By John George
Not since the Chicago White Sox sponsored "Disco Demolition Night" in the late 1970's have so many record been broken.
The Yellowjacket swimming and diving team had quite a weekend in Grand Forks for the Section 8A Meet. The girls set varsity team records in nine of 12 events, set two new middle school records, set personal best times in 41 events and sent two divers to State.
Not to mention their fourth place team finish was their highest ever.
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Detroit Lakes won the Section 8A team title with a score of 376.5. Park Rapids was second with 371.5, followed by Thief River Falls (355.5) and Perham (272).
"I am so proud of how we performed," head coach Sheri Ressler said. "Everyone dropped time and really gave it all they had."
Leading the charge for the Jackets were their two divers, junior Ashley Niemela and seventh grader Brooke Mickelson. They became just the second and third members of the PHS swim team to advance to State. Betsy Mann finished 17th in diving in 2003.
Mickelson set the new school record for 11 dives with a score of 305.20, besting her own school record of 285.90 set earlier this year. She finished third overall at the section meet.
Niemela, who finished fourth with a score of 289.45, set the school record for a six-dive meet last season with a 187.75.
The top-four divers and top-two simmers (including all State time qualifiers) advance to State along with the top finishing relay.
It didn't take the Jackets long to start setting records. In Friday's second prelim heat, the 200 freestyle, Erika Conlin broke Allison Lowe's six-year-old record with a time of 2:11.43. Lowe's previous mark was 2:13.98, set in 2000.
Conlin finished sixth in the event in Saturday's finals with a time of 2:13.29.
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Conlin wasn't done with her record-setting. She reclaimed the school's 500 free record in the section prelims with a time of 5:50.10. She held the event record last season at 6:14.73, but lowered that mark to 6:11.45 earlier this season. Since then, Leah Richter (6:08.79) and Abby Kratzke (6:04.49) lowered the mark, but Conlin took it back with her blistering time in the prelims.
She would record a time of 5:58.29 in Saturday's finals, good for sixth place.
Leah Richter would also lay claim to a pair of school records. She lowered her own mark in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:28.42 at sections, good for fourth place. She also beat her own previous team record in the 100 free with a time of 59.00, good for sixth place.
The last name beside the 50 free record will stay the same, but the first name will change. Freshman Kaila Formanek set the new mark previously held by her older sister, Sara, with a time of 27.15, which was good for fifth place. Sara, a junior, set the record at 27.23 last season. She swam a 28.39 at sections this year, good for eighth place.
Both Kaila and Sara would add their names to records later in the meet. First, Kaila teamed up with Jeanna Kratzke, Abby Kratzke and Richter to set the new school record in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:50.80. Sara had been a part of the previous record holding team in 2003 along with Ashley Januszewski, Mikaylia Rutten and Emma Otto (1:51.28).
Sara got her chance to keep her name in the record book as a member of the 400 free relay team with the same group, Kratzke, Kratzke and Richter with a time of 4:06.64.
A pair of middle school records were also broken. Kelsey Kratzke set a new mark in the 200 I.M. with a time of 2:41.93. Laine Miller set the backstroke record with a time of 1:18.03.
Mickelson and Niemela will be competing at the State Meet, Nov. 20-22. Diving prelims will begin Monday, Nov. 20 at noon. The top-16 advance to the final round on Wednesday at noon at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
