Albert Lea wins 7 of 12 events against non-conference foe

The Albert Lea girl’s swimming team encountered rough waters its past few meets, and a home meet against a non-conference foe may have been just what the doctor ordered.

The Tigers took down St. Peter 93-88 on Tuesday night at Albert Lea High School. It was a welcome win for Albert Lea, falling in its last three outings.

“We’ve had three really tough meets,” head coach Jon Schmitz said. “It’s been kind of hard on this team… It’s nice to get on the winning track again.”

Albert Lea took first place in seven of the meet’s 12 events. The Tigers also took first and second in the final two events but had already locked up the win, so the points went to St. Peter.

The Tigers jumped out to the early lead when their 200-yard medley relay team, Anna Andersen (200-yard freestyle) and Lindsey Horejsi (200-yard individual medley) all finished first in the first three events.

Brianna See-Rockers had a strong showing in the 1-meter diving event with a score of 152.85, which was good enough for second place.

“See-Rockers had a great meet,” Schmitz said. “That was her best score. That’s the first time I’ve seen her throw that double. She nailed it.”

Hannah Hertling and Carly Nelson finished first and second in the 100-yard butterfly.

“Hertling was the swimmer of the meet,” Schmitz said. “Best time of the year. That was a highlight.”

Andersen found herself in first place again in the 100-yard freestyle race.

Albert Lea’s 200-yard freestyle relay team, which is made up of Emily Taylor, Hertling, Bailey Sandon and Andersen won with a time of 1:47.63. Horejsi took the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:05.92. Ahnika Jensen came in second in the event and Bryn Williams finished third.

Albert Lea had the meet locked up before the 100-yard breaststroke and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Tuesday’s event kicked off a busy week for the Tigers. Next, they will host Rochester Century at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Then, Albert Lea will swim at Austin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“We swam kids in off events,” Schmitz said. “It was fun for the kids to give them a little mental break.”