Pierre, S.D. – 289 athletes from 10 teams across South Dakota competed at the Pierre Invitational this weekend at the Pierre Aquatic Center. The meet consisted of 36 events, totaling 1,751 individual event entries and 67 relays.
Pierre Swim Team had several personal best and South Dakota State Meet Qualifying times during the meet. In the girls 6 & under division, Jensen Bauer had a great first meet with a second and third place finishes. Aerabelle Fabel also had a great first meet, placing second in the 25 yard freestyle and third in the 25 yard backstroke. Reese Spomer dominated in her events, placing first in all four.
In the girls 7-8 division, Emmyline Fable’s top swim was in the 50 yard breaststroke, placing second with her time of 1:00.40. Ava Lavinger placed second in the 25 and 50 yard backstrokes, and third in the 50 yard butterfly and 100 yard individual medley.
Jaycee Bauer swam five personal best times in the girls 9-10 division and brought home fourth place in the 100 yard freestyle. Paige Spomer swam seven personal best times, placed third in the 200 yard freestyle, 50 yard breaststroke, and 100 yard butterfly, along with four state qualifying times. Rian Starr’s top finish was in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 1:18.93. Breanna Tedrow also competed in the girls 9-10 division, placing third with her time in the 50 yard freestyle with her time of 34.55.
Abigail Kropp had third place finishes in the girls 11-12 50 yard breaststroke, 100 yard breaststroke, and 50 yard butterfly. Sydney Tedrow placed second in four events, with A times in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle and 100 yard individual medley. Avery VandenBos also had a second place finish with her time of 1:25.28 in the 100 yard breaststroke. Kourtney Walti’s time in the 500 yard freestyle earned her second place for the event. Kourtney also swam five state qualifying times. Michelle Weiss swam hard in the 100 and 200 yard freestyle, her times earning her first place finishes and A times.
In the girls 13-14, Katelynn Axtell swam seven state qualifying times and three A times. Her top finish was in the1000 yard freestyle, placing third with a time of 11:57.54. Ella Ward-Zeller achieved Sectionals qualifying times in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke, four first place finishes and several National Age Group Motivational Times. Her top finish was in the 100 yard backstroke, placing first with her time of 1:00.43.
Morgan Jones competed in the girls 15-16 division and achieved third place finishes in the 200 yard backstroke and 100 yard butterfly. Morgan Nelson swam A times in the 50 & 100 yard freestyle, and the 100 yard breaststroke. Morgan’s time of 1:12.89 in the 100 yardbreaststoke was the first place finish for the weekend. Savannah Shrake’s top finish was in the 500 yard freestyle, placing second with her time of 6:34.47. Annabelle Simpson also had great swims, including her second place finish in the 200 yard breaststroke. Deni Zeeb’s time of 6:31.17 in the 500 yard freestyle was the top finish in the event.
Marlee Dravland competed in the girls 17-19 division, bringing home three first place and four second place finishes. Anna Haberman placed second in the 100 yard breaststroke with her time of 1:25.51.
Peter Hodges dominated the boys 6 & under division, bringing home three first place finishes.
Luke KonenKamp placed third in the boys 7-8 25 yard breaststroke, with a time of 32.50. Luke also had five personal best times over the weekend. Wyatt Schilling swam five personal best times and brought home second place in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of 52.60. Cael Shrake placed third in the 50 yard backstroke with a time of 55.17. Cael also swam state qualifying times in the 25 and 100 yard freestyle.
In the boys 9-10 division, Sawyer Somsen had seven state qualifying time and three third place finishes.
In the boys 11-12 division, Mason Dell swam seven state qualifying times and brought home first place in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:16.06. Charlie Simpson earned third place in the 50 and 100 yard breaststroke. Spencer Skjonsberg swam four first place finishes and four A times, along with two personal best times. David Stagg’s second place finish in the 50 yard freestyle was his best swim, with an A time of 27.57. David swam seven personal best and state qualifying times. Mason Ward-Zeller dominated all seven of his events, placing first in all and achieving six AA and one A time.
Aidan Burke, Canyon Jones, and Isaak Rombough represented PST in the boys 13-14 division. Aidan had seven personal best and state qualifying times. His top finish was in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 26.22. Canyon Jones had a great meet, placing first in the 100 yard butterfly with his time of 1:03.00. Canyon also had two second place and one third place finish. Isaak Rombough had four first place finishes: 50, 100, 200, and 500 yard freestyle, with the 50 and 100 freestyle being A times.
William Hodges’ time of 3:03.69 earned him third place in the boys 15-16 200 butterfly. Thomas Kropp also competed in the boys 15-16 division, placing second in the 500 yard freestyle and third in the 200yard backstroke. Nick Loe had a big finish with his time of 2:34.53 in the 200 yard breaststroke, earning him first place.
Caleb Huizenga competed in the boys 17-19 division, bringing home three second place and three third place finishes. Caleb also swam an A time in the 50 yard freestyle with his time of 23.00. Adam Schochenmaier’s top swim was in the 100 yard breaststroke, placing third with a time of 1:18.06.