After edging out Minnetonka to win the Section 6AA True Team meet last Saturday, the Edina Girls’ Swim and Dive team took second place to perennial rivals Stillwater at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Wednesday night despite winning six of the nine individual events. Edina scored 2,167 points, trailing Stillwater’s 2,254, but beating Wayzata’s 2,064.

The True Team State format, where each swimmer scores at least one point per swim, was introduced in 2004 to attempt to measure a team’s depth, not just the ability of its top few swimmers to dominate their events. Since then, the Stillwater Ponies have won all but one meet, with Wayzata claiming the title last fall.

In spite of the loss, senior captain Nikki Larson was still proud of the team as a whole and was especially happy about the incredible team spirit. “There was so much motivation and we were definitely doing it for each other. The team atmosphere this year is awesome.” Diver Kim Larson, also a senior captain, echoed Nikki, saying “this season has been very fun and exciting and everyone is breaking personal records.”

Highlights from the meet included a win by Haller in the 200 individual medley, Nikki winning the 50 free, junior Madeleine Eden and Haller going 1-2 in the 100 fly, and a win by freshman Olivia Anderson in the 100 breast. Eden followed up her win the 100 fly with a win in the 500 free with a time that put her two seconds from the state record, which Nikki predicted she would get by the end of the season.

Senior captain Paige Haller has “never been more proud of the team,” and is confident that the team will “do great at Sections and State because of the work [the team has] put in to meet [their] goals.” The girls’ next meet is Section 6AA Championships on Thursday, November 10th at the Art Downey Aquatic Center.