by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls won nine events and finished with 21 top-three finishes overall to claim its ninth straight North Border Conference championshp in girls swimming Friday night. The meet was held at the Franklin Middle School Pool in Thief River Falls.
“This season, while still a growing season for us, has gone really well,” said Thief River Falls Girls Swimming Head Coach Danielle Spiten. “We see this as we hold onto our ninth consecutive conference title for the North Border Conference, with a big win margin over Fosston/Bagley and Warroad/Roseau. I’m proud of the girls and how well they did.”
The Prowlers were 99 points better than runner-up Fosston/Bagley Seals and over 200 points better than third place Warroad/Roseau/Greenbush-Middle River.
Winning conference championships for the Prowlers were the 200 medley relay team of Aniyah Fields, Livia Thibert, Faith Hartmann and Natalia Zoller; the 200 freestyle relay team of Hartmann, Elise Schneider, Fields and Natalia Zoller; Hartmann in the 200 and 100 freestyle; Schneider in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke; Zoller in the 50 freestyle; Shelby Hothusen in the 500 freestyle.
The Prowlers got runner-up performances from the 200 freestyle relay team of Maggie Ulirch, Livia Thibert, Bristol Novak and Shelby Holthusen; the 400 freestyle relay team of Vanessa Thibert, Bristol Novak, Schneider and Holthusen; Holthusen in the 200 freestyle; Fields in the 50 freestyle; Livia Thibert in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke; and Zoller in the 100 freestyle.
Third place finishes came from the 200 medley relay team of Vanessa Thibert, Cora Van Buren, Maggie Ulrich and Bristol Novak; the 400 freestyle relay team of Ember Hogenson, Quinn Hetherington, Gabrielle Zoller and Chloe Skjerven; Fields in the 200 IM; Ulrich in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly; and Gabrielle Zoller in the 100 backstroke.
“We are looking at a couple relays to potentially send down to the state meet, and maybe some individuals,” Spiten said. “It was exciting to see, with this goal in mind, that our 200 freestyle relay not only dominated but also lost a significant amount of time. Aniyah Fields, Faith Hartmann, Elise Schneider, and Natalia Zoller showed up to compete and it shows with their times in that relay. Not to be overlooked is the 200 medley relay, where the girls also brought out a big performance. That relay with the athletes Aniyah Fields, Livia Thibert, Faith Hartmann, and Natalia Zoller also is proving to be really competitive at the section meet in two weeks.”
Up next for the Prowlers is the 2024 Section 8AA meet. The two-day event begins Friday, Nov. 8 at 1:30 p.m. with preliminary rounds, and it continues Saturday at 10 a.m.
North Border Conference
• Team Scores – 1. Thief River Falls 653.5; 2. Fosston/Bagley 554.5; 3. Warroad/Roseau/Greenbush-Middle River 441.
• 200 Medley Relay – Winner: Thief River Falls A (Aniyah Fields, Livia Thibert, Faith Hartmann, Natalia Zoller) 2:07.41; 3. TRF B (Vanessa Thibert, Cora Van Buren, Maggie Ulrich, Bristol Novak) 2:18.83.
• 200 Freestyle – Winner: Faith Hartmann, Thief River Falls, 2:14; 2. Shelby Holthusen 2:17.41; 8. Vanessa Thibert2:41.50.
• 200 IM – Winner: Elise Schneider, Thief River Falls, 2:38.36; 3. Aniyah Fields 2:48.38; 7. Alora Hothusen 3:10.21.
• 50 Freestyle – Winner: Natalia Zoller, Thief River Falls, 27.28; 2. Aniyah Fields 28.45; 3. Maggie Ulrich 29.06; 6. Bristol Novak 29.91.
• 100 Butterfly – Winner: Haidyn Friborg, Fosston/Bagley, 1:05.94; 2. Livia Thibert 1:16.05; 3. Maggie Ulrich 1:24.04; DQ – Chloe Skjerven.
• 100 Freestyle – Winner: Faith Hartmann, Thief River Falls, 58.93; 2. Natalia Zoller 1:00.18; 6. Ember Hogenson 1:08.39; 7. Quinn Hetherington 1:10.21.
• 500 Freestyle – Winner: Shelby Holthusen, Thief River Falls, 6:16.30; 4. Gabrielle Zoller 6:55.32; 9. Alora Holthusen 7:22.41.
• 200 Freestyle – Winner: Thief River Falls A (Faith Hartmann, Elise Schneider, Aniyah Fields, Natalia Zoller) 1:49.02; 2. Thief River Falls B (Maggie Ulrich, Livia Thibert, Bristol Novak, Shelby Holthusen) 1:59.28.
• 100 Backstroke – Winner: Maria Greene, Fosston/Bagley, 1:12.93; 3. Gabrielle Zoller, 1:19.22; 4. Vanessa Thibert, 1:20.29; 6. Daphne Lundberg-Cameron, 1:25.61; 7. Hailee Halvorson 1:27.79.
• 100 Breastroke – Winner: Elise Schneider, Thief River Falls, 1:21.07; 2. Livia Thibert 1:23.61; 4. Cora Van Buren 1:24.88; 6. Samantha Zoller 1:32.05.
• 400 Freestyle Relay – Winner: Fosston/Bagley A 4:17.59; 2. Thief River Falls A (Vanessa Thibert, Bristol Novak, Elise Schneider, Shelby Holthusen) 4:28.08; 3. Thief River Falls B (Ember Hogenson, Quinn Hetherington, Gabrielle Zoller, Chloe Skjerven) 4:41.80.