Posted: 4/12/06
Synchronized swimming team returns 22 of 24 state participants
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Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
Last year the Forest Lake High School synchronized swimming team sent 24 girls to the state meet, only two of them graduated. With a talented and seasoned team returning head coach Laura Davidson is expecting a good year.
The only two Rangers who competed at the state meet last year to graduate are Nicole Duff and Hanna McKenzie.
ìI hope we bring as many girls to the state meet this year (as we did last year) or more,î Davidson said. ìI expect that weíll have around 24 again this year.î
This yearís team will be led by senior captains Rachel Merrier and Karyn Williams. Theyíre the only returning seniors to the team. There are other seniors on the team, but itís also their first year on the synchronized swimming team.
Merrier and Williams will lead a team of 50 girls that make up the varsity and junior varsity teams.
The synchronized swimming team is split into two seasons, the figure season and the routine season. The first half of the season is the figure season where the swimmers perform individual skills and are judged on their execution of those skills. The routine season is the part of the synchronized swimming season that features the kinds of synchronized swimming that most people think of where the swimmers perform routines either in a solo, as a duet, in a trio or as a team.
The top placing swimmers in the figure season for the Rangers include Frances VanSloun, Alissa Moberg, Carrie Peterson, Ann Husfeldt, Laura Oberg-Hauser, Heidi Merrier, Hidi Boluva, Lindsey Quale and Heather Ristow, along with captains Merrier and Williams.
Adding a little spice to this yearís team is a handful of foreign exchange students who are swimming on the JV squad.
ìTheyíre really funny,î Davidson said. ìTheyíre just trying out the sport and theyíre doing well.î
When the Rangers reach the routine season, VanSloun and Victoria Yamery will be the top two soloists. The tandems of Peterson - Moberg and VanSloun - Husfeldt will be looked upon in the duets.
In the trio portion, Peterson - Moberg and Kate Harrison will be competing in the extended division.
Synchronized swimming has three divisions, the short, long and extended. While the divisions refer to the length of routines, they also refer to skill level with the extended being the most difficult.
The team portion will consist of most of the swimmers who are currently placing in the figure season.
Competition
Since not every Suburban East Conference school has a synchronized swimming team, the Rangers compete in a conference that features some SEC schools, but not all.
ìItís hard to say whoís going to be tough come the routine season because we havenít seen the other teams swim their routines yet,î Davidson said.
Columbia Heights should be strong, as well as a growing Osseo team. The dominant Stillwater will also be a challenge for the Rangers.
So far this season the Rangers have beaten Osseo and Columbia Heights 29-0, and Greenway 24-5.
ìWeíre dominating those meets, letís hope it carries over into the routine season,î Davidson said.
ìWe have a lot of depth which is exciting. Weíre not just placing one through seven at meets, but dominating the top 15. The team is made up of six juniors and two ninth graders so theyíre not going anywhere.î
The Rangers will showcase their talents at a synchronized swimming show at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Southwest Junior High Pool. Tickets to the show are $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605