Ohio State Recruit Catherine Russo Swims 22.76 50 FR at Montana Girls HS Champs

2020 MHSA State Swim Meet – Girls

• Swimming
• February 16th, 2020
• Short Course Yards
• Results

TOP 5 TEAM SCORES

Girls AA

1. Bozeman High School – 257
2. Missoula Hellgate – 203
3. Butte High School – 107
4. CM Russell High School – 105
5. Glacier High School – 103

Girls AB

1. Billings Central Catholic HS – 109
2. Whitefish High School – 89
3. Hardin High School – 32
4. Bigfork High School Swim Team – 20
5. Havre High School – 19

The Montana High School State meet was held recently, with Bozeman High School taking the AA state title, and Billings Central High School taking the AB title.

AA Recap:

Bozeman was the dominant team in the AA meet, taking 6 of 11 events. They kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, swimming a 1:52.262, to finish ahead of runner-up Missoula Hellgate by 1.1 seconds. Sophomore Annika Middelsteadt took the next event, the 200 free with a 1:54.09. Middelsteadt won the event after taking 3rd last year with a 1:58.63. Last year’s champion, AJ Popp (1:56.17) has since graduated, and the runner-up, Flathead’s Lily Milner (1:56.92) didn’t swim the event this year.

Bozeman made it 2-for-2 out of the gates, taking the 200 IM with senior Erin McKinney clocking a 2:11.90. McKinney also finished 3rd in the event last year, with both 2019 champion Gabby Smart (2:10.28) and runner-up AJ Popp (2:13.22) graduating. McKinney went on to swim the 100 breast, touching in 1:06.41. She was the defending champion in the event, having won the race with a 1:07.18 last year.

Bozeman junior Sara Guillen took the title in the 500 free, swimming a 5:09.04. Guillen was the runner-up last year, finishing behind Gabby Smart (5:09..74). She was 5:19.47 for 2nd last year, marking an impressive 10+ second improvement. Bozeman also closed out the meet with a win, swimming a 3:37.00 to defend theit title.

Butte High School senior Catherine Russo defended her title in the 50 free, winning it for the 4th year in a row. Russo swam a 22.76, equaling the MHSA State Record, which she held with her winning time from 2018. An Ohio State recruit, Russo went on to win the 100 fly, also for the 4th consecutive year. Russo swam a 54.89, bettering her winning mark of 55.67 from last year, although, the time was off her personal best and MHSA record of 54.15, also from 2018. Butte HS went on to win the 200 free relay, finishing in 1:41.70.

Flathead High School’s Lily Milner was a double event winner, taking the 100 free and 100 back. Milner was the runner-up in the 100 free last year, swimming a 54.17 to finish behind Katharine Berkoff, who won in 49.90 in a state record. Milner swam a 52.05 to win the event this year, marking significant improvement over last year. Berkoff was also the champion in the 100 back last year, where she swum a 52.40 to break her own state record. Milner didn’t swim the 100 back last year, but took the title this year with a 57.42.

AB Recap:

Billings Central Catholic High School won the AB title, winning 5 events including 2 relays. Billings Central Catholic kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, swimming a 2:01.73. They defended their title from last year, where they won the relay with a 1:59.39. They also won the 400 free relay in 3:48.84.

BCH senior Julia Peterson was a double event winner, taking the 50 free and 100 breast. Peterson defended her title in the 50 free, swimming a 24.62. That time actually came in well off the 23.99 she swam to win the event last year. Peterson swam the 100 free last year, but opted for the 100 breast this year. In the 100 breast, she swam a 1:09.94, touching first by over 4 seconds. Teammate Megan Beers, a freshman, won the 500 free in dominant fashion, touching in 5:23.05 to beat the field by a whopping 26.5 seconds.

Whitefish High School was another big AB winner in terms of events, taking 5 titles home. Whitefish junior Helena Kunz claimed victory in the 200 free, swimming a 2:03.30. Kunz had won the title last eyar as well, swimming a 2:02.89. Kunz went on to win the 100 free with a 56.21, touching first by over a second. Kunz finished 2nd in the race last year with a 56.14, behind Julia Peterson (54.61).

Sophomore teammate Ada Qunell was another Whitefish double event winner. Qunell swam a 2:13.01, defending her title in the event. Last year, Qunell swam a 2:15.92 to win the event as a freshman, marking solid improvement this year. She went on to win the 100 back with a 1:01.22, after winning the 100 fly last year in 1:01.99. Whitefish also won the 200 free relay with a 1:44.73, which would have come in 3rd in the AA race.

Big Fork High School sophomore Sophi Logue won the 100 fly with a 1:04.56. Qunell was the defending champion, but didn’t race the event this year.