Etterman, Weisz hope to be busy Saturday
STATE SWIMMING AND DIVING
The goal is Saturday.
The reality is also Saturday for Brainerd junior Katy Etterman, who will compete in her second Class 2A state diving competition Thursday and hopefully Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
After five dives, the field of 32 divers is cut to 20. Each athlete completes three more dives and the top 16 advance to Saturday's finals.
Last season Etterman placed 27th in the prelims with 114.35 points for five dives.
"She's got a great chance to make the finals," said Warrior diving coach Mary Streiff. "She just needs to go about her business and do what she's done all year. She's a great athlete and competitor. I just anticipate her cranking it up a notch."
Katy Etterman practiced Tuesday for the Class 2A state diving meet, which begins Thursday night at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
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Etterman scored 361.10 in Saturday's Section 8-2A meet to finish third behind section winner Olivia Evanson of Maple Grove, who also dove at state last year.
Streiff said they are "top-end loading" Etterman's dive list, meaning putting her best dives, or the ones she hits most consistently, first in order to get off to a good start and make the second day of diving.
"We hope she's above the 16th spot after prelims," said Streiff. "She really doesn't have any weak dives. We're just picking the dives she's most consistent with. She's able to hit all of her dives."
Etterman's section score has her seeded 13th. Evanson is eighth with defending state champion Maggie Keefer of Stillwater seeded No. 1 with a score of 472.45. Ten other top 16 divers from last year's state meet return.
Streiff believes Etterman's year of experience at state will be beneficial.
"I think last year she was just in awe of walking into the aquatic center," Streiff said. "She's dove there before. She went to a diving camp at the U this summer and spent a whole week on those boards. Her comfort level should be good."
Also feeling comfortable is Little Falls sophomore Whitney Weisz, who will compete in two individual races and anchor two relays in the Class 1A meet.
Weisz will compete in the 50-yard freestyle, in which she is seeded fifth with a Section 6-1A winning time of 24.38. She is seeded No. 1 in the 100 freestyle with a section-winning time of 52.64.
"Sometimes it feels like a lot of pressure because people are expecting a lot out of me," said Weisz. "But not a lot of people know about me so that will help, too.
Both Flyers relays, the 200 and 400 freestyles, made it on time standard, but this is the fourth straight year the 200 free has advanced to state.
"Every single year coach (Tim Corbett) has been here we've gone to state," said Weisz. "We've gotten fourth, sixth and eighth and we're hoping to move up this year. We're seeded eighth so it's possible."
Members of this year's 200 free relay are Megan Voss, Macy Olson, Brittany Then and Weisz. Swimming the 400 free will be Voss, Marissa Deml, Stephanie Stumpf and Weisz.
"We were hoping to make it on time standard, but our season best was a 3:55 and the standard was a 3.49.14," said Corbett. "We switched one swimmer and that dropped five seconds, but we still had two more seconds to drop.
"Megan Voss was just coming off a disappointing 100 backstroke, where she swam an absolutely great race, and was just out-touched for a chance to go to state. She sucked it up and swam a second faster then she ever has to lead us off. Then Marissa went out and swam a 58.81, which if you do the math, is 1.3 seconds faster than she swam the open.
"I gave Whitney the thumbs up, telling her the girls did what they needed to do and she finished it."
Also hoping to finish well is Staples-Motley's Jaelin Beachy. The eighth-grader will compete in the 100 breaststroke, which she qualified for with a time standard of 1:11.57.
She's the first Cardinal to advance to state since Abby Palmer in 2003.
JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5856.