Bella Imholte was having an exciting whirlwind of a day when I caught up with her. The swimmer from Two Harbors qualified for state this season and had advanced to the finals after having swam well in the preliminaries held at the University of Minnesota Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center earlier that afternoon.
Not only had she finished 5th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.33, she also came in 7th in the 100 backstroke. With a time of 58.86, Imholte once again broke her own backstroke school record. It was the twelfth record she had broken over the course of the season.
“I hit the wall and looked up at my time and had to do a double-take. I couldn’t believe it was real. I was completely mind-blown that I even got that time,” said Imholte.
Hitting double digits in the number of records she’s beaten this year is “kind of crazy,” according to Imholte, who also broke five records as a sophomore. She started early this season, breaking two records in Chisholm at the first meet of the year in both the 200 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.
“She makes her swimming community, coaches, and everybody proud,” said her coach, Heather Mayfield, after the preliminaries. “It was a super exciting, amazing day.”
Last season, Imholte admits that nerves may have hindered her performance at the state meet. She came in an impressive 9th place but was ranked 5th.
“I’m a lot more excited this year than I was last year. I think last year
the nerves kind of overtook how excited I was for the event,” she said. “So, this year I mostly just came in with good vibes. I was excited. I’m really excited for tomorrow.”
Good vibes are what this season’s Agates Swim and Dive team is all about, and Imholte credited her team for any and all success she has found this season.
“The girls on my team, they are so fun to be around. It’s so inspirational to see how they are growing every day, too. And they push me to swim harder,” Imholte said. “If I didn’t have them on my team I would not be anywhere near where I am today.”
She also credits her coach who she says, “really pushes every single person on the team to do the best that they absolutely can because she knows we’re all so capable. You can really see how much she truly loves swimming and loves every single girl on the team. It’s inspirational just to see how my coach is so invested.”
Imholte herself is pretty inspiring to the younger generation. It is tradition that when a team or athlete makes it to state, a parade is held in their honor at the school, complete with a marching band, banners, and lots of cheers of encouragement. In a video of the event posted online, a very young fan wearing a shirt featuring Bella’s smiling face held her hand as she walked down the halls of the school.
“The kids were so excited to meet THE Bella! They looked up to her with such pride and excitement, it just melted my heart,” said Mayfield.
As a leader on the team, Imholte feels her role isn’t just to inspire. She also focuses on inclusivity and maintaining cohesiveness in the team, which she calls “family” and the girls she swims with “my sisters.”
“I really try to include everybody and really share everybody’s successes and make them feel important because they are so important to the team,” she said. “It’s so important to recognize everybody. If there were even a couple of girls on this team that we didn’t have, we wouldn’t have the same team at all. That’s why it’s so important to really highlight everybody and share success with everybody, too.”
As dedicated an athlete as Imholte is, she is also a dedicated student. With a 4.0 GPA, she is taking college classes as a junior. She believes that swimming helps her be a better student.
“I feel like swimmers are so driven and so focused. All of us are so hardworking it really shows when we had an average of a 3.94 GPA this year,” she said. “Because we work so hard in the pool it also allows us to work hard in school.”
The average 3.94 GPA for the 10th-12th graders is the highest within the section’s single A teams, making it the second year in a row.
Though Imholte enjoys other sports, she feels like the swimming community is really something special to be a part of.
“The community in swimming is out of this world. Everybody is just so nice, so kind, and we all push each other,” Imholte said. “It’s such a welcoming, fun environment. I am friends with girls from all over the section and even all over the state.”
Mayfield provided a shining example of what the swimming community is all about. “We are competing against each other all season long. When we come down to the state meet, the whole section feels like a big family,” she said. “We feel like we are all just one big team and we are rooting for each other’s success. It’s so cool to watch all the coaches cheer for every single girl in Section 7.”
Everyone was cheering for Bella as she made history once again during the state finals. She came in 6th place with a time of 1:56.60 in the 200 freestyle, for which she earned All- State honors. She also earned All-State in the backstroke, taking 7th place. With a time of 58.77, she broke her own school record. Again. If you are doing the math, that’s thirteen records she beat this season. Imholte is the first Agate swimmer to earn All-State in twenty-four years.
Imholte expressed a lot of gratitude towards her family who she says offers her a lot of support, as well as her team and coach. She also extended her thanks to everyone in Section 7.
“I cannot ask for a better team, a better section, or better people to swim against. It’s truly amazing,” she said.
Congratulations, Bella, for your incredible accomplishments this season!!
All of Imholte’s successes have earned her the title of Section 7A Swimmer of the Year. “I was mind-blown that I got chosen. I was jumping up and down,” she said. “It was really cool to see how all my hard work paid off throughout the year.”
