Austin's Mensink and Greenman notch top-five finishes in Maroon and Gold Invite

The Austin swimming and diving team secured a 10th place finish at the 12-team Maroon and Gold Invite competition held at the University of Minnesota on Saturday, September 27th. Among the standout performances were senior Gracie Greenman, who claimed second place in the 100-yard backstroke, and junior Madison Mensink, who secured fourth position in diving for the Packers. The Maple Grove team emerged victorious in the meet.

For the 200-medley relay, Gracie Greenman, Scarlett Davis, Harper Wadding, and Tailynn Krueger placed eighth with a time of 1:59.66. Victoria Batalden, Eva Taylor, Clara McIntyre, and Leah Pischke rounded out the relay with a 25th-place finish, clocking in at 2:13.95. Madison Tauger, Delaney Ferguson, Alayna Davis, and Sherilyn Spear completed the relay in 36th place, achieving a time of 2:24.67.

In the 200-freestyle event, Serenity Flowers finished ninth with a time of 2:09.15, while Madellane Hicks took 31st place, swimming in 2:27.19. Gracie Greenman secured sixth place in the 200-individual medley, with a time of 2:23.40, whereas Eva Taylor placed 33rd, clocking in at 2:50.67. Tailynn Krueger achieved 20th place in the 50-freestyle race with a time of 27.10 seconds. Valerie Babicheva finished 23rd with a time of 27.44 seconds, and Scarlett Davis placed 29th, completing the race in 28.74 seconds.

Madison Mensink claimed fourth place in diving with a score of 288.00, and teammate Joey Kuiper placed 11th with a total of 231.35. In the 100-butterfly, Harper Wadding finished 21st with a time of 1:11.51, followed by Serenity Flowers in 23rd place, clocking in at 1:11.93. Clara McIntyre rounded out the event with a 39th-place finish, also at 1:27.54.

The 100-freestyle race saw Tailynn Krueger claim 14th place with a time of 1:00.09, Victoria Batalden placed 24th at 1:01.39, and Valerie Babicheva took 32nd position with a time of 1:03.20. In the 500-freestyle, Madellane Hicks finished 28th with a time of 6:45.01. The 200-freestyle relay saw Gracie Greenman, Harper Wadding, Tailynn Krueger, and Serenity Flowers claim fourth place with a time of 1:46.76. The same relay team finished 18th in the 200-freestyle relay with a time of 1:55.54.