Raiders take big step toward securing second place by beating Tridents

MEDFORD GIRLS SWIMMING

The Medford Raiders took a big step forward in the race for second place in the Great Northern Conference girls swim standings Thursday with a solid 96-74 win over the host Ladysmith Co-op.

The Raiders won seven of the 11 varsity events and got the second-place points in any race they didn’t win to prevent the Tridents from overtaking them in a matchup between teams that both came in with 3-1 dual-meet records in the GNC.

The win, in all likelihood, will give Medford a two-point lead over the Tridents heading into the Oct. 21 GNC Championships in the race for second behind the likely champion Rhinelander. Today, Thursday, Medford hosts a Lakeland squad that only has a handful of swimmers and is winless in the GNC. The Raiders host 1-4 Mosinee Oct. 13 in their final dual meet of the fall.

“We had a great, competitive meet on Thursday,” Medford head coach Morgan Wilson said. “All of the girls raced well and gave 100%. It was awesome to see every single girl contribute to the win and give it their all.”

The Raiders got an early spark in the first race, the 200-yard medley relay. Aiden Denzer, Chelsea Gebauer, Sydney Sperl and Colby Bergman edged the Tridents’ top team by 0.13 seconds and won it in 2:04.12. The team of Breanna Kraemer, Jordyn Johnson, Erica Brandner and Jolie Steliga got the third-place points in 2:15.59, beating Ladysmith’s B team by 4.86 seconds. Mackenzie Petersen, Adalyn Dittrich, Cadence Haenel and Kassidy Koncel were fifth in 2:36.87.

The Raiders’ early momentum continued in the next event, the 200-yard freestyle, where Tana Rappe won in 2:16.21, finishing just ahead of Johnson, who came in second at 2:18.35. Kirsten Weix added two points by taking fourth in 2:38.09.

Denzer then won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:27.36, beating Trident Madilyn Kempen by 6.83 seconds, while Bergman took third in 2:41.06 and Layla Petersen got the fifth-place point at 2:50.47. With Gebauer’s win in the 50yard freestyle at 27.44 seconds as well as Brandner taking fourth in 29.6 seconds and Steliga placing sixth in 30.29 seconds, Medford hit the break leading the meet 40-22.

Gebauer added a second win late in the meet, taking the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:17.69, a time that beat Kempen by 2.29 seconds. Johnson was third for Medford in 1:22.99 and Weix was sixth in 1:39.19.

According to Wilson, Medford’s efforts in the 500-yard freestyle was one of the night’s top moments. Bergman won it in 6:00.66, comfortably beating Ladysmith’s Sarah Allard (6:12.77). Kraemer was fourth for Medford in 6:40.18 and Koncel got the fifth-place point at 7:04.37.

“Our distance events were definitely a highlight with the majority of the girls cutting a lot of time,” Wilson said. “Colby was so close to getting under six minutes and was a little frustrated not getting it, but she’s determined to get under that mark in the next couple of weeks. Breanna swam the 500 for the first time this year and was significantly faster than last year. Kassidy cut about four seconds and has been working hard on keeping her arms moving fast.”

Denzer, Rappe, Bergman and Sperl closed the meet by handily winning the 400-yard freestyle relay in 4:11.24, 9.15 seconds ahead of Ladysmith’s top team. Dittrich, Haenel, Layla Petersen and Steliga scored two points with a third-place time of 4:41.23. Kraemer, Koncel, Weix and Mackenzie Petersen were fifth in 4:45.45.

Sperl twice finished second behind the Tridents’ top swimmer, Madeline Bunton. Sperl swam the 100-yard butterfly in a personal-best 1:10.37, while Brandner was fourth in 1:17.55 and Layla Petersen took fifth in a personal-best 1:19.99. Bunton won in 1:06.16.

Coincidentally, Bunton posted the exact same time while winning the 100-yard backstroke, just ahead of Sperl’s time of 1:10.22. Kraemer was third in 1:12.57 and Dittrich got fifth in a personal-best 1:15.91. Denzer added a second-place time of 1:01.78 in the 100-yard freestyle, just 0.02 seconds behind the Tridents’ Hannah Minton. Rappe was third in 1:05.37 and Haenel was sixth in 1:10.8, improving by over three seconds from a previous 100 time this season.

Weix, Rappe, Johnson and Gebauer swam the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:59.91 to take second, while Brandner, Dittrich, Steliga and Layla Petersen got the third-place points at 2:01.13. Ladysmith’s A team won in 1:54.58. Paige Wilkins, Koncel, Haenel and Mackenzie Petersen were fifth in 2:20.84.

Mackenzie Petersen won the JV 50yard freestyle in 30.87 seconds, while Wilkins was fifth in 43.36 seconds. Wilkins was third in the JV 100-yard freestyle at 1:31.89.

“We’re to the point of the season where yardage is going up, but we’re still hoping to see some good times in our last two home meets,” Wilson said. “So far, the girls have done a great job staying positive and focused for each meet and we want to see that continue.”

The meets today and next Thursday start at 5:30 p.m. at the MASH pool.