WILLMAR — One-and-a-half points made the difference between first and second place as St. Cloud Tech held off Melrose to win the Willmar Invitational in the opening meet of the girls swimming season Friday. The Tigers finished with 440.5 while the Dutchmen had 439.

Willmar placed third in its home meet with 414.

Cardinals sophomore Shelby Reed took the top spot in both sprinting events. She took first in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.85 seconds. Then in the 100 free, she hit the board first at 58.34.

Aubrey Schueler and Cate Brogren each added victories for Willmar. Schueler, a sophomore, won the 100 butterfly in 1:05.99. Brogren, also a sophomore, placed first in the 500 freestyle at 5:49.88.

The 200 freestyle relay of Ava Brogren, Schueler, Cate and Reed clinched a win at 1:46.69.

Morris/Minnewaska was sixth in the team standings with 162.5. The Gators’ top swimmer was Shannon Dougherty, who was second in the 100 freestyle (59.50) and tied for third in the 50 free (26.94).

Montevideo placed seventh with 92 points. Lana Rongstad had the top finish for the Thunder Hawks, placing fifth in the 100 backstroke at 1:10.72.

Willmar returns home on Thursday for its first Central Lakes Conference dual against Sauk Rapids. The meet time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Willmar Invitational

TEAM SCORES – (1) St. Cloud Tech 440.5 (2) Melrose 439 (3) Willmar 414 (4) Sauk Centre 394 (5) Sauk Rapids 383 (6) Morris/Minnewaska 162.5 (7) Montevideo 92

200 MEDLEY RELAY – (1) St. Cloud Tech 1:59.18 (2) Willmar (Adia Laidlaw, Ava Brogren, Aubrey Schueler, Shelby Reed) 2:00.04

200 FREESTYLE – (1) Isabella Nathe, Mel, 2:13.37 (4) Cate Brogren, W, 2:15.55

200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – (1) Hallie Drossel, Mel, 2:22.05 (2) A. Brogren, W, 2:22.52

50 FREESTYLE – (1) Shelby Reed, W, 25.85 (3t) Shannon Dougherty, M/M, 26.94

DIVING – (1) Mikayla Haskamp, SC, 200.85 (2) Kylie Portiin, W, 169.6 (4) Sophie Smith, W, 156.45

100 BUTTERFLY – (1) Schueler, W, 1:05.99

100 FREESTYLE – (1) Reed, W, 58.34 (2) Dougherty, M/M, 59.50

500 FREESTYLE – (1) C. Brogren, W, 5:49.88

200 FREESTYLE RELAY – (1) Willmar (A. Brogren, Schueler, C. Brogren, Reed) 1:46.69

100 BACKSTROKE – (1) Stella Schirmers, SC, 1:03.84 (5) Lana Rongstad, Mon, 1:10.72

100 BREASTSTROKE – (1) Drossel, Mel, 1:09.70 (2) A. Brogren, W, 1:13.23

400 FREESTYLE RELAY – (1) St. Cloud Tech 3:57.43 (5) Morris/Minnewaska (Audrey Dorweiler, Makena Thoen, Melena Longtin, Dougherty) 4:13.05

1/2: Montevideo junior Grace Pauling looks to catch up to the field during the 200-yard freestyle at the Willmar Invitational on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 at Willmar High School. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

2/2: Montevideo senior Amery Arends swims the butterfly portion of the 200-yard individual medley during the Willmar Invitational on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 at Willmar High School. Joe Brown / West Central Tribune