WILLISTON — The Minot High School girls swimming and diving team opened the new season with a second-place finish at the Coyote Invitational in Williston.

Bismarck Century picked up 580 points to swim away with the victory, followed by Minot High (493) and hosts Williston (439).

“We had a great first meet,” MHS head coach Emily Jensen said. “We were down a couple of kids today because of not having enough practices and still got second. I am so pleased with that.”

Following the guidelines in place to combat COVID-19 created a surreal environment inside the Williston Area Rec Center.

“Not having spectators, the girls realized it’s hard to bring the intensity themselves,” Jensen said. “It’s something they are going to have to adjust to in the upcoming meets.”

Minot’s lone swimming win came courtesy of junior Payton Luzardo in the fastest race of the day. Luzardo touched in 26.17 seconds to take the 50-yard freestyle. She also placed third in the 100, coming in with a time of 57.35 seconds.

The Majettes other win came on the diving board. Minot’s team depth was apparent with five divers cracking the top 10: Bella Price, first (230.50); Haley Conklin, third (213.75); Ella Kesler, fourth (196.70); Ashlyn Nielsen, seventh (161.05); Mattie Jacobson, ninth (145.45).

“The divers performed well today too,” Jensen said. “They always bring in a lot of points for us. They are consistent, and their friendly competition among each other at practice is really progressing them along quickly.”

Back between the lanes, the Majettes youngsters had some early success. Seventh-grader Sam VonBokern notched a third place in the 50 (26.51), fourth in the butterfly (1:09.43) and was part of the second-place 200 relay team with Luzardo, eighth-grader Caelin Flaten and Elise Altringer.

Altringer, a sophomore, also placed third in the 200, third in 400 relay with teammates Luzardo, Brynn Neumann and Emily Burgman, plus came fifth in the breaststroke.

“We had some nice swims by some younger swimmers,” Jensen said. “It’s nice to get those state times right off the bat. The pressure comes off a bit. This is a whole new atmosphere for some of them, and we have a lot of work to do. But it was a good place to start. They should be proud of themselves.”

The Majettes return to action next Thursday, Sept. 3, with a home meet against Jamestown starting at 5 p.m.

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