Boys Swimming: Wingers finish sixth at True Team State

The Red Wing boys swimming and diving team finished sixth Saturday at the Class A True Team state meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

The Wingers scored 1,478 points while St. Thomas Academy captured the title with 2,143 points, scoring 523 more points than second-place finisher Sartell-St. Stephen.

“It was a pretty decent meet,” Red Wing head coach Gene Petersen said. “To finish in the top half at this meet is really good.”

The Wingers, who finished second at the True Team section meet, had the highest finish among Section 1A teams at the state meet and that came in part from the team’s performance in the 200-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle and the relays.

Tanner Alms won the 500 free by more than three seconds over Alexandria’s Kris Aaseng. Alms finished in 4:58.02. Ethan Myers placed seventh in 5:16.49 and Adam Sienczak took 10th in 5:18.96.

Red Wing got four swimmers to place in the top 20 of the 200 free. Alms placed second in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.79 and finished behind Detroit Lakes’ Quillan Oak, who swam the event in 1:46.76. Connor O’Keefe finished fifth in 1:54.21 and Sienczak placed 11th in 1:56.63. Myers finished 15th in 1:59.07.

The Wingers 400 free relay team of O’Keefe, Andrew Berg, Sienczak and Alms took second in 3:22.42 and finished less than two seconds behind Detroit Lakes’ relay team, which finished the event in 3:20.76.

“We challenged them right down to the end,” Petersen said. “It was a good relay. I was excited to see that one. We really hadn’t been pushed in that one yet.”

Red Wing’s 200 free relay of Andrew Berg, Alex Byrne, Alms and Connor O’Keefe finished fourth in 1:32.54.

Eighth-grader Hunter Connolly took ninth in the 100 back in 1:00.93 and had the highest finish of any middle school swimmer in the event.

Red Wing’s 200-yard medley relay team of Connolly, Dan O’Keefe, Josh Berg and Alex Byrne finished 19th in 1 minute, 55.06 seconds.

Andrew Berg took 13th in the 50 free with a time of 23.18 seconds.

Chris Byrne finished 12 in 1-meter diving with a score of 252.9.

Connor O’Keefe placed eighth in the 100 free with a time of 50.7 seconds and Andrew Berg took 14th in 52.38 seconds.

Tags: red wing, sports, prep, swimming