Fargo North
- Coach: Talia Merritt (second year)
- Who's gone: Krista Smith, 100 butterfly, relays; Evonne Saleh, diver.
- Who's back: Amy Vanlishout, Sr., 200 and 500 freestyle; Kathryn Berg, Sr., 200 individual medley, breaststroke, butterfly; Grace Reile, Sr., 200 individual medley, breaststroke; Bethany Martindale, Sr., 200 individual medley, breaststroke; Allison Barry, Sr., 100 backstroke; Laurel Wessman, Sr., 100 backstroke; Nikkie Reza, Jr., 50 and 100 freestyle; Rachael Wessman, So., 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke; Lauren Lyngstad, So., 200 and
500 freestyle; Kim Henze, So., 50 and 100 freestyle; Kaylee Asplin, Fr., diver.
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- Fast facts: Vanlishout placed second in the 500-yard freestyle and third in the 200 freestyle at the state meet last season. In addition, Reza placed second in the 50 freestyle and Berg finished third in the 100 butterfly. "I think the girls are ready to show that North means business," Merritt said. ... The three-time defending Eastern Dakota Conference champion Spartans have eight seniors on the team. "I have really good leadership from them," Merritt said. North has 49 swimmers (15 from last season) out in Grades 7-12, including 17 seventh-graders. "It's a really cool team. They are really meshing well and supporting each other," Merritt said. ... Merritt expects a tight race in the Eastern Dakota Conference. "I wouldn't say there is any favorite," Merritt said. "Every team brings something to the table. I think in the East we're very strong and it will be kind of cool to see what happens."
Fargo Shanley
- Coach: Bert Chamberlain (second year)
- Who's gone: none
- Who's back: Lexie Halberstadt, So., 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly; Nicole Bartholomay, So., 200 individual medley, 100 backstroke; Jordee Kalk, So., 200 individual medley; Hannah Simonson, Sr., 100 freestyle, 50 freestyle; Connor Hoff, 8th, 100 backstroke; Grace Carson, 8th, 100 breaststroke; Jenny Zetocha, So., 100 butterfly; Liz Richard, Jr., diver; Mairin Jameson, So., diver.
- Fast facts: Halberstadt won a state championship in the 50 freestyle last season and also took second place in the 100 butterfly. "I'm expecting Lexie to continue to be in the top running at conference and at state," Chamberlain said. "I'm looking forward for her to maybe breaking state records." ... Jameson placed fourth in diving at the state meet last season ... The Deacons have 17 swimmers on their team, including just one senior. "We still have a young core of kids," Chamberlain said. "Our girls have to pick up where they left off last year to be competitive." ... Shanley finished 11th at the state meet last season. Chamberlain said the team goal is to place in the top six this fall. "I'm expecting our team to place higher than they have in many years," he said.
Fargo South
- Coach: Deana Monson (seventh year)
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- Who's gone: Lauren Eikerman, all-around; Kylie Jones, freestyle.
- Who's back: Ashley Elsbernd, Jr., diver; Jessica Tauber, Sr., sprints, relays; Nikole Koehn, Jr., 100 breaststroke, sprints; Haley Koehn, Fr., 100 breaststroke relays; Joslyn Fellbaum, So., all-around; Sara Wolf, Jr., all-around; Hannah Mastel, So., distance freestyle; Rachel Erickson, So., backstroke, freestyle.
- Fast facts: South has 42 swimmers out for the team in Grades 7-12. "We have quite a few people returning that were key swimmers for us last year," Monson said. "They work together as a team and I like their excitement." ... Fellbaum took third place in the 500-yard freestyle at the state meet last season. She finished seventh in the 200 freestyle. Tauber (50 freestyle) and Elsbernd (diving) also finished seventh at state last fall. ... "We're not a well-known team," Monson said. "A lot of the girls on this team are not going to be names you know, but that is what is going to make it exciting." ... Monson said she expects West Fargo and Fargo North to be among the top teams in the Eastern Dakota Conference. "We want to try to be competitive with them."
West Fargo
- Coach: Marsha Dahl (18th year)
- Who's gone: Kelsey Schoonhoven, sprints, backstroke; Aly Holland, butterfly, breaststroke; Lindsay Wangler, freestyle.
- Who's back: Emily Baasch, Sr., diver; Ashley Reiter, Jr., individual medley, breaststroke; Megan Brennan, Jr., freestyle; Chelsea Gentzkow, So., backstroke, freestyle; Gina Doll, Sr., butterfly, individual medley; Megan Nelson, Jr., backstroke; Hali Scholl, Jr., freestyle; Amy Doll, So., sprints.
- Fast facts: Schoonhoven is the four-time defending state champion in the 100-yard backstroke. "It's a big loss losing Kelsey," Dahl said. "She was a leader and we are going to look to fill with what we lost with her. We are going to need a couple people to do that." ... The Packers have 26 swimmers out for the team in Grades 7-12, including seven juniors and five sophomores. "The strength is that we are going to try to be well-rounded," Dahl said. "We are going to work hard to be well-rounded so we can find people's strengths by the end of the year. We've got a good bunch of girls and we are trying to figure out what we have to do to be right up there in the end." ... Fargo North edged West Fargo by a half point for the Eastern Dakota Conference championship last season. "Every year, it's our goal to win EDC and we are going to shoot for it and gear towards that," Dahl said. "But if I had to pick a team, it would be North based on their experience and based on their numbers."
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Moorhead
- Coach: Pat Anderson (sixth year)
- Who's gone: Abby Sims, Lena Miller, Katie Little, Sarah Masten, Sam Neirby, Jenna Bosak, Kamy Urnion, Rachael Blue.
E Who's back: Maren Schieffer, Sr. Grace Lamb, Sr. Emily Anderson, Sr. Jackie Hanson, Sr. Lauren Nephew, Sr. Cassie Morlock, Sr. Rachel Nicolai, Sr. Rachel Trautman, Sr. Erica Wagner, Jr. Chelsea Jensen, So.
- Fast facts: Lamb leads the way for the Spuds as the only Moorhead swimmer to qualify for the state meet. She's been the only Spud at state the last two years, qualifying both times in the 100 backstroke. "This is a very difficult section, so we're focusing on her getting back to state on time rather than being one of the top two at the section meet," coach Anderson said. ... Class 2A, Section 8 got tougher in the realignment, as powerhouse Maple Grove was thrown into the mix. "Elk River has dominated the section for years, and now that adds a team to the section that's better than Elk River," Anderson said. "It makes it for a tough section meet." ... Anderson is still optimistic that Lamb will have some company on the ride to state this season. "We'll do the work, and we hope to get Grace back there, maybe a relay team and another qualifier or two," Anderson said.
- Eric Peterson and Kerry Collins
