Photo courtesy of Stephen Wiblemo/Hutchinson Leader Marshall’s Nyssa Bentz lunges off the starting blocks at the beginning of the 50 yard freestyle relay Saturday in Hutchinson. Bentz took third place and the event and finished sixth in the 100 freestyle to qualify for state in both events.

HUTCHINSON – Marshall’s girls swimming and diving team didn’t achieve everything it was hoping to Saturday during the Section 3A finals in Hutchinson, but it didn’t leave empty handed.

Junior swimmer Nyssa Bentz will make her third trip to the Class A state swimming meet in Minneapolis next week as she qualified in her two individual events, the 50 and 100 freestyle races. She finished third and sixth in the 50 and 100 freestyle, respectively, and dropped time from her prelims to beat the state cut in both races.

Although she was pleased to be heading back to the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, she couldn’t help being a little disappointed as she was the lone Marshall swimmer making the trip. She and her teammates – Kaylie Stucke, Hailey Brandt and Lydia Hurst – had hoped to also qualify in the two freestyle relay races but they fell short. They were less than a second off the qualifying time in the 200 freestyle relay, and an early jump on one of the transitions disqualified them in the 400 freestyle relay.

“Since it didn’t go very well for the relays, I’m not that ecstatic,” Bentz said after the meet. “But I’m happy for myself and that I’m able to go back again. It’s just sad I didn’t get to go with my relays.”

“It really was the best we could do today,” Bentz added. “It’s just one of those things where, it happens but you can’t go back. We gave all we had today.”

Bentz’s teammate Kaylie Stucke agreed that the team gave its all, even dropping some time in the 200 freestyle to barely come up short. The good news is that none of the swimmers are seniors, so they’re already thinking ahead to next year with fresh motivation.

“We’re really close,” Kaylie Stucke said, “So if we just work really hard maybe we’ll drop a few more seconds so we’ll get the state cut next year,” Stucke said.

“They came hungry this year and were willing and did everything that was asked of them,” Marshall coach Nikki Bell said. It’s heartbreaking … The motivation is not lacking.”

On another bright note, Marshall had a few more individual bring home section medals. Stucke took fifth in the 500 freestyle to bring home hardware, and she was only about 1.6 seconds away from the state cut to give her added incentive for next season. Hailey Brandt also earned a medal with an eighth-place finish in the 100 butterfly and was 2 seconds off the state cut.

Despite her disappointment about the relays, Bentz will have to shake that off if she wants to accomplish the lofty goals she’s set for herself at the state meet this week.

In past trips, Bentz finished 13th in the 100 freestyle as a freshman, and last year she took seventh in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 freestyle.

“This year, I’m really hoping to get medals in both my races and break the thresholds I’ve been looking forward to,” Bentz said. “I’m going for 52 (seconds) in the 100 and 23 (seconds) in my 50. It’s a tall goal but I’m ready to go for it.”

The state prelims begin at noon Thursday, and finals begin noon Friday. No matter what happens those days, Bentz is also looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the competition as she once again represents Marshall High School in the final meet of the year.

“I’m excited to just be there with a lot of the friends I made from the other teams,” Bentz said, “and just to swim everything I have for this year.”

Section 3A Finals

Team: 1. Hutchinson 490, 2. Delano 372, 3. Mound Westonka/Holy Family 258, 4. Orono 236, 5. Waconia 218, 6. Dassel-Cokato 187, 7. Willmar 136, 8. Marshall 106, 9. Montevideo 80, 10. Litchfield 55, 11. Watertown-Mayer 38

200 Medley Relay: 1. Hutchinson (Mikayla Witte, Clara Dobratz, Hailey Farrell, Ainslea Jensen) 1:50.50; 10. Marshall (Alli Kopitski, Emma Beavers, Maddie Larson, Mansi Bell) 2:04.98

200 Free: 1. Kylie Strobl (Delano) 1:54.32; 12. Kaylie Stucke 2:05.38; 16. Lydia Hurst 2:07.46

200 IM: 1. Caroline Gardner (Orono) 2:10.24; 12. Hailey Brandt 2:19.18

50 Free: 1. Grace Hanson (Hutchinson) 23.84 3. Nyssa Bentz 24.29

Diving: 1. Erica Schramm (Willmar) 423.60; 20. Brooklyn Gossen 142.15; 23. Reagan Brandt 97.45; 24. Elsa Black 94.3

100 Fly: 1. Madison Witte (Hutchinson) 58.82; 8. Hailey Brandt 1:02.97

100 Free: 1. Grace Hanson (Hutchinson) 52.85; 6. Nyssa Bentz 53.74

500 Free: 1. Morgan Frank (Delano 5:10.10; 5. Kaylie Stucke 5:27.61; 12. Lydia Hurst 5:39.71

200 Free Relay: 1. Hutchinson (Grace Hanson, Bella Thovson, Ainslea Jensen, Lexi Kucera) 1:38.44; 8. Marshall (Hailey Brandt, Kaylie Stucke, Lydia Hurst, Nyssa Bentz) 1:42.80

400 Free Relay: 1. Hutchinson (Grace Hanson, Mikayla Witte, Hailey Farrell, Lexi Kucera) 3:32.08; DQ-Marshall (Hailey Brandt, Kaylie Stucke, Lydia Hurst, Nyssa Bentz)