Swimming: Wingers take third at True Team sections

Red Wing completed a busy week Saturday, competing in its fourth meet in the last seven days at the Section 1A True Team meet in Austin.

The seventh-ranked (1A) Wingers took third place with 885 points. Sixth-ranked (1A) Austin was second with 916 points and top-ranked (1A) Saint Thomas Academy won the meet with 1329 points.

“True Team Section went about as well as it could after having a very intense week of competition,” Red Wing head coach Kevin O’Brien said. “We could tell some of the boys were tired and their times somewhat showed that. We did have some good swims.”

Tanner Alms continued his string of top finishes for the Wingers, taking first in the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 49 seconds and placing first in the 500 freestyle in 4:57.23, more than four seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Alms was the only Winger to win an event Saturday.

Adam Sienczak finished second in the 100 freestyle for Red Wing in 50.03 seconds and also came in third place in the 200 freestyle in 1:51.84. Hunter Connelly took second in the 100 backstroke in 57.38 seconds for the Wingers.

Red Wing’s relay team all place in the top four in Saturday’s meet. The Wingers’ 200 medley relay team place third in 1:47.43, their 200 freestyle relay was fourth in 1:37.76 and they took fourth in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:27.01.

Dan O’Keefe dropped .45 seconds of his 50 freestyle to finish in seventh place in 24.09 seconds and Chris Byrne took ninth in the 1-meter diving competition for Red Wing.

“The end of the season is starting to come into thought for many of the boys. They are mentally getting prepared for a tough couple of weeks of practice preparing for taper,” O’Brien said. “We are excited for what the end of the season will bring. The boys should taper really well with the hard work they have been putting into practices.”

The Wingers will compete at the True Team State Meet Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to swim at the True Team State Meet at the ‘U of M’ Aquatic center,” O’Brien said. “For one, to get experience for the younger swimmers that are possibly not going to make it to the state meet, and for the older swimmers that will be at the state meet; giving them to opportunity to swim at the ‘U of M’ once before their state meet.”

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