Dolphins hosting 2-day meet

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Every athlete loves to be in front of their home crowd.

The Dickinson Dolphins club swim team is brimming with excitement heading into its first home meet of the season on Saturday and Sunday at the West River Community Center.

“I love swimming at home meets,” Dickinson High senior Alexa Martel said. “The more people recognize us, the more they come and watch us.”

Dickinson has two home meets this season, but this meet includes teams from Mandan, Bismarck, Minot and Williston.

“We also have a consolations meet in March,” Dickinson coach Kristi Roller said. “We have two meets, but this is our biggest one.”

Roller said the home meet is a chance for the families to come and watch.

The Dolphins have a large amount of swimmers ranging from 6 to 18 years old competing this weekend.

“The team is huge this year compared to past years,” Martel said.

“There’s like 80 little kids here,” she added with a laugh. “They are everywhere.”

A handful of the elder Dolphins, who co-op with Williston during the high school season, finished seventh at the high school state girls meet in November.

The way the Dickinson girls finished the high school season gives them more hope during the club season.

“After seeing how well high school ended, with that hard work,” Dickinson Trinity sophomore Ketti Ringwall said. “We are hoping that the Dolphins will produce just as good as high school or even better.”

Despite this being Roller’s first season as Dickinson’s coach during the high school and club seasons, she said the nerves are even a little bit higher during club meets.

“We definitely have a lot of little kids swimming, a lot of kids you have to keep track and get to their events,” Roller said. “It’s definitely more work than a high school meet, but it’s a lot fun too.”

Tags: dickinson dolphins, youth sports, sports, swimming