Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall’s Finley Pelz swims the butterfly leg of a medley relay during a dual swim and dive meet against Montevideo on Tuesday at the Don Palm Natatorium in Marshall on Tuesday.

MINNEAPOLIS — Finley Pelz put together her best finish yet at the Class A swim and dive championships on Saturday. The Marshall freshman, making her third state meet appearance, put together a personal-best time of 5:20.97 in the 500-yard freestyle championship at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center, earning a 10th-place finish in the consolation heat.

Pelz was originally seeded 18th heading into Friday’s preliminaries, but placed 10th to qualify for Saturday’s final, where she earned the same result. She was one of two freshmen to place top 10, the other being Visitation’s Iris Povolny, who finished fourth at 5:07.89.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s Emma Rudowsky won the event at 5:00.84 while Becker’s Grace Mork and Westonka/Holy Family’s Laney Hendrickson took second and third at 5:05.86 and 5:07.54.

Pelz placed 12th in the 500-yard freestyle each of the last two seasons, as well as 23rd in the 200 freestyle as an eighth grader. Her time this year was well ahead of her previous state-meet best of 5:21.32 in the event.