Visitation sets modern-era record

Mendota Heights-based Visitation became the first school in the modern era of girls swimming and diving to win four consecutive State titles when the Beacons ran away with the Class A championship on Nov. 22 at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. The Beacons scored 268 points, 71 more than second place Monticello, to become the first team in the sport's history in Minnesota to four-peat since Virginia won 12-straight championships from 1930 to 1941. Visitation swimmers broke four state records (two individual, two relay) in placing first. Meghan Weiss' time of 51.17 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle is the new all-time best in Class A, as is teammate Olivia McNeely's swim of 1 minute, 4.31 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke. McNeely joined Julie Steege, Maddy DeMeules and Sophie Pilhofer to break the Class A record in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:48.12, while the quartet of Weiss, Steege, Meg Foster and Molly George set a new standard in the 400-yard freestyle with a combined time of 3:34.97. Another record fell to a metro-area swimmer as Breck's Taylor Foster won the 100-yard backstroke with a new record time of 56.72.