BEMIDJI – In front of a packed stands at the Bemidji High School swimming pool, Ellie Wille appeared to be one second behind the leaders during the majority of the 200 freestyle.

Bemidji’s Abby Daman and Moorhead’s Grace Rieniets were neck-and-neck for most of the race Thursday night. It seemed Wille just couldn’t keep up with 25 meters to go.

But there’s a reason why the race is 200 meters, not 175 meters.

Wille found extra strength, pulling up to Daman and Rieniets and threatening to take the win from right under them.

The crowd came to a deafening roar by the finish. To the naked eye, it looked like all three were tied. As the three girls touched the wall, all eyes looked to the scoreboard to see who won.

It was Wille.

She finished less than a blink of an eye ahead of Rieniets, be

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