Twenty-seven WASC swimmers combine for 57 first-place finishes in meet

Twenty-seven WASC swimmers combine for 57 first-place finishes in meet

WATERTOWN — The Watertown Area Swim Club Dolphins kicked off what they hope will be another very successful short-course season in 2026-27 by hosting the Ghouls in the Pool meet.

The one-day meet was held on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in the Prairie Lakes Wellness Center's indoor pool.

The home meet was the first of four scheduled home meets this season for the Dolphins , who have finished second in the State Class A Short-Course Championships each of the past 10 years and second in the State Class A Long-Course Championships eight years in a row.

Watertown also has regular-season meets scheduled at the PLWC on Dec. 4-6 (2026), Jan. 16-17 (2027) and Feb. 5-7 (2027) before hosting the State Class A 12-and-Under Championships on Feb. 26-28 (2027). The State Class A 13-and-Under Championships are slated for March 4-7 (2027) at Pierre.

Fourteen female swimmers combined for 29 first-place events in the Ghouls in the Pool meet.

Collins DeBoer (ages 11-12), Marie Makens (6-and-under) and Sydney Sparks (17-19) each won four races. Charlotte Holien (13-14) and Haevyn Jones (13-14) each won three races and Amelia Erickson (9-10) and Essence Hinkelman (11-12) each two.

Other event winners were Gracie Anderson (11-12), Everlie Fischbach (13-14), Justine Kranz (15-16), McKenzie McKeever (7-8), Harper Meidinger (17-19), Josephine Waite (15-16) and Jada Leigh Wellnitz (15-16).

Thirteen male swimmers produced 28 first-place finishes for the Dolphins.

Leading the way for WASC was Griffen Gerrish (6-and-under) with four wins and Flynn Erickson (7-8), Clayton Muller (13-14) and Cooper Smith (15-16) with three apiece.

Paul Feist (17-19), Owen Hoots (9-10), Pierce Mathiason (17-19), RJ Matthies (15-16), Brooks Melmer (7-8) and Kuper Simons (13-14) each won two races and Channing DeBoer (13-14), Rhett Ellingson (7-8), and Penn Feist (15-16) each one.

Complete WASC's results from Sunday's meet are posted online at .

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com