Where:Rochester Recreation Center.
When:Thursday and Saturday. The preliminary round is on Thursday and the finals are at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
At stake: A berth in the Class AA state tournament, to be held next week at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Who advances:The top two swimmers in each event earn state berths as does the winning relay team. Also any swimmer or relay team that meets the preset time standard in their event earns a state berth. The top four divers also qualify.
Teams competing (in order of 2013 section finish):Mayo, Hastings, Farmington, Winona, John Marshall, Century, Owatonna.
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Mayo notes:The Spartans are the defending Section 1AA team champion. They have an excellent squad again this year and are the team to beat in the section. Mayo had a perfect record in dual meet and won the Big Nine Conference Meet with ease last weekend. Returning state qualifiers for Mayo include seniors Hannah Baratz, Olivia Cook and Shavonne Chen. Last year Baratz was the section champion in the 50 freestyle and went on to place fifth at state. Baratz was also on Mayo's All-State 200 freestyle relay team with Cook and Chen. Senior Kallyn Barkey was a state qualifier as a freshman before swimming with Rochester's club team the past two years. Barkey is likely to be a state qualifier again this year and set a Big Nine record in the 500 freestyle last weekend.
Century notes:The Panthers placed sixth out of seven teams in the section meet a year ago. They placed seventh out of 12 teams at last weekend's Big Nine Meet. Diver Andrianna Jacobs is the team's lone returning state qualifier. She was the section champion in 2013 as a sophomore and went on to finish second in the state to earn all-state honors.
John Marshall notes:The Rockets placed fifth out of seven teams in the section meet a year ago. They placed eighth out of 12 teams at the Big Nine Meet. Returning state qualifiers for JM include juniors Brenna Sharp and Lauren Fee. Both were state qualifiers as part of relays last season.
— Guy N. Limbeck
