1National acclaim: Rachel Bootsma of Eden Prairie brought national recognition to the Land of 10,000 Lakes during the Class 2A meet a year ago. Bootsma set the national high school record in the final of the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.53 seconds, breaking the mark of 51.85 set by Cindy Tran of Edison, Calif., earlier in the year. How long will it take before another Minnesota girls' swimmer reaches such a lofty mark?

2Jumping into the pool: If there is one event to keep an eye on throughout the course of the season, it's diving. The top three divers -- junior Jenna Karrow of East Ridge (first), senior Emily Bonfig of Woodbury (second) and senior Jessica Ramberg of Forest Lake (third) -- from the Class 2A meet a year ago return for another season.

3Hornets talented: Edina welcomes back three swimmers who were runners-up last year and another who finished third behind a very talented group who graduated. Juniors Madeleine Eden and Heather Laedtke and senior Nicole Larson all finished second while freshman Olivia Anderson came away with a third-place finish.

4Oquist seeks three-peat: Caley Oquist, a senior at Monticello, will look to finish her career with a three-peat in the 100-yard backstroke in Class 1A. She won the event with a time of 56.62 in 2009 and in 55.35 in 2010. Oquist is also the defending state champion in the 200 individual medley.

5True Team chase: Monticello has captured two of the past three Class 1A titles and will be in the chase again in 2011. Hutchinson (2009 champion), Visitation (2007 champion) and Sartell-St. Stephen appear to have the best shot at keeping the Magic from repeating. Wayzata is the defending True Team champion in Class 2A, but graduated a strong senior class. Six-time champion Stillwater and Edina are looking to take over the No. 1 spot.

RON HAGGSTROM