1. twins' initial due date and two days
prior to the West Region meet - the
Hintons received fantastic news.
Their son, Burke, was finally
readytocomehomeafternearlyfour
months of hospitalization.
"The Trinity NICU staff was
amazing," Hinton said. "I can't say
enough about the work they did
with our boys, and how they actu-
ally limited our stress level, just as-
suring us that everything was going
to be OK and that the boys were
healthy."
With that peace of mind, Hinton
was overwhelmed by relief.
But he was still tired, and ready-
inghisMinotcompetitorsforanother
championship run.
TheMajettessecuredtheirsecond
consecutive region title just three
days after Burke's hospital release. A
week later at the Bismarck State Col-
lege Aquatic and Wellness Center,
they locked up their second state
championship in as many seasons
and 24th in school history.
Despite winning the meet by 26
points over runner-up West Fargo -
15 points better than Minot's win-
ning margin in 2013 - Hinton de-
scribed it as the "most stressful" state
meet with which he's ever been in-
volved.
"It's just because of the way the
meetplayedout,"hesaid."Twoyears
ago, we got the lead a little bit
quicker, and we got it to a point
where I could see how things were
going to play out as the meet wore
on.Thisyear,wedidn'thavethelead
until we got to the 200 free relay."
Shortly after 1-meter diving - the
fifth event of the meet - Minot trailed
the Packers by 10 points with seven
races to go.
At that point, the Majettes were
still searching for their first win.
Three events later, they found it.
A victory clinched an anchor-leg
comeback from Minot junior Emily
Hamel, whose 50-yard split was the
fastest of the competition by nearly a
full second, the Majettes stole a dra-
matic win in the 200-yard freestyle
relay to reclaim the lead with four
races remaining.
Minotneverrelinquishedthatad-
vantage, rewarding Hinton's ex-
hausting season with the perfect
conclusion.
"It was absolutely the icing on the
cake," said Kelly, who also spent the
fall pursuing her master's degree in
cirriculum and instruction. "It was
very rewarding, especially with all
thehardworkcombinedtotheother
thingsgoingoninourpersonallives.
It was just wonderful to still be able
to come out on top."
As for the Hintons, the twins are
perfectly healthy. At seven months,
both have grown over a foot since
birth, and both are approaching 20
pounds.
"They'reprobablygoingtoendup
being a couple of big dudes, which
I'm excited about," Hinton said. "My
concern has been and will always be
the health of my family, and we've
been blessed to have that."
Joe Mellenbruch covers Minot
High sports, the Minot Minotauros
andgeneralassignments.Followhim
on Twitter @Mellenbruch_MDN.
Family
Continued from Page 22
Joe Mellenbruch/MDN
Minotʼs Francesca Walker-Rozo powers her way down the pool during the West Region
Meet at Magic City Campus. Minot won its second consecutive state title and 24th in school
history the following weekend, topping two-time runner-up West Fargo by 26 points.
HOME of CHAMPIONSApril 8, 2015 Page 23