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Century, Mayo should be Big Nine, section swimming & diving powers

guy n. limbeck, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·5 min read

Aug. 22—Head coaches: Dale Magnuson, Megan Magnuson (22 years of coaching, 20 with Century). Assistants: Joscelyn Martin, Anna Schmitt, Brett Maronde (diving). Volunteers: Allison Bjork, Lori Rogers, Jennifer Strom.

Last season: The Panthers were 8-1 in dual meets, won the Big Nine Conference meet, placed second in the Section 1AA meet and finished 23rd out of 64 teams at the Class AA state meet.

Top returners: Sophie Blixt (All-Conference, state participant), Audra Wagstaff (All-Conference, state participant), Emily Garrison (All-Conference, state participant), Katherine Homme (All-Conference, state participant), Paige Patten (All-Conference, state participant), Grace Barrone (All-Conference honorable mention), Sarah Homme (All-Conference, state participant), Natalie Homme (All-Conference HM), Paige Magnuson (All-Conference).

Season outlook: The Panthers should be a main contender in both the Big Nine and Section 1AA this season as they return six state qualifiers from a year ago. Overall they have a deep and talented squad spread across every grade. This marks the final season Century will be without its own pool, which has made it tougher to create team unity. "We are very excited about this season with all the new and returning athletes on the team," co-coach Dale Magnuson said. "It looks like we have a lot of very talented swimmers and divers who will be very strong. We are excited to see what everyone can do this season."

ROSTER

Seniors: Madeline Boie, Emily Garrison, Katherine Homme, Paige Patten. Juniors: Grace Barrone, Bridget Harms, Elena Kesselring, Evelyn Kim, Paige Magnuson, Josie Morgan, Sydney Schulz. Sophomores: Liv Boyum, Julia Doppelhammer, Natalie Homme, Sophie Huang, Khushi Kancharla, Kelsey Kolb, Sabrina Luu, Camrynn Manento, Victoria Nou Tankhamvang, Caroline Reichard, Vreni Reichard, Eliza Rutledge, Akira Thomas, Audra Wagstaff. Freshmen: Sophie Blixt, Emilia Braun, Bree Brockman, Shay Carroll, Katie Dao, Sarah Homme, Maggie Huebert, Layla Huebert, Shannon Kim, Chloe Magnuson, Ana Milosevic, Stella Morris, Emma Wu.

Eighth-grader: Avalynn Arnold-Patterson, Makenzie Cradick, Enaya Epps, Emilia Gamble, Muna Hussein, Jian-Gross Jewel, Michelle Li, Paige Pendl, Chloe Vesterby, Julia Wang. Seventh-graders: Summer Huang, Jadah Kroening, Kylah Mead.

Head coach: Paul Bachman (37th year, 22nd as girls coach). Assistants: Kendrick Bachman, Greg Andrews (diving), Brett Maronde (diving).

Last season: The Rockets were 2-6 in dual meets, placed 10th out of 12 teams at the Big Nine Conference meet and finished eighth at the Section 1AA meet.

Top Returners: Anna Cain, Inessah Cernohous, Lizzy Gilman, Julia Ogren (All-Conference, state qualifier), Shannon Penney, Ariana Thorpe, Sophia Tomlinson, Ashley Villar.

Season Outlook: The Rockets have one elite returning swimmer in freshman Julia Ogren, who earned All-Big Nine honors last season and was a state qualifier. But overall JM has a small squad and will probably struggle to fill up all of the individual events with three varsity swimmers, which will make it difficult to beat larger teams. Emilia Fischer is a newcomer who should make an impact. "With so few swimmers, we will probably not win too many dual meets," coach Paul Bachman said. "I do see a lot of personal bests for this team as we have been spending our morning practices building up our strength for our swimming."

ROSTER

Returning

(* — Captains)

Seniors: Anna Cain*, Inessah Cernohous*, Sophia Coons, Callee Erie*, Dakota Liedtke-Quick, Ariana Thorpe*, Sophia Tomlinson, Emma McCoy, Ashley Villar. Junior: Lizzy Gillman. Sophomores: Brianna Farmer, Addy Feenstra, Lydia Le Crone, Amelia Mett, Shannon Penny, Lily Penticoff, Olivia Ruzek. Freshmen: Shelby Lewis, Julia Ogren.

Newcomers

Eighth-grader: Emilia Fischer. Seventh-graders: Sophia Branstad, Siena Johnson, Augusta Mett.

Head coach: Juliet Parlette (12th season). Assistants: Scott Direcks, Jessica Koepp, Greg Andrews (diving).

Last season: The Spartans were 8-2 in dual meets, they placed third at the Big Nine Conference meet, fourth in Section 1AA and placed 12th at the Class AA state meet.

Top returners: Natalie Boorjian (All-Conference, All-State), Karissa Bell, Olivia Boxrud, Madeline Gau, Gabby Lee, Madeleine Nemergut, Taylor Peterson, Sarah Samman, Avery Walz (All-Conference), Chloe Weingarten (All-Conference), Elise Weingarten, Abby Wigle (All-Conference, state qualifier), Juliann Yao.

Season outlook: The Spartans should be among the conference and section contenders. They have a strong team filled with seasoned veterans headed by returning All-Conference selections Natalie Boorjian, Avery Walz, Chloe Weingarten and diver Abby Wigle. Mayo should be strong in diving and coach Juliet Parlette said there are also a number of "fast young swimmers." Zofia Blinkow, Maggie Charnin (diving), Celine Hermann and Bea Trabuco should be among the top newcomers. "We continue to build upon our strong culture of hard work, sportsmanship and community," Parlette said. "I am very lucky to work with such a talented and kind group of young women."

ROSTER

Returning

(* — Captains)

Seniors: Rayah Abudayyeh, Natalie Boorjian*, Olivia Boxrud, Ellery Collins, Gracelynn Jones, Alizeh Rizvi, Sarah Samman*, Avery Walz*, Chloe Weingarten*, Abby Wigle*. Juniors: Shannon Chen, Madeleine Nemergut, Annika Ohashi Berg, Taylor Peterson, Cami Roth, Tonya Roubik, Emma Selig. Sophomores: Julia Behnke, Karissa Bell, Haylee Carlson, Allison Humke, Lucy Koepp, Gabby Lee, Laurel Nordaune Young, Steinunn Thorvardardottir, Juliann Yao. Freshmen: Molly Boardman, Madeline Gau, Sayuri Magambo, Zia Raukar, Sylvia Thompson-Jewell. Eighth-graders: Violet Cheney, Charity Gauthier, Elizabeth Hill, Penny Hauser, Elise Weingarten.

Newcomers

Senior: Naomi Hogan. Freshmen: Kinsie Ali, Zofia Blinkow, Abigail Carosch, Elizabeth Carlsen, Margaret Charnin, Clare Fogelson, Jerricka Marshall, Olivia Robinson.

Eighth-graders: Celine Hermann, Ava Howell, Beatriz Trabuco, Victoria Wilkinson. Seventh-graders: Dylan Raukar, Halle Yuan.

— Guy N. Limbeck, glimbeck@postbulletin.com