Woodbury girls swimming & diving: Royals finish third in section True Team meet

The Woodbury girls swimming and diving team competed in a pair of meets last week. The Royals took on Suburban East Conference foe Hastings in a dual meet on Thursday before hitting the pool for the True Team Section 3AA Meet on Saturday.

Woodbury fell to Hastings in their head-to-head meet, 99-87, before taking third place with 920 points in the six-team section True Team meet. East Ridge won the Section 3AA True Team championship with 1,007 points, edging Rosemount (980).

In Woodbury’s head-to-head meet with Hastings, the Royals took first place in seven of the 12 events, but the Raiders’ depth – and an edge in relays sunk Woodbury. In addition, one of the Royals’ top swimmers, Kelsie Carter, dislocated her shoulder and was unable to swim in any events beside the opening relay.

Woodbury was down just 87-85 into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, but Hastings took first place and second place to outscore the Royals 12-2 and seal the win. Hastings also took first and third in the 200-yard medley relay and second and third in the 200-yard free relay.

Woodbury’s best event was the diving competition, where the Royals went 1-2-3, earning 13 points. Woodbury senior standout Lauren Puglisi led the way, taking first place with an outstanding 231.0 score. Woodbury’s Meghan Miller (182.15) took second and Megan George (175.30) earned third.

In swimming events, Woodbury senior Mikayla Mayer couldn’t be beat. Mayer took first place in the 50-yard free (24.35 seconds) and the 100 free (54.56) and helped the Royals’ 200 relay team – along with Kristina Swanson, Anna Sortland and Marina Rizzo – take first place with a time of 1 minute, 43.13 seconds. She also helped Woodbury’s 400 relay earn third place with a time of 3:55.71, along with Swanson, Laura Parker and Leah Cody.

Also, individually, Sortland took first place in the 200-yard individual medley (2:14.87) and earned first place in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.39). Rizzo touched the wall first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:29.14)and Sydney Swanson earned second place in the 100-yard backstroke (1:04.07).

At the section True Team meet, where every athlete competing earns points toward their team’s total, Woodbury was again led by its divers, who earned a total of 85 points. Puglisi took the top spot at the meet with a score of 368.55, George was third (294.75), Miller took fifth (281.55) and Erin Brino earned sixth (253.25).

In swimming events, Mayer earned the top spot in the 50 free (24.63) and 100 free (54.59), while Kristina Swanson was third in each event. Mayer and Kristina Swanson also teamed up with Rizzo and Sortland to win the 200-yard free relay (1:43.12). Individually, Sortland also nabbed first place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:13.53 and in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.93). In other relays, Woodbury’s 200-yard medley relay team of Sydney Swanson, Sortland, Daphne Kroells and Mayer took third place. The 400 free relay team of the Swansons, Meg Graupmann and Rizzo also took third.

Woodbury was at Forest Lake on Tuesday, after the Bulletin went to print. Next, the Royals take on Park at Cottage Grove Middle School on Thursday.

Tags: swimming and diving, sports, woodbury, royals, prep, updates