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The Chisago Lakes girls swimming and diving team put together one of its most complete performances of the season on Saturday, Oct. 3, running away with the team championship at the Simley Invitational behind a strong combination of individual victories, relay dominance and impressive depth throughout the lineup.

The Wildcats piled up 524 points to easily outdistance runner-up Red Wing, which finished with 476. Hibbing was third with 401 points, followed by host Simley with 361 and Mounds Park Academy with 274.

Chisago Lakes was particularly dominant in the freestyle events, where Kaia Casey and Eloise Arntson gave the Wildcats a potent one-two punch in both the 200- and 500-yard races.

Casey swept the two distance events, winning the 200 freestyle in 1:56.32 before coming back to capture the 500 freestyle in 5:11.75. Arntson was right behind her in both races, finishing second in the 200 with a time of 2:02.93 and taking runner-up honors in the 500 in 5:23.86.

The Wildcats also got a first-place finish from Ingrid Olson in the 50 freestyle, where she touched the wall in 26.10 seconds, narrowly edging Red Wing's Vivian Smyth, who finished in 26.25. Olson nearly added another individual victory in the 100 freestyle, finishing second to Smyth by just seven-hundredths of a second, 57.16 to 57.23.

Chisago Lakes' relay teams were equally impressive, winning two of the three relay events.

Olson, Avery MacIver, Arntson and Casey combined to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:44.01, more than two seconds ahead of Red Wing. The Wildcats also claimed third place in that event with the foursome of Annika Coleman, Reese Blum, Josephine Hansen and Lyla Nelson finishing in 1:52.65.

The Wildcats capped off the meet with another convincing victory in the 400 freestyle relay. Olson, Brooke Lind, Arntson and Casey teamed up for a winning time of 3:44.85, nearly eight seconds ahead of runner-up Red Wing.

Chisago Lakes also opened the meet with a strong showing in the 200 medley relay, as Nelson, Lind, Coleman and MacIver finished second in 2:01.08, trailing only Mounds Park Academy.

Lind continued her strong day individually, placing second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:20.87 and third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.14. Magdalene Bruce added a fifth-place finish in the 200 IM, clocking 2:42.06, while Vayda MacIver took fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:19.48.

The Wildcats also picked up valuable points on the diving board, where Lila Leadholm led the way with a third-place finish and a score of 281.30 in the 11-dive competition. Sophia Berglund finished seventh with 212.95 points, while Caroline Anderson was eighth with 199.95.

Depth proved to be another major advantage for Chisago Lakes. Avery MacIver and Coleman finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 50 freestyle, while MacIver and Nelson took fourth and fifth in the 100 freestyle. Blum added a seventh-place finish in that race.

Nelson and Blum also finished fifth and sixth in the 100 backstroke, giving the Wildcats another pair of top-six finishes.

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