SSC swimmers, divers among state meet's top performers

Irish’s Gerten breaks meet record in diving

Athletes starred and records fell at the state Class AA boys swimming and diving meet, where competitors from the South Suburban and Lake conferences frequently marched to the awards podium to receive medals.

Teams from the two power conferences took the top six spots in the team competition that concluded March 2 at the University of Minnesota. Edina regained the Class AA championship by finishing six points ahead of runner-up Minnetonka. The Hornets had won four in a row from 2019 through 2022 before Eden Prairie dethroned them last year.

The top South Suburban Conference team was league champion Prior Lake, which placed third at state. Lakeville South and Eagan were fifth and sixth.

Two all-time state meet records were broken. One was in diving, where Rosemount junior Lucas Gerten won his third consecutive Class AA championship.

Divers soar

Gerten’s third straight Class AA diving championship and all-time state meet record gives him a strong case for being the best diver in state history.

His 11-dive total of 539.60 points won this year’s Class AA competition by nearly 60 points and was almost seven points ahead of the previous state meet record of 532.70 that is shared by Dan Croaston of Champlin Park (1997) and Turner Eckstrom of Red Wing (2010),

Gerten is the first Class AA diver to win three state championships since the state meet split into two classes in 1998.

His last three dives in the finals included a 71-point effort that had the crowd roaring. The crowd went wild when his final tally flashed, showing he had broken the record. Gerten said prior to the state meet the record wasn’t his main focus, but once he got it he got in a few fist pumps.

To get an idea of the junior’s trajectory, last year Gerten won with 480.60 points and as a freshman, Gerten won with 419.40.

Gerten’s personal best and Rosemount school 11-dive record is 568.80, set in the 2024 Section 3AA meet.

Rosemount diving coach Daniel Monaghan said last week one of Gerten’s objectives this season was to take on more difficult dives, which would boost his scores if he executed them.

“His work ethic and determination in general are what have made him successful,” said Monaghan, a two-time Class AA diving champion for Rosemount (2012 and 2013). “He’s always looking to get better and is willing to take criticism. He’s very coachable. If you tell him what needs to be done, what needs to be fixed, he’s trying to do it the next time. And he usually picks it up quickly.”

The South Suburban ruled the diving well, with divers from the conference taking the top five places. Second and third went to Eagan’s duo of senior Owen Kipp (477.10) and Stone Larson (444.40), who frequently train with Gerten. Lakeville South senior Porter Woodson earned All-State honors and his highest-ever finish at state, taking fourth with 434.80. Maddox Mork of Prior Lake was fifth (426.70) in only his second year of diving.

Lakeville North’s Alex Byer catapulted up the board, finishing 10th with 383.55 points after just missing finals last year. Byer, along with Gerten, Larson and Mork, are juniors.

Lakeville South

“Our team opened the meet in spectacular fashion by advancing to the finals as the top seed in the medley relay, and from that point on, we did what needed to get done for the finals,” said South head coach Rick Ringeisen.

The Cougars started the meet with their 200-yard medley relay, earning silver and an automatic All-America time for the team of Grady Evenson, Ethan LaBounty, Noah Cochran and Gage Boushee. South battled Prior Lake to the wall and were out-touched by only nine hundredths of a second, finishing in 1minute, 31.57 seconds for a school record.

“Going into the season, it was well known about our talent up front,” Ringeisen said. “We were not considered a threat as a team, yet we rapidly improved and won the Maroon Division of the Maroon and Gold Invite, the Section 1AA True Team championship, and (ended up facing) Prior Lake in a showdown of unbeaten teams for the South Suburban Conference championship. We entered Section 1AA as underdogs to prevail again and win the 1AA title.”

South just missed qualifying its 400 freestyle relay team for the state finals, finishing in first alternate position after the preliminaries, but advanced every other relay and swimmer to the final night’s action.

It was the sophomore, Evenson, with the best individual finish for the Cougars. Evenson finished third in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.28. The winner of the event, Micah Davis of St. Cloud Tech, established an all-time state record in the event (46.94). Evenson’s time was good for All-America consideration and set a school record. He finished sixth in the 100 backstroke (51.68) for All-State honors.

“This season was such a success,” said Evenson. “Ethan, Gage, Noah and I had a plan (in the 200 medley relay) and it unfolded so well. I was very glad to have such a successful state meet and an awesome way to send off my captains.”

