The Aberdeen Swim Club Stingrays made the most of their opportunities at the South Dakota State B Long Course Swim Meet at the Aquatic Center over the weekend.
The Stingrays accumulated double the points of any other team, and many punched their tickets to this weekend’s State A meet in Rapid City.
“I would say the extra points just came from the fact that we had the most swimmers there, probably by about double,” said Megan Rosendahl, president of the board of directors of the ASC. “But that’s the benefit of having a state meet in Aberdeen. It’s a really easy way for our families to get out and let their kids compete, and then go home and sleep in their own bed at night.”
Aberdeen had five individuals who scored the most points in their respective age divisions: Audrey Anderson in Girls 8 and Under, Grace Mayer in Girls 9 and Under, Mali Larson in Girls 13-14, Greyson Brudvig in Boys 11-12, and Finnegan Quinn in Boys 15-16.
In addition to that, members of the Stingrays racked up nearly two dozen state-qualifying times.
“That was an really incredible thing we saw come out of this weekend, because we offer that golden ticket option for first and second place, and so many swimmers got their state time anyways,” Rosendahl said. “They didn’t need to rely on that golden ticket, they just went and swam it.”
The swimmers were able to obtain those solid times, despite competing in extremely warm weather with temps in the mid 90s.
“It was brutal. When you get above 90 degrees, it just kind of all blends together and it’s just hot,” Rosendahl said. “It was very stiff. There was no breeze.”
That said, Rosendahl said that people handled the conditions well.
“We’re pool people. We’re used to this icky weather,” she said. “It’s either rain or it’s 95, and this time we got 95.”
The Stingrays will now gear up for the State A Long Course Meet which runs Friday through Sunday in Rapid City. Swimmers will get an opportunity to qualify for the upcoming Central Zones Championship in Fargo, N.D.
ASC already has one qualified swimmer for zones (Ryan Schmidt), with other potential candidates, according to Rosendahl.
“There’s probably 4, 5, 6 other kids that could go, that could be selected, depending on how they do at state,” Rosendahl said.
Rosendahl is proud of the way that Aberdeen swimmers have competed this summer and is excited to see what they will be able to do this weekend.
“Summer season is a short season. It’s not a lot of opportunities to compete,” Rosendahl said. “It can be grueling hot. It can be cold. It can be early morning, and our kids have worked really, really hard, our assistant coaches have put in so many hours, and we’re so incredibly thankful, and we’re really excited to see what these kids do this weekend.”
To see complete results of the State B meet, click on the following links:
