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Call him psychic. Last week Jim Sauerbry predicted his team would be swimming at the state True Team meet this Saturday (off the record). Last Saturday at the section True Team meet, the Wildcats made that happen by qualifying for state with a second place finish. Monticello won the meet with 470 points. Chisago Lakes scored 424.

It was a three-team race, literally, as only three teams competed because of the weather. However, the three teams who competed were the ones who were considered the section favorite anyway. In short, nothing can diminish what the Wildcats did.

What they did was score points at will, once again thanks to their depth. While no Chisago swimmer placed first in any of the events, in every event, every Wildcat but one finished in the top 10. Now that’s balance.

“Most of our kids placed in the top eight and the top eight medal,” said Jim Sauerbry, Chisago Lakes head swimming coach. “We were just so solid, right in the middle of the pack for every race. It was just unbelievable.

The ‘Cats were so solid that out of 84 swims, Chisago set 39 personal bests. Thirty-nine! The reward is a trip to Minneapolis this Saturday and an opportunity to swim at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The state meet gets going at 1:05 p.m.

“Everybody on the team gets to swim at the U,” replied Sauerbry. “When sections come around at the end of the season, we might not get a swimmer through to state because our section is that tough, but because of this, every kid will get a chance to swim at the Aquatic Center and that’s pretty neat.”

While Chisago set personal best after personal best in the swimming portion of the meet, Wildcat senior Brian Willhite set a personal mark of All-American proportion during the diving competition. Willhite posted an automatic All-American score of 441.10, putting him more than 70 points ahead of teammate Jeremy Salokar who took second. The performance came just days after Willhite finished second to Salokar against River Falls. It was the first time this season Willhite did not take first.

“He had an off night (versus River Falls). It was funny because he came home before that meet and laid down and woke up with the flu. He was sick all week,” replied Lisa Willhite. “I just told him before the meet that he performs at his best when he’s either tired, hungry, or sick. I don’t know what it is but he just nailed it.”

That was just the beginning of the Chisago diving attack. In addition to Willhite and Salokar, Adam Sill finished third and Andy Willhite took fourth. It gave Chisago a clean sweep.

“I honestly don’t know if that will ever happen again,” commented Lisa Willhite. “They all dove so well. It was just really fun to see them all put it together all at once.”

The diving competition at the state True Team meet will also begin at 1:05 p.m. this Saturday. With so many divers, they will dive throughout the entire meet.

“I’m really excited for the kids,” concluded Sauerbry. “We’ll be swimming against the best teams in the state, some real powerhouses, so I just hope we don’t finish last. But our goal all along was just to make it and we did that. Now we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Section 2A True Team Results- (Top 3)

1. Monticello 470

2. Chisago Lakes 424

3. Spring Lake Park 263

Individual Results

(CL only-Top 5)-

200 Medley Relay:

4. Chisago Lakes 2:01.44

(Roggemann, B. Willhite, Heggerston, Jokinen)

5. Chisago Lakes 2:03.21

(L. Spehar, Schuler, J. Spehar, Gralish)

200 Freestyle:

4. Steve Boo 2:05.49

200 IM:

3. John Roggemann 2:18.89

50 Freestyle:

2. Hunter Heggerston 24.82

5. Joey Swanson 26.02

Diving:

1. Brian Willhite 441.10

2. Jeremy Salokar 370.65

3. Adam Sill 354.50

4. Andy Willhite 271.65

100 Butterfly:

3. John Roggemann 1:02.96

5. Luke Spehar 1:09.23

100 Freestyle:

4. Steve Boo 55.55

500 Freestyle:

4. Trevor Schuler 5:49.44

200 Freestyle Relay:

4. Chisago Lakes 1:46.31

(Schuler, N. Spehar, L. Spehar, Novak)

100 Backstroke:

5. John Donahue 1:11.02

100 Breaststroke:

4. Brian Willhite 1:12.99

5. Tom McGurk 1:13.20

400 Freestyle Relay:

4. Chisago Lakes 3:51.19

(Roggemann, Turner, Heggerston, Mueller)

5. Chisago Lakes 4:03.06

(Schuler, Shaleen, L. Spehar, J. Spehar)

Chisago Lakes 103

River Falls 84

Four days before the section True Team meet, Chisago Lakes used River Falls as a final warm-up, defeating the Falcons 103-84.

The Wildcats picked up five first place finishes. John Roggemann won both the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Hunter Heggerston picked up a win in the 50 freestyle, Steve Boo led the pack in the 100 freestyle, and Jeremy Salokar took first in diving.

Chisago Lakes 103

River Falls 84

Individual Results

(CL only-Top 3)-

200 Medley Relay:

1. Chisago Lakes 1:55.4

(Roggemann, B. Willhite, Heggerston, L. Spehar)

3. Chisago Lakes 2:02.62

(D. Willhite, McGurk, Sill, Novak)

200 Freestyle:

3. Steve Boo 2:02.84

200 IM:

1. John Roggemann 2:22.60

3. Mark Eagan 2:33.99

50 Freestyle:

1. Hunter Heggerston 25.35

3. David Willhite 26.37

Diving:

2. Jeremy Salokar 256.65

3. Brian Willhite 235.25

100 Butterfly:

1. John Roggemann 1:04.65

3. Luke Spehar 1:09.67

100 Freestyle:

1. Steve Boo 55.41

2. Hunter Heggerston 56.67

500 Freestyle:

3. Trevor Schuler 5:45.79

200 Freestyle Relay:

2. Chisago Lakes 1:43.58

(Swanson, Turner, D. Willhite, Boo)

3. Chisago Lakes 1:48.44

100 Backstroke:

2. John Donahue 1:11.30

3. Andy Willhite 1:13.02

100 Breaststroke:

2. Brian Willhite 1:13.51

3. Tom McGurk 1:14.08

400 Freestyle Relay:

2. Chisago Lakes 3:56.18

(Roggemann, Turner, Heggerston, Boo)

3. Chisago Lakes 4:04.85

(Swanson, Shaleen, L. Spehar, Schuler)

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