Senior and University of South Dakota commit LaBounty earned an All-America consideration time in the breaststroke, touching fifth in 56.36 for his best individual finish. LaBounty broke the school record he already held in that event. He finished seventh in the 50 freestyle (21.20).

Boushee had his best showing in preliminaries, earning an All-America consideration time in the 200 individual medley (1:50.19) and advancing in third in the 100 freestyle (45.99). Despite adding time in the finals, Boushee earned two sixth-place individual finishes to end his stellar career with South.

Cochran was 10th in the 100 butterfly, dropping time from his preliminary swim to hit the wall in 50.98, only five hundredths of a second behind Griffin Leining of Prior Lake.

The 200 freestyle relay was another close race, with LaBounty, Evenson, Cochran and Boushee finishing fourth in an All-America consideration time of 1:24.87.

The Cougars scored 167 points, giving them four straight years of top-five finishes at the state Class AA meet.

“It has been a storybook pinnacle season, with the Cougars able to meet and exceed nearly every challenge,” said Ringeisen. “The senior leadership of Gage, Noah and Ethan led the way and powered our team. Grady, a super-talented sophomore, was the fourth swimmer who made our relays so fast this year.

“I cannot say enough about the honor and pleasure it was this season to coach my team. Our leaders are fantastic individuals, and they worked hard to become the best they can be as athletes and people. They are incredibly humble ... while the outcome was very good and by some measures excellent, we all knew that our team’s dreams were slightly higher than the results. That is why I love this team so much. They gave it everything they had every step of the way. They will never forget this season.”

Eagan

What a meet for Braden Hegenbarth. The junior won the Class AA consolation heat in the 100-yard freestyle, dropping .68 seconds from his seed time to finish ninth (47.11), but it was his 50 freestyle that earned him All-State honors. Qualifying in eighth after the preliminaries, Hegenbarth moved the dial even more to finish sixth overall in the sprint, slamming into the wall in 21.19.

Derek Bang’O also scored points in the 50 freestyle, finishing 14th in 21.89.

All three of the Wildcat relays made it to state, with the highest finish going to the 200 freestyle relay (ninth, 1:26.03). The team of Bang’O, Hegenbarth, Louis Decattoire and Dobbin Chong won the consolation final and dropped over three seconds from its entry time.

The Wildcats placed sixth in the team standings with 102 points.

Rosemount

Senior Quinlan Schroeder touched in 55.26 seconds to finish third in the 100-yard breaststroke final, his best finish ever in state competition. Schroeder, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay commit, earned All-America honors and his best time this season.

Teammate Jackson Preusse placed 14th (59.80) in the breaststroke, while Josh Sikorski was 16th in the 50 freestyle (22.33). Rosemount tied Sartell-St. Stephen for 13th in the team standings with 58 points.

Lakeville North

Senior Cooper Krance, a Florida Southern College swim recruit, earned an All-America consideration time in the 100 breaststroke, dropping .13 from his preliminary swim to finish sixth in 56.67, a school-record time. Krance earned 12th in the 200 individual medley (1:55.04).

Jonah Hoffman, a junior, broke another school record during his preliminary swim in the 200 freestyle. His time of 1:41.65 qualified fifth. In the finals, he placed sixth in 1:42.63.

Hoffman found himself in a tight race in the 500 freestyle and dug deep to finish fifth in 4:43.47, less than one second out of fourth.

Hoffman earned All-State honors for both swims. Byer, Krance and Hoffman led North to 15th in the team standings with 52 points.

“We had a good state meet with Cooper and Jonah breaking school records in the 200 free and the 100 breast,” said North head coach Dan Schneider. “I was proud of the performances of all four of the boys. To finish 15th with only four boys was a very good accomplishment. It was a great way to end the season.”

Farmington, Apple Valley

Jake Peterson, the lone Farmington athlete to advance to state, dropped .37 from his seed time in the 100-yard butterfly preliminaries, finishing in 52.08 seconds. He took 15th in the finals (52.79), giving the Tigers two team points and a four-way tie for 35th place.

Peterson now finds his name on the Tigers’ record board as the fastest 100 butterfly swimmer in school history.

Joven Langseth and Gabe Lenzen advanced for Apple Valley, with Lenzen earning 16th place in the 200 freestyle (1:48.36) to earn one point. Apple Valley finished tied for 39th with Hastings in the team standings.

(Mike Shaughnessy contributed to this story.)