The Hastings girls swim and dive team opened their season with a confident second-place finish at the Metro East Conference Relays, stacking up 118 points and several standout performances that gave the Raiders momentum and plenty to celebrate.
Hastings kicked off the meet with a win in the 400-yard medley relay. The A-squad of Emma Dehmlow, Maddy Ritter, Sofia Kovalenko, and Lila Salzman combined for a 4:15.30 finish, the fastest of the field and a clean start to the night.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Jenna Arneson, Emery Malm, Elianna Herrera-Carlson, and Lily Burks clocked 1:57.47 to secure fourth place, holding strong in a fast heat.
Hastings hit a setback in the 400 IM relay, with the A and B relays both disqualified, but bounced back with a decisive win in the diving relay. Chloe Aarness, Mari Hall, and Kira Fuechtmann not only won the event with a score of 220.75, but they also set a new meet record and completed the sweep of all diving and swimming event records for Hastings at this meet.
The 200-yard butterfly relay also saw both Hastings relays disqualified, but the team regained form in the 850-yard freestyle relay. Aarness, Dehmlow, Salzman, and Kovalenko delivered a winning time of 9:01.09, maintaining their lead through clean exchanges and consistent pacing.
In the 200-yard backstroke relay, Burks, Clark, Herrera-Carlson, and Arneson finished second overall with a time of 2:13.42, keeping pressure on top-ranked Mahtomedi. Aarness, Hall, Ritter, and Elayna Latch took another second place in the 200 breaststroke relay at 2:33.56.
The meet closed with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Dehmlow, Kovalenko, Emma Leonard, and Salzman clocked 3:53.32, ending the night on a high note and delivering Hastings’ fourth event win.
Two swimmers earned top individual recognition for their efforts. Alliah Clark and Jenna Arneson were named swimmers of the meet, each notching best times in all three of their races. Clark shaved off significant time in both the 50 fly and 50 back, while Arneson broke 30 seconds in the 50 free and dropped four seconds in two additional events.
Kira Fuechtmann, Aubriella Cox, and Rae Wojcik also posted major improvements. Fuechtmann dropped five seconds in the 50 breaststroke. Cox matched that with a five-second cut in the 50 fly. Wojcik made the biggest jump, slicing more than 20 seconds in the 50 free and 14 seconds in the 50 breaststroke since the spring season.
Hastings’ performance showed off depth, development, and an edge that will serve them well heading into their next meet. The Raiders will host Hill-Murray at home on August 28 at 6:00 p.m.