Brainerd Girls’ Swimming & Diving’s Depth Fueling Hot Start to 2024

Last year, Brainerd girls’ swimming and diving sent six swimmers to the Twin Cities, placing 10th overall at the Class AA state meet. This year, the girls have picked up where they left off, opening the year 6-0 and ranked 10th in Class AA.

Last year’s trip to state was strictly business for the Warriors. This year, the girls are finding a happy medium and loosening up a little bit.

“This year, Coach [Dan] Anderson is telling us how much potential we have at state,” said junior Isabelle Ploof. “And it’s kind of scary. Like, you know, we’re just a small town, small team from Brainerd and stuff.”

“It was really nerve-wracking because of all the amazing swimmers there,” admitted senior Mya Tautges. “Like the Cities, they obviously have an advantage. So being able to see what the Cities people see like most of the time, all the time, was really big for us.”

But it’s easier to tell a team to have more fun when they already exhibit a strong foundation and desire to perfect their craft.

“I don’t have to teach these girls a work ethic,” said head coach Anderson. “I don’t have to teach them, ‘This is what you do when you get tired. You don’t stop. You keep going.’ I don’t have to worry about that, they do it. There’s probably a little more pressure just because you know that there’s expectations – stay on top of the newest training stuff out there and try not to fall behind the other coaches and trust that you know what works.”

And so far, everything is working for the Warriors. Mya Tautges and Isabelle Ploof in sprints, Aralyn Marcelo in mid and long distance, and Avery Duerr for the breaststroke highlight a deep and versatile lineup.

“The depth is crazy on our team,” stated Tautges. “Most meets, we usually place one, two, three in the 100 and the 50 free, so all those girls can be starting swimmers on other teams. They’re dream swimmers, so we’re just lucky to have all of them on our team.”

The Warriors have once again set the pace in Section 8AA, taking their first five conference meets. Now entering the home stretch, the girls are focused on the little things, like locking in on better starts and better turns.

“We’re trying to get a lot more push off by lifting,” Tautges explained. “We’ve been doing a lot more vertical jumps and all that. So getting a really good push-off and a really good start – getting off the blocks fast, that always helps.”

The Warriors will put their clean sheet to this test on Thursday, September 26th as they hit the road to face Alexandria.