Thomi Lee on the brink of becoming most decorated swimmer in Chisago Lakes history

With two medals at the Minnesota State High School League state tournament next week, Thomi Lee will pass her sister Brogan Lee as the most decorated swimmer in Chisago Lakes girls swimming and diving history. She already has the state championship under her belt that eluded Brogan, and now, she sits just one medal behind her sister for overall count.

As it stands, Brogan, a 2011 graduate, has five career medals, three in the 500 freestyle and two in the 200 freestyle. Thomi, who earned a medal in the 500 as a freshman, sophomore and junior and a medal in the 200 free last year, is expected to earn medals in both events again, and is a favorite to win her second straight state championship in the 500 free. Lee’s path to the state tournament went through Section 4A this year. She set the section record in the 500 freestyle, swimming the race in 5:09.03 with no one pushing her. The second place finisher came in at 5:27.54. Her time is the top seed at the state tournament, with familiar foe Chantal Nack seeded second with a time of 5:09.34.

Nack, a junior from Mankato West, was Lee’s main foil last year in the 500, pushing her to the finish. Lee’s state title time last year was 5:00.72 and Nack finished second in 5:02.31. The third and fourth place finishers were seniors. The closest finisher that is back in the 500 field is Kylie Vermeire, who finished in 5:14.26. So, it’s essentially a two-horse race between Lee and Nack. The same could be said for the 200 freestyle. Nack won the state title in that event last year while Lee finished in fifth place. The second and third place finishers graduated and the fourth place finisher is in other events this year. That leaves Nack as the top seed with a qualifying time of 1:53.73. Lee’s qualifying time is second at state, a 1:54.65 mark. That time also broke her older sister’s school record in the 200.

“Thomi didn’t taper for sections,” Wakefield explained, saying the star swimming plans her taper around the state tourney. “She just really wanted that section record in the 500.” Dani Berg was just ticks away from joining Lee in the 200 free event at state. The junior swam a 2:00.33 in prelims, just four one-hundredths of a second off of the automatic state qualifying time. Lee owned the top spot, and Francesca Tinucci of Hill Murray was in second. Her accomplishments earned Lee the Section 4A Swimmer of the Year, as she is going to state in three events out of the section. Berg had one more crack at it in the finals, but her taper didn’t quite last the extra day. She swam the finals in 2:01.54, finishing in third. The prelim time, however, shaved a ridiculous six seconds off of Berg’s personal best, though, and gives her plenty to build on for her senior year.

But, Berg’s season isn’t quite over either. She was a part of the 400 relay team that surprised a lot of people and qualified for the state tournament. The foursome features freshmen Danielle Smythe and Kalli Jo Olson, along with Berg and Lee. The quartet finished the prelims outside of state consideration in third place with a time of 3:54.25. Although that was a personal best for the, it seemed like it might be their ceiling and they wouldn’t be able to take the next step during finals. Well, they proved everyone wrong. The girls shaved five more seconds off of their time and finished in 3:49.39, which was good enough for second place, moving them past Mahtomedi and holding off a hard-charging Henry Sibley foursome. It meant that the CL team shaved 17 seconds total off of their personal best time, with each swimming a personal best leg in the race.

“Wow did we taper like crazy,” Wakefield said after the meet at Richfield Middle School. “The relay team was a total shock to me. I have to give credit to [Assistant Coach] Ellen Heath. She nailed the workout for the girls.” Wakefield also praised Berg for her calm demeanor during the last race. He thought she might have been a little tight in the earlier races, but realizing it could be her last race of the year since the 400 is the last event in sections, she let it loose.

Senior Courtney Schlegel also qualified for the state tournament in diving. She finished second in the section and will dive in the first round of the tourney on Monday, Nov. 18.

The swimmers will compete in the state tournament on a different schedule than normal this year. Traditionally, the state tourney has been the weekend after sections. But, this year, the tournament will be on a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday instead of Thursday-Friday-Saturday. The prelims for Lee and the relay team will be Tuesday, November 19 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center beginning at noon. Lee’s 200 is early in the meet and her 500 is in the middle. The relay team is in the last heat of the last event of the day. Finals will be Wednesday, November 20 beginning at noon. For updates from the state tournament, check out chisagocountypress.com or find us on Facebook.