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Chisago Lakes 102

Cambridge-Isanti 82

The streak continues. Two years ago they finished the season undefeated in dual meets. Last season? Same thing- perfect. Now in 2004, after defeating Cambridge-Isanti last Tuesday, the Chisago Lakes girls swimming and diving team has kept the streak going.

And they kept it going in impressive fashion, building a big lead early and holding on. The ‘Cats actually led by 34 at one point, eventually swimming the last event as an exhibition, completing the 102-82 win.

“We swam really well. I really didn’t know what to expect and we did well,” said Ed Wakefield, Chisago Lakes head swimming coach. “We barely got past them at the Princeton relays, but you can’t tell a whole lot from that.”

Individually, Lauren Koch grabbed two first place finishes in the 50 freestyle and 500 freestyle. In addition, Jess Tollberg, Molly McGurk, Angie Dery, Steph Peterson, and Erica Greene also won events. Greene won the diving competition by more than 35 points, finishing ahead of Lauren Trudeau and Courtney Langer who placed second and third respectively. No question, the big guns put on a loud and powerful performance.

“It was tough losing those four seniors from last year in Lindsey (Koch), Mandy (Boo), Allie (Jones) and Erin (Cunningham),” replied Wakefield, whose Wildcats finished ninth overall. “Erin was a sprinter and I think that’s the area where we’re going to be the weakest. But, the girls stepped in and swam well enough for us to win. We need to get better, but it was nice to get a win.”

Chisago Lakes 102

Cambridge-Isanti 82

Individual Results- Top 3

(CL only):

200 Medley Relay-

1. Chisago Lakes 2:10.13

Steph Peterson, Molly McGurk, Angie Dery, Laura Chelberg

2. Chisago Lakes 2:11.81

Kathy Julik, Caylee Nelson, Molly Johnson, Sarah Minser

200 Freestyle-

1. Jessica Tollberg 2:13.45

200 Individual Medley:

1. Lauren Koch 2:34.41

50 Freestyle:

1. Caitlin Cunningham 27.48

3. Emily Merritt 28.31

Diving:

1. Erica Greene 220.70

2. Lauren Trudeau 182.35

3. Courtney Langer 157.85

100 Butterfly:

1. Stephanie Peterson 1:11.78

2. Emily Stein 1:12.08

3. Laura Chelberg 1:13.80

100 Freestyle:

3. Emily Merritt 1:01.77

500 Freestyle:

1. Lindsey Koch 6:01.22

2. Jess Tollberg 6:07.43

200 Freestyle Relay:

2. Chisago Lakes 1:57.85

Molly McGurk, Steph Peterson, Lauren Koch, Jessica Tollberg

100 Backstroke:

1. Angie Dery 1:13.87

3. Caitlin Cunningham 1:16.45

100 Breaststroke:

1. Molly McGurk 1:18.06

3. Andrea Nickelson 1:20.54

Wildcats ninth at South St. Paul Invite

At the South St. Paul Invite, it’s not about winning, it never has been. It’s simply about competing against some of the best squads in the state, most of whom are class “AA” programs.

“We’re talking teams like Eagan for one, big “AA” schools who have awesome programs,” said Wakefield. “The divers kicked butt, they basically scored all our points. Our swimmers struggled at times, but they were up against some unbelievable competition. It was fun to see that type of competition this early in the year.”

How good did the divers do? Consider that four Wildcats finished in the top eight in their respective competitions; three of them came from diving. Junior Erica Greene won the event while Lauren Trudeau ran second and Courtney Langer finished seventh. In addition, placing ninth was Chisago eighth-grader Ana Peltier. The only other swimmer to place in the top eight at the Invite was Molly McGurk in the 100 meter breastroke. McGurk finished fifth out of 36 swimmers.

“When the girls face good teams, some of the bigger schools, they still get a little sheepish, it looks like they don’t think they belong. I’d like to see that change. I think they felt very intimidated. But overall, I think we’re where we want to be. I’ve hammered them in practice. If we can stay healthy, I think we’ll be fine.”

Now with the Packer Invite out of the way, the Wildcats will once again re-focus on keeping their perfect dual-meet record in tact. Spring Lake Park, St. Michael-Albertville, Big Lake and Orono are all on the way before the end of September. The ‘Cats meet with Spring Lake Park kicks the string of meets off on Thursday at home.

South St. Paul Invite

Team Results-

1. Eagan 304

2. Benilde-St. Margaret’s 228

3. Centennial 184.5

4. Breck 162

5. Rosemount 143

6. Simley 127.5

7. Orono 77

8. Mahtomedi 68

9. Chisago Lakes 49

10. Sibley 41

11. South St. Paul 11

Individual Results- Top 8

(CL only):

Diving-

1. Erica Greene 329.60

2. Lauren Trudeau 301.55

7. Courtney Langer 252.70

100 breastroke-

5. Molly McGurk 1:15.31

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