Agate swimmers qualify for state tournament
Two Harbors senior Allie Mayfield qualified for the state swim meet in the 500 yard freestyle for the third consecutive year during the Section 7A swim meet Saturday in Hibbing. Mayfield also qualified in the 200 individual medley and as a member of the 400 freestyle relay team. (News-Chronicle photo by Jamey Malcomb)
Two Harbors senior diver qualified for the state swim meet, finishing second at the Section 7A meet Saturday in Hibbing. Haaversen was also a member of the 400 freestyle relay team that qualified for the state meet. (News-Chronicle photo by Jamey Malcomb)
Two Harbors senior Kari Haaversen gets ready to start the 400 yard freestyle relay during the Section 7A swim meet Saturday in Hibbing. The relay team qualified for the state meet by edging Hibbing for the second spot. The Two Harbors-Silver Bay team has narrowly missed qualifying each of the past two years. (News-Chronicle photo by Jamey Malcomb)The Two Harbors-Silver Bay swim and dive team finished in second place after a close Section 7A meet Saturday in Hibbing, qualifying for the state tournament in four events.
Two Harbors-Silver Bay senior swimmer Allie Mayfield qualified for the state tournament for the third year in a row, finishing second in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of five minutes, 31.56 seconds during the meet.
Mayfield won the event the past two years, but couldn't match the record-setting pace of Proctor-Hermantown's Megan Mensinger who set the Section 7A record for the second time in two days with a time of 5:17.86. Mensinger also set the section record Thursday during the preliminary round.
Mayfield also qualified in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:22.29, narrowly missing winning the event. Hibbing sophomore Ashley Hadrava won the IM, finishing just 17 hundredths of a second ahead of Mayfield.
The Agates just missed winning the Section 7A meet, finishing just five points behind Hibbing with a total score of 346 points. The Agates took the lead after snagging the three of the top four positions in the 500 yard relay, with senior Marina Schreiner and sophomore Katarina Hanson finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Hibbing chipped away at the small Agate lead over the next two events, the 200 freestyle relay and the 100 yard backstroke and took a seven point lead going into the 400 freestyle relay.
The Agate 400 freestyle relay team of Kari Haaversen, Schreiner, Julia McDonald and Mayfield out swam Hibbing's team by nearly half a second, finishing second to Mesabi East with a time of 3:51.77 and leaving the Agates five points short of a section win.
With the second place finish in the 400 relay, the Agates qualified for the state meet next weekend, which was a season-long goal for the team. The team narrowly missed qualifying for the state tournament each of the last two years.
"We worked really hard to push through on that one," coach Heather Mayfield said.
In addition to Allie Mayfield and the 400 relay team, Haaversen also qualified for the state meet as a diver. Haaversen finished second behind Virginia senior Mallory Jarvi with an 11-dive score of 343.85 and edging out Duluth Denfeld sophomore Shelby Johnson by less than a point. Johnson and Hibbing diver Nyah Adams also qualified for the state meet.
The Agate qualifiers will move on to the state meet, beginning with the preliminary round Wednesday at the University of Minnesota aquatic center in Minneapolis. The final round is Friday.
Check Friday's News-Chronicle for a feature story on the Two Harbors-Silver Bay state qualifiers.
