Via DeBeltz saved her best for last, and the result was a section medal-winning performance.
The Ely senior completed the 500-yard freestyle in a career-best time of 5:55.7, and the result was a seventh-place finish in that event as well as a medal at the Section 7A high school girls swim meet, which wrapped up last Saturday at Duluth’s Lincoln Park School.
DeBeltz capped a series of impressive performances and career and season-bests for the young Northeast Range/Ely Nighthawks, who took 10th among 12 teams in 7A.
The Nighthawks also captured a section academic award, with a team grade point average of 3.75 that topped the rest of the 7A rivals.
NRE, which fielded a much smaller team than much of the 7A field dominated by larger schools, advanced several swimmers to Saturday’s finals after preliminary competition the day before.
DeBeltz made the championship heat in the 500 and came within three seconds of a top-five showing.
She also joined fellow senior Tuuli Koivisto, freshman Ivy Ohlhauser and eighth-grader Ludy Luthens on a 200 medley relay foursome that took ninth in 2:15.13.
DeBeltz also had the next-highest NRE individual showing, placing 11th in the 200 freestyle in 2:13.8. Jorden Borchert took 16th in the same event (2:19.67).
NRE’s 400 freestyle relay team of DeBeltz, Koivisto, Raegan Borchert and Luthens took 10th in 4:17.6.
In the 200 freestyle relay, NRE had a 10th-place team as Jorden Borchert, Raegan Borchert, Lindsay Israel and Luthens were 10th in 1:56.57.
Koivisto also made the finals individually, taking 15th in the 100 backstroke (1:13.51).
Grand Rapids won the team title with 313 points, with Two Harbors and Mesabi East rounding out the top three.
NRE collected 67 points and placed in front of both Stella Maris Academy and Chisholm.
Other NRE results from the Nov. 6 preliminaries included:
• 200 freestyle - 42. Nicole Freking, 2:40.8; 43. Bela Moskowitz, 2:41.42;
• 200 individual medley - 25. Koivisto, 2:50.73; 35. Maddie Johnson, 3:11.24; 36. Avery Bee, 3:21.12;
• 50 freestyle - 19. Evelyn Moran, 28.32; 20. Israel, 29.24; 26. Raegan Borchert, 29.57; 36. Ohlhasuer, 30.57;
• 100 butterfly - 28. Ohlhauser, 1:27.61;
• 100 freestyle - 27. Luthens, 1:04.46; 32. Raegan Borchert, 1:06.16; 46. Freking, 1:15.04; 47. Moon Vetos-Keen, 1:16.21;
• 500 freestyle - 35. Moskowitz, 7:18.78;
• 100 backstroke - 30. Vetos- Keen, 1:26.76;
• 100 breaststroke - 21. Jorden Borchert, 1:23.54; 30. Johnson, 1:29.94; 42. Bee, 1:41.5.
