MINNEAPOLIS — A 10th-place finish by the Brainerd Warriors in the Class 2A State Finals Saturday, Nov. 18, is one of the best in head coach Dan Anderson’s 38-year career.
Here’s how they did it.
Brainerd’s 200-yard medley relay swam a fifth-place 1:47.68. The foursome of Mya Tautges, Avery Duerr, Linda Giuliani and Isabelle Ploof couldn’t improve on their 1:47.20 prelim time and slipped two spots.
Edina won the event after shaving almost four seconds from its prelim time for a first-place 1:41.48.
“It’s so fast down,” Anderson said. “Just to make the top eight, for us that never happens. We’re super pleased with that.”
The team of Aralyn Marcelo, Scarlett Anderson, Ploof and Tautges almost matched its prelim time to place seventh in the 200 freestyle relay. The foursome posted a 1:37.3, which was just 0.1 second slower than Friday’s time.
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“They really swam the same time we did the night before,” Anderson said. “A few people went a little faster. I think that’s as fast as we can go.”
Giuliani swam an eighth-place 57.57 in the 100 butterfly. She went out in 26.64 and finished the last 50 in 30.93.
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“She was struggling to see the end wall real well and did not time her first wall well at all,” Anderson said. “She ended up gliding in and that was the difference right there. It was her first turn and she could have stopped right there, but she kept racing.”
Sophomore Duerr dropped 0.52 seconds, but remained in her eighth-place position in the 100 breaststroke. Duerr swam a 1:05.73 Saturday.
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“I thought she swam a good race,” Anderson said. “It’s hard when everyone else in that heat was fast, too. Then she’s playing catch-up, which is new for her. I think it was a learning experience for her and there are some technical things we need to work on with her race. I’m proud of her for going 1:05 and making the podium. That’s a big accomplishment.”
Duerr then helped Brainerd’s 400 freestyle relay to a .0.9 second drop. The team of Marcelo, Anderson, Giuliani and Duerr swam a 3:37.08 to remain in 11th place.
“We were in a heat with Sartell, which it seems like we always are, and it was quite a race,” Anderson said. “We were going neck and neck with them. They set a school record tonight. They were celebrating that and everyone was probably wondering why we were celebrating, but it’s a big deal. They swam a great race. All four of them put together great legs.”
Tautges was disqualified from the 50 freestyle but dropped three-tenths of a second from her 100 prelim time to post a 52.86, which was good for 14th place. She was just .03 from a tie for 12th.
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“Mya just had a twitch on her start for the 50,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t any advantage, but down there they get you. Her time was right in there and it was the same with the 100. She was right there. It was a 52-second swim, which is just amazing for someone who only swims 15 weeks a year.
“It’s hard down there. We’re going up against club swimmers and we were competing with them. That fifth-place finish in the medley is probably the highest finish for a relay since I’ve been the coach. We might have had a fifth and a sixth back in 2000, but that’s how long ago it was.”
