Tridents take fifth place at Sectionals to end the season
The Lake Holcombe-Ladysmith-Flambeau-Bruce-Bloomer Trident Swim and Dive team wrapped up their 2023 season, Nov. 4, at the WIAA Division II Sectional meet in Merrill. The Tridents closed the books by earning fifth place out of 14 teams present at the Sectional meet.
The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay team of junior Alyxandria Lunemann, sophomores Liv Repka and Megan DeWitt, and freshman Nayeli Schilling, dropping 3 seconds, to hit the wall in 2:11.72, earning 14 points for their team. Next in the water, were junior Sarah Allard and DeWitt swimming the 200-yard freestyle.
Allard earned a podium spot, finishing in fourth place, with a new personal best time of 2:14.54. DeWitt hit the wall with a time of 2:14.54, for eighth place and a new personal record by 6 seconds. Lunemann was in the pool next, in the 200-yard individual medley, swimming a personal best time of 2:47.25.
Just before the break, Schilling, sophomore Abby Fye and junior Hannah Minton each swam the 50-yard freestyle. All three girls swam personal bests, with Minton hitting the wall in 26.93 seconds.
In the 100-yard butterfly, lone senior Madilyn Kempen and her teammate Allard, swam excellent races, with Kempen earning a trip to the podium, with a sixth place finish, with a time of 1:06.56. Allard finished in ninth place, with a new personal of 1:10.26. In the 100-yard freestyle, freshman Sidney Heath dropped another 3 seconds, hitting the wall with a time of 1:04.49.
“Over the course of her freshman season, Sidney has dropped nearly 10 seconds in this race alone,” said coach Matt Bunton.
Schilling and Fye also swam new personal records, with times of 1:02.62 and 1:02.79, respectively. The 500yard freestyle featured Minton and DeWitt, where Minton swam to a third place podium finish, with a time of 5:49.20, while DeWitt then dropped an a whole 16 seconds, to hit the wall with a time of 6:02.88, for a seventh place finish.
“Megan had some really great swims today,” said Bunton. “Over the course of this season, she has dropped 14 seconds in her 200-yard freestyle and 32 seconds in her 500 freestyle. She has really matured as a swimmer this year, and we are very excited to see what the next two years of high school swimming hold for her.”
The 200 freestyle relay team of Allard, Fye, Kempen and Minton, dropped over 3 seconds on their season best time, to earn a sixth place trip to the podium. Next in the water, were Lunemann and Heath, in the 100-yard backstroke. Both girls swam season best times, with Lunemann hitting the wall in 1:12.73 and Heath dropping 6 seconds, with a time of 1:22.47.
The 100-yard breaststroke featured Kempen, with an eighth place finish and a season best time of 1:16.56. Junior Lauren Hanson and Repka also swam this event, with Hanson swimming a new personal record of 1:23.40 and Repka swimming a very solid race, with a time of 1:25.65. Over the course of the season, Hanson dropped 10 seconds and Repka, 8 seconds in this event.
Finally, the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Allard, Fye, Kempen and Minton, each swam personal records to drop 7 seconds, to finish just off the podium in seventh place.
“They’ve been working hard this season, and today was the payoff, with many new personal best swims,” said Bunton.
Kempen had great races, capping off a great season and high school career. Bunton says the Tridents are all thankful for her leadership and that they will miss her, but she’s leaving the team in good hands.
“Everything this team has accomplished this year, has been a whole team effort and that was true today as well,” said Bunton. “Finishing fifth at Sectionals in a stacked field of 14 teams from all over northern and central Wisconsin, is a tremendous accomplishment and we are both very proud of these girls, both individually and as a team. These girls represented all five of our schools and communities so well this season, it’s really an honor to get a chance to work with them.”
