Speaking of Sports

By John Fragodt, Sports Reporter

This year’s Minnewaska Area-Morris Area Gators’ swimming and diving team sent six athletes to state this winter, competing in five separate events at state.  For those of you who don’t know high school swimming, there are exactly 12 events in a swimming and diving meet and the Gators sent athletes to state in five of those events.

That’s unreal!

And yes, it is a school record at Minnewaska Area High School.  Up until this season, the most events Minnewaska Area has sent athletes to state in was two, set in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and again last year in 2023 when Lyla Stadtherr qualified in the 100 breaststroke and also joined Becca Femrite, Melena Longtin and her sister, Soffia Stadtherr, in the 400 freestyle relay.

And, the most athletes that have qualified to state from Minnewaska Area had been the five that journeyed to state for the State Meet last fall.

Last year was also the first year that Minnewaska Area sent a relay team to state.

The first MAHS student-athlete to qualify to state swimming/diving was Erika Danielson, who earned a state berth in the 100 butterfly in 1999 and 2000.  She was followed by Paige Entzi, who qualified to state in the 100 backstroke in 2008.

Bridget Opdahl and Lacy Entzi are the most decorated state swimming athletes at MAHS.  Opdahl qualified to state in the 50 freestyle in 2010 and then qualified in both the 50 and 100 freestyle in 2011 and 2012, placing fifth at state in both events in 2012 for the highest finish by a Gator swimmer in MAHS history.

Lacy Entzi took it one step further, qualifying to state in seventh through 12th grade (2013-2018).  She made it to state as a seventh-grader in the 500 freestyle in 2013 and then earned state berths in the 200 and 500 freestyle as an eighth and ninth-grader before making it to state in the 100 butterfly her final three seasons of swimming.

There was a three-year break from state berths during the 2019 through 2021 seasons before McKenzie Luetmer qualified to state in 2022 and the last two seasons have sent many more entries to the State Meet for the Gators.

Included in the state berths this season is the first MAHS diver to qualify to state — Ella Roering, who placed fourth at this year’s section meet and joined teammate, Clare Barnstuble, of Morris Area, at the State Meet.

The Gators will lose state entrants Melena Longtin and Becca Femrite to graduation from this year’s team, but the Gators will return the other state entrants, Lyla Stadtherr, Mesa Kittelson, Ella Roering and Clare Barnstuble for one more season.

The MAHS Gators have unofficially set five new schools records over the last two seasons, including the 100 breaststroke by Stadtherr (1:08.64), the 6-dive (219.35 points) and 11-dive (353.55) records by Roering and the 200 medley relay record of 1:53.77 by Stadtherr, Kittelson, Longtin and Femrite this year, along with the 400 freestyle relay record of 3:51.1 set by Soffia and Lyla Stadtherr, Longtin and Femrite last year.

Yes, it certainly was a record-setting season for the Gators this year, one that will be remembered for a long time.  We’ll run a recap of the Gators’ swimming season next week, including the team and postseason awards.