Rapids too big for CEC swimming

Even before the first whistle was blown, the Grand Rapids girls swim team was well in hand when they hosted Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Tuesday. Their team was all but twice the size.

The Thunderhawks’ nearly 30-girl swim squad used their flat-out talent, stamina and sure depth to sink the Lumberjacks 98-76 in dual meet action.

“It’s tough to compete against the bigger schools,” said second-year CEC coach Stacia Grayson about the 17 girls she fields. “We’re so young.”

Yet, the winless Lumberjacks hung tough.

“We had some good races and even some personal records,” said Grayson after their final dual meet of the season. “They’re all working very hard and putting in a lot of solid performances. That’s really nice to see.”

Senior captain Aimee Goldschmidt set a pair of personal records and both junior Alison Denman and sophomore Jolynne Denman marked individual bests of their own in the pool Tuesday. Juniors Kayla Whipple and Whitney Wysocki and sophomore Kristina Erickson also finished near the top in several events as well.

Goldschmidt won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1 minute, 17.42 seconds, Erickson took the 100 backstroke in 1:24.88, and the CEC 400 freestyle relay team of the Denman sisters, Wysocki and Whipple took first in 4:20.13

Grayson said the 200-yard freestyle team of Goldschmidt, Whipple, Alison Denman and Erickson has been the most impressive this season. They placed second Tuesday.

“We’re competitive,” she said, “even against the larger schools.”

Although the varsity hasn’t won this fall, the highlight of the year came last Thursday when the CEC junior varsity knocked off visiting Superior at Herb Drew Pool. It was the JV’s first win since they beat Chisholm at the beginning of last year.

“The older girls were so excited for them,” recalled Grayson. “The seventh- and eighth-graders are setting personal records every meet.

“And the way I look at it is, a win is a win,” added Grayson. “We’re a whole team and that was exciting to watch last week. I think people are excited for the future of this program.”

CEC will remain busy throughout the tail-end of the season, as they head to Two Harbors Tuesday, followed up with the Greyhound Invite and Little Giants Meet. After that, conference and section meets are just around the corner, followed quickly by state.

“We’re a little worn out,” laughed Grayson. “But we’re all working hard at practice.”

Tags: sports, cloquet, esko, carlton, swimming