The Chaska girls swim and dive team capped a fifth day of hard swimming in one week with a meet victory over St. Louis Park at the Pioneer Ridge Pool on Sept. 15. The Hawks started the season with a 108-78 win over New Prague on Sept. 10 and participated in the Edina Invitational on Sept. 12.
Chaska went on to defeat St. Louis Park 96-97 and won six of the 12 events. An impressive accomplishment was four Hawks swimmers recording five personal best times during the meet, while seven swimmers recorded nine season best times.
Personal Bests
- Harper Higgins (Fr.) — 200 Free and 500 Free
- Harper Totman (8th) — 100 Free
- Raleigh Metzger (8th) — 100 Back
- Mari Parish (Jr.) — 100 Back
Season Bests
- Abby Buckentine (So.) — 100 Breast
- Ella Hanish (8th) — 200 IM
- Morgan Kramer (Jr.) — 200 Free and 500 Free
- Eily Lemmon (Fr.) — 200 Free
- Abby O’Hara (Sr.) — 100 Free and 50 Free
- Mari Parish (Jr.) — 50 Free
- Mila Patel (Sr.) — 50 Free
Winning races for the Hawks were:
- Kaycee Totman (So.), Mila Patel (Sr.), Taylor Hanish (So.), and Harper Totman (8th) — 200 Medley Relay
- Harper Totman (8th) — 200 IM
- Claire Hendrickson (Sr.) — 1-meter Diving
- Taylor Hanish (So.) — 100 Fly and 100 Breaststroke
- Harper Totman (8th) — 100 Free, with a personal-best time
The scoresheet shows that the Hawks are a diversified squad with 25 listed competitive racers in a number of events and athletes representing grades eight through 12. With the season now hitting its stride, the team will have the opportunity to continue building on its early success in upcoming meets against a number of competitive squads.
Leading the enthusiastic and focused squad are Head Coach McKenna Togstad, now in her fourth year as coach, and assistant coach Lydia Smith, in her second year. The coaches commented after the meet that the season is off to “a good start. We have a great mix of swimmers from seventh grade to seniors, and the depth is nice. The team’s attitude is our advantage. Everyone feels a part of the team and works hard on their specialty to help the team. Every swimmer set a goal for herself, and not only do they work on their goals, they help each other.”
Tamara Hodgins is the team’s diving coach.
Team captains, seniors Claire Hendrickson, Abby O’Hara, and Mila Patel, explained that their roles include helping their teammates build confidence and inspiring the team during each meet.
“I always want to do my best to win my race, but I do it for the team. The better I do, the better the team does. We want each swimmer to see it that way,” O’Hara said.
“That’s what we do for the team. Even if someone may not win a race, did they get better? Did they find a stroke or two over their last race? Even though we may not see the other racers, in my mind I just keep thinking I’m behind. I need to stay focused,” Patel said.
“I take each dive and concentrate on what needs to happen, and try not to let the past or future get me off track,” said Hendrickson.
All three captains embrace their roles and agree that working with a team so dedicated and positive makes being part of the squad much more enjoyable for everyone.
The Hawk’s next meet will be on Sept. 24 at Orono. Their next home meet will be on Oct. 1 against Chanhassen. Follow the team via their Team website or via Instagram.
