The M8 Conference JV swimming and diving championships were held last Friday in Big Lake, with the Becker Bulldogs putting forth a fine performance.

“No scores were kept but our swimmers and divers had a great night,” Coach Tina Tamm said.  “We went home with many personal best times, a lot of ribbons and a great end of the season for these girls.  The future of Becker swim and dive looks good!”

The diving event continued to be strong for Becker, as the Bulldogs have a ton of girls vying for the top six spots each week (three can dive for varsity and three for JV).

“For many of our divers, this was their first or second time to compete this season and they dove very well and didn’t appear to have not competed before,” Tamm said.  “We took five of eight places in the diving competition.”   

Place winners included: Alison Woodard - first, Makayla Balut - second, Harper Miller - third, Kami Marquardt - fifth and Violet Johnson - sixth.

In the 50 Freestyle, Lily Dowling dropped two seconds, Avalyn Awalt dropped one second (eighth place) and Kylar Graning was able to get her Section qualifying time (placing fifth overall).

In the 100 butterfly, Mia Suelter came in with the biggest drop of the night (nine seconds) and took first place for the Bulldogs.

In the 200 Freestyle, Gabby Barthel-Scott dropped four seconds off her time, while Clara Pratt shaved two seconds (second place) and Addison Kasper dropped six seconds to put forth great performances.  Kayleigh Duke placed seventh in the event.

Becker took five out of the top eight places in the 100 Freestyle, including: Addison Kasper - fourth, Astrid Faul - fifth, Avalyn Awalt - sixth, Alyssa Cowley - seventh and Alanah Awalt - eighth.

The 100 Breaststroke saw Duke finish in second and Graning in fourth, while all three relay events took second place.  One team from each school vies for a top spot in the JV relay events, even though the teams usually place several teams in these events for additional experience.

The second place 200 Medley Relay team consisted of Kasper, Duke, Eiley Kaehler and Alyssa Cowley, while the 200 Freestyle relay was Pratt, Faul, Avalyn Awalt and Suelter.

The 400 Freestyle relay team consisted of Suelter, Cowley, Faul and Graning.

“Overall, it was a fun meet for the JV girls,” Tamm said.  “It’s a chance for them to get the recognition for their efforts throughout the season as well as their last chance to get the section time they might be close to getting.”

The varsity team will host the Section meet on November 7 through 9 at the Becker Aquatics Center.