TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Girls win against Wausau West
The Merrill Girls Swim Team won their first Conference dual meet of the season against Wausau West on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, at the Prairie River Middle School (PRMS) pool.
“We won 8 out of 11 varsity events, but what was really impressive is we also took 2nd and/or 3rd in 9 events,” said Kristie Winter, Head Coach for the Swim Team. “We showed a lot of depth for our young team.”
“We had many personal best swims again tonight, which was great to see at this point of the season. The girls are tired and new best times is something to be proud of.”
Box Score:
Wausau West 69 @ Merrill 101
Merrill Girls take first place out of five swim teams
On Saturday, Sept. 10, the Merrill Girls traveled to Lodi for a Varsity Invitational Meet and finished in first place out of five teams, in front of Monroe/New Glarus, River Valley/Richland Center, Portage, and Lodi-Heights.
“Merrill’s depth really showed again this weekend in Lodi,” Winter said. “Our small but strong team brought home a win against several of the division 2 Madison teams we will hope to see later this year at State.”
“It’s always a mentally and physically challenging meet for our team. Getting up and leaving by 5:30 a.m. and then swimming against new teams brings a different kind of stress for the girls. We really pulled together and everyone brought home the points they needed to,” she said.
Merrill Girls took first place in the 200 Yard Medley Relay, with Megan Miles, Olivia Pajtash, Addison Jirovec, and Claire Jirovec teaming up to finish in 2:07.11 and racking up 40 points for the team.
Amber Winter took first place for Merrill in the Girls 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:22.30, bringing in another 20 points.
In the 50 Yard Freestyle, Bailee Sommer and Claire Jirovec took third and fourth places, with times of 27.22 and 28.55, respectively.
Bailee Sommer took second place in the 100 Yard Freestyle with a time of 59.73.
Olivia Pajtash came in third in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a time of 5:56.53.
Merrill’s team of Bailee Sommer, Claire Jirovec, Olivia Pajtash, and Amber Winter came in second in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:51.98, garnering 34 points, and Merrill’s team of Caitlynn Pehlke, Patricia Priebe, Caroline Durbin, and Emily Winter scored 30 points with their combined time of 2:03.75, coming in fourth.
In the 100 Yard Breaststroke, Amber Winter took first place with a time of 1:14.45 and earned 20 points, and Claire Jirovec came in second with a time of 1:22.43, earning 17 more points.
In the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, Merrill’s Bailee Sommer, Addison Jirovec, Megan Miles, and Amber Winter took second place, finishing at 4:11.95 and earning 34 points.