Tevyn Waddell breaks two South Dakota swim records in Minneapolis meet

MINNEAPOLIS — Fourteen-year-old Tevyn Waddell, of Mitchell, broke two South Dakota swim records at the Minneapolis Grand Prix swim meet.

The meet began Friday and concluded Sunday evening and is part of the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series.

Waddell, who is a member of the Mitchell Aquatic Club, is in the 13- to 14-year-old division and broke the 200-freestyle record, which was set by Meghan Sonstegard in 1993, Friday.

The old record was 1 minute, 55.23 seconds, and Waddell swam the race in 1:55.10, finishing in 28th place.

On Saturday, Waddell broke, yet again, another South Dakota record, but this time it was in the 100-backstroke. The record was previously set by Jacie Beagle in 2008 with a time of 59.21 seconds, and Waddell broke the record by nearly two seconds with a time of 57.81 seonds, finishing in 17th place.

MAC coach Kyle Margheim said Waddell always drives herself to do better.

“She is great to work with and wants to learn and work hard, which she does day in and day out,” he said. “She is able to race with some of the best, and it’s fun to watch.”

Waddell qualified for the National Club Swimming Associtation Junior Nationals, which is in Orlando, Fla., in March., in the 100-backstroke.

Margheim said new goals will be put in place.

“It was a nice surprise because I wasn’t expecting her to break the records this early on,” said Margheim, whose team is in its second meet. “Now that she has qualified, we’ll definitely need to re-evaluate and redirect our focus for the rest of the season.”

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