This time, it was Minnetonka's turn.
The Skippers slipped past Wayzata to win the Class 2A championship at the girls' swimming and diving True Team meet Oct. 9 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Minnetonka won with 2,358.5 team points to Wayzata's 2,289.5. The 69-point difference was the closest margin of victory since 2008, when Stillwater topped runner-up Edina by a mere 21.5 points.
Minnetonka and Wayzata have split the past four team titles, with the Trojans winning in 2013 and 2014, preceded by the Skippers in 2012.
Minnetonka clinched the 2015 team title with strong efforts in the final two events, the 100 breaststroke and the 400 freestyle relay. The Skippers had all four of their entrants finish in the top 10 in the breaststroke, paced by Martha Haas' second-place finish. Minnetonka clinched the title in the 400 relay, winning the event and having its other entrants finish sixth, 10th and 15th.
Despite its second-place finish, Wayzata won six events. The Trojans set four meet records: Junior Carly Quast in the 200 freestyle (1 minute, 49.43 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (54.30), and senior Madison Preiss in the 200 individual medley (2:03.16) and the 200 medley relay (1:43.06). Preiss added a victory in the 100 breaststroke and anchored the winning 200 freestyle relay team.
Other west-metro swimmers who had first-place finishes in the meet were Edina's Rachel Wittmer, who won the 50 freestyle in a time of 23.70, and Kelli McCarthy in the 500 freestyle in 5:04.78. Edina was third with 1,977.5 points.
Big finish
Maple Grove's Breanna Johnson, a senior forward for the girls' soccer team, had three hat tricks in her final six regular-season games. Johnson is the third-leading scorer in team history.
