbury takes on White Bear Lake on Thursday, Sept. 13. East Ridge hits the pool against Cretin-Derham Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 12.

“This is a down year for CDH, but they are coached well and will be ready to swim fast,” Cuevas said. “We must stay focused and race the way we are capable to ensure the victory.”

Tags: swimming and diving, east ridge, sports, raptors, prep