Swimmers win second at Laker Invite, fresh off close loss to Magic

by JEFF NORTON SPORTS EDITOR

The Chisago Lakes boys swimming and diving team had the unenviable task of taking on Monticello in their Mississippi 8 season opener. The Magic have long been a powerhouse in the conference and are always a tough draw, even if the Wildcats were in midseason form. Chisago Lakes started well with a second place finish in the 200 yard medley relay from Austin Turman, Charles Olson, Josh Falkowski and Jacob Carlson. The four some finished the race in 1:53:23.

Monticello seized control of the meet in the second event, though. They swept the top three spots in the 200 freestyle to stretch what was a six point lead into a 16 point lead.

The ‘Cats did what they could to claw back into the meet over the next few events, but despite some outstanding individual performances, they could only shave two points off the Monti’s lead. Riley Darling set a team record in the individual medley with a 2:04.34. He also set the pool record later on in the night with a 52.82 time in the 100 butterfly. Carlson finished second in the 50 free style sandwiched in between Darling’s feats.

Jake Doble and Carlson finished one-two in diving, and Head Coach Brian McNally expects that will happen often this season. “We are spoiled to have two of the top divers in the state,” he said. “We are really proud of their efforts and skills on the board. They are a treat to watch.” In the end, however, Monticello just kept the pressure on and ran away with the meet. The Magic swam the last two events exhibition, putting the final tally at 99-82. “The guys swam some great times and they are in a great position to do well this season. I tell the guys it is great to start your season off against a tough opponent to really set the tone for our year,” McNally said. “Everyone in the Mississippi 8 is a tough swim team.

Monticello is certainly no exception. They only lost one conference meet last year (to STMA). We knew how tough of a task it would be to swim against them.” Despite the loss, McNally was still excited about the prospects going forward for his team. “I'm quite happy with how many of our guys are looking in their training thus far. Many of them are a lot faster than they were last year. They are definitely looking sharper than they did at this point last year,” he said. Laker Invitational The Wildcats traveled down to St. Catherine’s Butler Center in St. Paul to take part in the Minneapolis Lake Invite over the weekend.

The other squads at the meet were Bloomington Kennedy, Fridley, St. Paul Highland Park, St. Louis Park and Minneapolis Southwest. The’ Cats took second behind old conference foe St. Louis Park, but they were not far behind the Orioles. They finished 42 points shy of SLP, but in these relays, that’s not a large gap to close. Darling was in the zone again, winning the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. He set a new Laker Invite record in his fly event. Some of the other highlights from the event came from these top 10 finishes, and some comments from McNally. 200 Freestyle: Derek Frank - 7th 50 Free: Jacob Carlson - 2nd (He isn't just a good diver, but a VERY good swimmer as well) Alex Sagendorf - 4th (I'm really impressed with his times and great sprinting this year) Michael Thomas - 6th Luke Falkowski - 9th (As a senior, he has approached the year really tough and looks to improve a lot) 100 Fly: Andy Gombold - 7th (He looks so smooth in the water and is getting a lot faster) 100 Free: Derek Frank - 3rd (One of our best sprinters from last year. He is off to a good start) Matt Braun - 6th Alex Sagendorf - 7th Luke Falkowski - 10th 500 Free: Ethan Harris - 7th 100 Back: Andy Gombold - 6th Ben Steward - 8th AJ Thomas - 9th 100 Breast: (Traditionally and still one of our best events) Charlie Olson - 4th Matt Braun - 5th Josh Falkowski - 6th Colton Olson - 9th Doble and Carlson finished one-two in the diving event again, despite not posting their best scores of the season. “They are a force to be reckoned with on the diving board,” McNally said.

Some illness forced the ‘Cats to shuffle their relays around a bit, but McNally was pleasantly surprised by the results. The medley relays finished 6th, 7th, and 10th, a bit behind where I figured we would be, however, our freestyle relays did quite well, especially the shorter 200 Freestyle relay. Our A 200 Free Relay team won the meet and our B 200 Free Relay earned third, just narrowly being touched out for second place by St. Louis Park,” he explained. “This was a great finish and earned us a TON of points. I'm proud of how they stayed focused around some great teams with new relay assignments and still got up there and swam fast. That is what this sport is all about, just being able to race any day no matter what the circumstances.”

The Wildcats have a long break before dipping back into the pool. They won’t be back in action until Saturday, January 3 against Burnsville.