Alexandria Swim Club advances three to Central Zone competition

• 13-older swimmers

Contributed Alexandria’s Swim Club sent six swimmers to the Minnesota state championships last weekend and will now be sending three on to the Central Zone competition. Tiana Molitor, Bridget Opdahl and Max Jacobson of the 13-older competitors posed with head coach Dave Molesworth.
• 12-younger swimmers

Contributed Alexandria's Swim Club sent six swimmers to the Minnesota state championships last weekend and will now be sending three on to the Central Zone competition. Head coach Dave Molesworth, along with Hannah Eklund, McKenna Horan and Ashtyn Molesworth of the 12-younger group also smiled for the camera.

Talk about it

The Alexandria Swim Club will be sending three athletes on to the Central Zone swim meet this weekend after taking six swimmers to the 2011 Minnesota State Long Course Meter (LCM) Championships last weekend, where the six finished with a 22nd place team finish in Class A.

Advancing to the Central Zone competition will be Hannah Eklund, who finished seventh in the 11-12 year old 50 breaststroke in 38.52. She also competed in the 100 breaststroke, finishing 16th in 1:28.70.

She will be joined by Max Jacobson, whose 14th place finish in the 13-14 year old boys’ 50 free with a time of 26.76 qualified him as well. He qualified for a second event as he swam the 100 free to a 20th place in 59.95.

Bridget Opdahl competed in the girls’ 50 free, finishing 17th in 28.37 to advance to the senior division of the Central Zone meet.

“I was very excited to take six athletes to the state meet, which is the largest group that has gone to the meet in the past few years,” said second year head coach Dave Molesworth.

“The Minnesota state meet is a very competitive meet, so to go and score points at all for a team outside of the metro area was a great accomplishment.”

Also competing at the state meet were McKenna Horan and Ashtyn Molesworth in the 8-younger girls’ division and Tiana Molitor in the 15-16 girls’ division.

Horan swam the 50 free in 43.11 for 31st place, while Molesworth was in the 50 breaststroke, finishing 19th in 57.24. She also competed in the 50 butterfly.

Molitor swam the 50 free, finishing 97th in 30.81.

“I thought, in my second year as head coach, it was great to take six to the LCM state meet, but to have three qualify for the Central Zone meet was awesome,” said Molesworth. “I was so proud of our team, from the newest swimmers to our Central Zone qualifiers.

“The 14-younger Central Zone meet is being held in Topeka, Kansas, while the 15-older meet will be held in Franklin, Indiana, both on August 4-7.

“There are only four zone meets in the U.S., so our swimmers will be competing against athletes from one quarter of our country,” Molesworth added.

Tags: alexandria sports, area sports, sports, abc, swimming, alexandria, swim, club