BSM girls’ swimming earned 13th place out of 39 teams at the finals of the extremely competitive Minnesota Girls’ State Swim Meet this past weekend, moving up two spots from last year’s state results.

“It was a great meet, there was a ton of personal bests, and all 5 of us made it back to finals,” junior Elle Dickey said.

Freshman Taylor Williams, making her first State appearance, started the meet off strong, winning the 200 freestyle in a tight race with an All-American consideration time of 1:50.04. Williams also swam the 100 freestyle and was able to snag a second place medal with a time of 51.34. “I was in shock. It didn’t really set in that I won state for a while,” Williams said.

The 4×50 freestyle relay composed of Taylor Williams, Malinda Beason, Abby Sohm, and Elle Dickey placed 13th respectively with time of 1:41.04.

Junior Malinda Beason earned 20th in the 100 back in an extremely tight race——20th to 12th place was all within less than a one second difference. “I got a best time, and after working hard all season, watching the team progress and myself, it was nice to see the hard work payoff and to do well at State,” Beason said.

BSM also had a successful 4×100 freestyle relay composed of Williams, Dickey, Beason, and freshman Sydney Holinka. The relay just missed out on the championship heat. In the consolation final, they swam 3:37.71, which would have earned them a medal and a sixth-place spot on the podium. “We were a little upset not making it back in the championship heat, but we definitely pulled it together day 2,” Beason said.

All five of the swimmers who swam this year will be returning to the team next year with high expectations and experience. “I want to make it back to state again and qualify for the 100 breaststroke, because I missed cut at sections by .12,” Dickey said.

Girls’ swimming had a very successful season, and they are looking forward to the next one.