TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
The MHS Girls Varsity Swim Team had two meets this past week.
On Saturday, Sept. 11, the Lady Jays traveled to Lodi for a seven-team invite, finishing second out of the seven teams. Merrill came away with 340.5 points, second only to the Monroe/New Glarus High School Swim Team which finished with 386 points. In the 11 events, Merrill came away with 2 second-place finishes, 6 third-place finishes, 2 fourth-place finishes, and 1 sixth-place finish.
The highest scores for Merrill in each of the events were as follows:
Event 2 – 3rd place in the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay team of: Megan Miles, Amber Winter, Bailey Orzech, and Claire Schultz (2:01.39)
Event 4 – 5th place in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: Olivia Pajtash (2:17.85)
Event 6 – 3rd place in the Girls 200 Yard IM: Amber Winter (2:21.83)
Event 8 – 3rd place in the Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: Claire Schultz (26.10)
Event 10 – 3rd place in the Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: Megan Miles (1:10.21)
Event 12 – 3rd place in the Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: Claire Schultz (59.23)
Event 14 – 3rd place in the Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: Olivia Pajtash (6:03.37)
Event 16 – 2nd place in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: Amber Winter, Bailee Sommer, Olivia Pajtash, and Claire Schultz (1:49.36)
Event 18 – 6th place in the Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: Megan Miles (1:10.08)
Event 20 – 2nd place in the Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: Amber Winter (1:12.32)
Event 22 – 5th place in the Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: Bailee Sommer, Laney Zuelsdorff, Bailey Orzech, and Megan Miles (4:18.73)
“I was really happy with how they performed at both of the meets,” Winter said. “We had many personal best times on Thursday and some great attitudes in the pool. On Saturday, they stepped up and raced well again, even though they were really tired from the quick turnaround.”
On Thursday, Sept. 9, the Merrill Bluejays hosted Wausau West in Merrill’s first Wisconsin Valley Conference dual Swim Meet of the season. The Girls scored first-place finishes in 10 out of 11 events and also took 2nd or 3rd place in each of those 10 events, as well.
First place finishers for Varsity:
Event 2 – Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: Mya Wilde, Amber Winter, Bailey Orzech, and Claire Schultz (2:06.18)
Event 4 – Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: Grace Schultz (2:03.60)
Event 6 – Girls 200 Yard IM: Claire Schultz (2:28.80)
Event 8 – Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: Amber Winter (26.28)
Event 10 – Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: Grace Schultz (1:04.34)
Event 14 – Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: Amber Winter (6:01.39)
Event 16 – Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: Bailee Sommer, Olivia Pajtash, Ahna Wilde, Grace Schultz (1:51.56)
Event 18 – Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: Bailey Orzech (1:12.23)
Event 20 – Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: Claire Schultz (1:19.90)
Event 22 – Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: Grace Schultz, Ahna Wilde, Amber Winter, and Claire Schultz (4:05.61)
Second place finishers for Varsity:
Event 4 – Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: Olivia Pajtash (2:15.74)
Event 10 – Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: Bailey Orzech (1:13.73)
Event 12 – Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: Bailee Sommer (1:01.69)
Event 14 – Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: Emma Pajtash (6:23.02)
“We wanted to do well, but we also knew we had the Lodi meet on Saturday where we would be facing off against many of the teams we will see at state in November,” Merrill Girls Varsity Swim Coach Kristie Winter said. “I had the girls swim a mixed-up lineup Thursday so they would be fresh for Lodi.”
“This got them out of their comfort zone on Thursday and made them concentrate on their race and not their expectations,” she explained.
Box Score
Wausau West 66 @ Merrill 104