Bellendorf, Meyer earn all-conference

Bellendorf sets standard in the 11 dive

A pair of divers for the Abbotsford/ Colby swim co-op are walking away with all-conference hardware, with one breaking a long-standing school record.

Colby High’s Riley Bellendorf earned first team all-conference honors in the Great Northern after finishing first at the 11 dive portion of the competition in Colby on Thursday.

Bellendorf’s achievement was made even more memorable after she discovered her final score of 337.30 broke Vicky Ruesch’s record that went back to 1997.

Hailey Meyer also earned all-conference accolades on Thursday, finishing second behind Bellendorf for second team honors. It was part of a successful start to the post season, says head coach Monica Tesmer.

“The girls had fifteen personal records, thirteen in swim events and two in dive.”

The co-op travelled to Rhinelander on Friday night for the swim portion of the competition, but even with so many new personal bests, their lack of numbers meant Colby finished eight at the Great Northern Conference Championships with a combined score of 47 points.

Rhinelander was the undisputed champion of the GNC in 2021, winning the title by a lopsided score of 435 to second place Medford’s 204 points.

The co-op kicked off Friday with a top ten finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Chloe Cihlar, Hailey Meyer, Olivia Krause and Lilly Graun placed ninth in 2:23.12.

Three swimmers finished inside the top twenty for the 200-yard freestyle. Zanza Haemer was twelfth in 2:30.32, Ivee Conley was 16th in 2:46.66 and freshman Olivia Johnson was 17th in 2:49.47.

There were no swimmers in the 200yard IM, but Cihlar added another top ten result in the fourth race of the night, the 50-yard freestyle. Cihlar was ninth in a time of 27.48 seconds.

Graun was 20th in the same race in 32.53 seconds, and senior Chase Klemetson was 25th in 36.59 seconds.

Cihlar added a third top ten finish in the 100-yard freestyle, placing ninth in 1:02.33. Krause was 14th in 1:09.50, and Graun was 17th in 1:14.62.

Two swimmers added top twenty placements for the co-op in the 500-yard freestyle. Johnson was 16th in 7:36.03, and Conley was 17th in 7:36.37.

The 200-yard freestyle relay of Haemer, Meyer, Krause and Cihlar had the best result of any race on Friday, placing eighth overall in 2:01.24. The team of Graun, Klemetson, Conley and Johnson was 14th in the relay in 2:16.63.

Meyer placed 15th in the backstroke in 1:26.16, and Haemer added another ninth place in the 100-yard breaststroke with her time of 1:28.32.

The team of Krause, Johnson, Meyer and Haemer capped off the night by taking tenth in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 4:48.89. The co-op will now prepare for the WIAA D-2 sectional meet in two weeks. The co-op will travel to Menomonie on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6, with a chance to swim at state on the line.