Wildcats fly past Bluejackets for first M8C win

Maroon and Gold Meet
The Chisago Lakes boys swimming and diving team tested their mettle against some of the biggest schools in the state at the Maroon and Gold Meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center on Saturday, Jan. 4. They had some individuals who performed very well against the stacked competition, but as a team, the Wildcats were only able to finish in 12th place out of 16 teams. Simley won the meet. The Wildcats opened the meet with an impressive race from their 200 medley relay quartet. Jake Ewert, James Falkowski, Riley Darling and Austin Turman combined for a third place time of 1:45.18. Darling was near the top again, later finishing in second place in the 100 butterfly.

The junior was just barely out-touched at the end of the race. Darling finished in 55:68 seconds while Aaron Olson of Apple Valley finished first in 55.56 seconds, just 12 one-hundredths of a second in front of Darling. In the 100 breaststroke, James Falkowski, who made the state tournament in that event last year, finished in fourth place with a time of 1:04.47. In diving, Jake Doble, another state entrant last year, finished in fifth place. He scored 195.55, and was just two-tenths of a point out of fourth place.

Chisago Lakes 101, Cambridge-Isanti 83
The Wildcats got their second Mississippi 8 Conference meet in last week, and they were able to secure the first win, besting the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets. “Regardless of up or down years, Cambridge always put a very good team out there and swim competitively,” Head Coach Brian McNally said of the Jackets.

It didn’t matter who Cambridge-Isanti trotted out their that night, the Wildcats were swimming with a purpose. CL jumped out to an early 32-14 lead after the first three events, thanks in large part to a few outstanding performances. The 200 medley relay team of Ewert, Falkowski, Darling and Philip LaPlante won their event with a time of 1:48 flat. In the 200 freestyle, Turman and Derek Frank went one-two in the event. Turman sailed away from the competition, winning the event with a time of 1:58.27. Frank just narrowly edged Peter Edblad of C-I by four tenths of a second for the second place finish.

Frank came in at 2:04.48. In the 200 individual medley, Ewert was locked in a duel with Josh Minnihan of Cambridge-Isanti, but Ewert got the better of the exchange, winning the event with a time of 2:15.68. Minnihan came in at 2:17.52. The 50 free was the first event the Wildcats didn’t win, but they were still able to get second and third, salvaging a near draw in the points. Darling went 22.35 for second place and Falkowski finished in 25.05 for third place. Darling continued his impressed night in the 100 butterfly, finishing in first place in that event for his second win on the day. He finished in 56.29, the only race under one minute.

Andrew Gombold finished in third place with a time of 1:07.33 Austin Turman earned the Wildcats fifth win on the night when he won the 100 freestyle in 53.03, narrowly beating John Solberg of C-I. By that time, the Wildcats still had a comfortable 20 points lead, but in the 500 freestyle, half that lead was erased. Cambridge-Isanti finished in first, second and fourth in the event with CL’s Andrew Steward in third place, breaking up the clean sweep. Luckily for the ‘Cats, the next event was the 200 relay, which they excel at. Falkowski, Matt Braun, Frank and Turman finished first in the event and then Colton and Charles Olson, Ethan Harris and Justin Martin finished in second place to rebuild the lead to 20 points. It stayed at 20 after Ewert won the backstroke event with a time of 1:01.49, but C-I took the second and third place finishes. The meet was put away, though, by Chisago Lakes’ breaststrokers.

The trio finished with the rare one-two-three sweep, stretching the lead to 30 with only one event remaining. Falkowski finished in 1:05.79, Braun in 1:12.18 and Charles Olson in 1:15.39. Cambridge’s top finished was Jared Zacharias in 1:16.64. “That was one special occasion on the night, taking first, second, and third in the 100 breaststroke,” McNally proclaimed. “We have a very deep crew of breaststrokers, and they have performed well all season. It was so great to see them all three put it together in one meet at home in front of our home fans.” The Wildcats swam exhibition the last event, but Ewert, Frank, Turman and Darling registered the fastest time in the event.

“Overall, it was a great night. It was our first chance to swim at home. Being in the new conference has been fun, but it has many long bus rides to the schools who have swim teams,” McNally said after the meet. “It was great to stay home and show off our talents to our home crowd. This was also our first dual meet win of the season, in just our second dual. “We saw many great performances out of our younger guys and our JV team as well. For several of them, they have been training for many weeks and this was just their second chance to race. They approached the meet confidently and enthusiastically. It really was a TEAM victory. It was a fun meet to coach and it was great to see the team enjoy their win, especially at home.” On Thursday, January 16, the Wildcats will travel to Buffalo. 

According to McNally, the two teams are very evenly matched and it will be a thrilling meet. “These type of meets always make it very exciting for both the swimmers and the coaches,” he said. “This meet will likely not be determined until the last event.” The ‘Cats get one day off before heading to Spring Lake Park for the True Team meet on Saturday, Jan. 18. It’s an important meet because it involves the whole team and not just a handful of fast swimmers.