Champlin Park boys swimming and diving competed in two events recently, first in the Gotz Invite at Cambridge-Isanti on Jan. 27, then a triangular against Osseo and Park Center on Feb. 1.
Gotz Invite
Champlin Park took part in the Gotz Invite on Jan. 27 at Cambridge-Isanti High School, placing third.
The invite followed meets against Park Center and Centennial. Champlin Park won the prior 84-81, before falling narrowly to Centennial, 105-81. The Gotz Invite pitted the Rebels against Elk River, the Chanhassen/Chaska co-op, Chisago Lakes, Princeton and Cambridge-Isanti.
Champlin Park’s top performers on the day included the team of Kiptyn Helmrick, Nash Woodward, Henry Finke, and Vincent Pham, who finished fifth with a time of 1:51.05 in the 200-yard medley relay. Helmrick was at it again in the next event, the 200-yard freestyle, finishing third with a time of 1:57.52.
Finke finished sixth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:19.53, before earning second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:18.70. Gavin Head earned seventh in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.23. Head also earned ninth place in the 100-yard butterfly.
Pham earned sixth in the 100-yard freestyle, completing a time of 58.07. Helmrick took third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.82. Woodward also earned fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke, completing a time of 1:10.09.
Triangular
Champlin Park ended the week by winning a tri-meet on Feb. 1 against Osseo and Park Center. Champlin Park scored 144 points, while Osseo and Park Center scored 107 and 69 respectively.
Highlights from the meet included Helmrick, Woodward, Finke, and Hugh Nightingale earning first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:48.15. Bennett von Lehe won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:06.10, while Rhett Simonson won the one-meter diving category with a score of 185.50.
Von Lehe won the 500 freestyle event with a time of 5:40.18 while the team of Finke, von Lehe, Pham, and Helmrick won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:41.61.
Champlin Park boys swimming and diving head coach Joe Thiel explained that the Rebels entered the season with a combination of highly experienced and largely inexperienced swimmers, which has shaped the team’s goals.
“We have a nice group of five seniors, most of which have been competing since middle school, so we had a good group of leaders from them,” Thiel said. “That was paired with a lot of raw and inexperienced talent at the middle school or underclassmen level. We knew we would have a hard time winning dual meets with that lack of experience, but we knew we could look for time drops and scores improving on the board.”
Thiel added that the sport itself provides a good platform to work with his student-athletes to pursue improvements.
“The nice thing about our sport is that it is all-time and score-based, so we’re able to really design workouts and practices, and meet lineups that can build, challenge, and push these kids.”
Good performances have been coming aplenty for Champlin Park in recent competitions, something Thiel noted as exciting heading into the postseason.
“The boys have really stepped up as we’ve gotten to the invite and championship stage of the season,” he said. “They’ve gotten quicker and they’re in great shape. We’ve been finishing in the top half of the invitationals. ... Now we’re in a position to see a lot of season bests and lifetime best times as we’re going into the conference and sectional meets.”
The Rebels will have their sights on the 2024 Section 5AA tournament on Feb. 22, 23, and 24 at the Minnetonka Aquatic Center.
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