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Edina wins fourth straight state title in girls' swimming and diving

By HEATHER RULE, Special to the Star Tribune, 11/16/19, 11:48PM CST

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The Hornets broke a school mark by winning their fourth consecutive team championship.


Anoka's Reese Dehen won the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:01:16. Dehen also captured the title in the the 100 yard breaststroke later in the meet. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

The Edina girls’ swimming and diving team is no stranger to state titles. It won its fourth consecutive Class 2A championship Saturday, a program first.

A solid performance in the preliminaries put Edina in a good position to do so.

“We were fortunate to have a really good day on Friday,” Edina coach Jeff Mace said. “Friday is what did it for us.”

The Hornets won the meet with 344 points at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Minnetonka was the runner-up for the third consecutive year with 305 points. Eden Prairie finished third with 205 points.

Mace praised Minnetonka on its effort, as the Skippers won five events and swept all three relays. Despite winning just two individual events, Edina had depth and placed in the top eight 19 times across all events but the breaststroke.

“And our kids just rose to the occasion,” Mace said. “Everybody knew that they had to contribute some way, somehow. And that’s what we did.”

Edina has won three consecutive titles three times, including 2010-12, and has a total of 16 (11 in Class 2A).


Megan Phillip

“I just love flying,” Phillip said. “I love being in the air.”

Minnetonka junior Abby Kapeller won the 50 free in 22.60 and won the 100 backstroke (53.72). She was also part of the winning 200 medley relay team and anchored the winning 400 free relay.

Robbinsdale Armstrong senior Sierra Smith swept the 200 free and 100 free events. She avenged a runner-up finish last year in the 100 free, which she won this year with a time of 50.29.

“I was just trying to tell myself, ‘I’ve been training for it, and I don’t want to have any regrets,’” Smith said.  

Anoka’s Reece Dehen won the 200 individual medley in 2:01.16 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.07.


Edina's Megan Phillip enters the water on her second dive. Phillip captured her fourth state title on Saturday night. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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