---

There’s close margins, and there’s razor thin margins. And then there’s the amount Chisago Lakes won their first ever section title by last week.

The boys needed every second and every point in their competitions, as they edged second place Grand Rapids by only three points in a meet where 2,193 points were doled out. The Wildcats scored 366 points and the Thunderhawks of Grand Rapids scored 363 points.

The section win was also the catalyst to sending five individuals and two relay teams to the state tourney for the Wildcats. They were Derek Frank in four events, Austin Turman in four events, Jacob Carlson in two events, Matt Braun in two events, Sam Gustafson, Alex Sagendorf and Josh Falkowski.

“This team set some lofty goals at the beginning of the season, but winning this meet has been there goal for a full year now.  They worked together as a team to achieve their goals and I am very impressed by their teamwork.  I could not be more proud of how well they swam,” Head Coach Brian McNally said. “There were huge time drops all over the place and we have a team full of guys with new personal best times!  What a great way to finish the season!”

With every place meaning something to the team, McNally described the emotions and excitement that went into each race.

200 Medley Relay:
They did not swim their best at prelims and came into finals seeded 7th.  They knew they had a tough task ahead of them.  They all worked to cut time and they dropped nearly 4 seconds at finals.  I made one switch on the relay.  I switched out Josh Falkowski on the Breaststroke leg, and inserted Matt Braun in his place.  The relay was: Ethan Harris (back), Matt Braun (breast), Phil LaPlante (fly), and Jacob Carlson (free).  They jumped up several places and finished 4th.  That left them just one place out of the state meet.  Despite their disappointment at not advancing, I was very proud of their time.  

200 IM:
Derek Frank was in an all-out battle with Kaleb Bissonette of Grand Rapids.  It was one of the most exciting races I've ever seen at any level.  They swam all-out for 200 yards and 4 different strokes.  They were literally tied stroke-for-stroke throughout the whole race.  Kaleb ended up touching Derek out by .08 seconds and both swimmers would have set the new section record.  

200 Free:
This was a PASSIONATE swim from Austin Turman who led the race from bell to bell.  He came off the blocks like a sprinter and attacked the race.  He led by a body length after 50 yards and held or increased that lead the whole way.  It was so fun to see him swim so well.  This has been his event since he was a freshman and he had been in the top eight at sections many times, but this was his first section win.  He would go on to be our only 2 individual event winner on the day, though Derek Frank was very close.

50 Free:
Jacob Carlson fell a bit back though battling some sickness.  He swam well on his relays, and still had his fastest open time of the year, though not qualifying for state.  He placed 20th in this event at state last year, and was disappointed to not advance.  He swam well and led the charge of 3 wildcats on the podium in this event (along with Gustafson and Sagendorf).  Our 4th swimmer even scored in this event, taking 16th.

Diving:
Jacob led from the beginning and had an incredible performance!  He smashed the section record (was 417) with a score of 502.  This was the first team record we would set on the day.  He is looking to be in the top few to dive at state.  His event represents our best chance at an all-state performance, though a few other guys have chances as well, his is the most likely.  He was also named Diver of the year for our section.  

100 Fly:
Derek Frank came out like a bullet and swam a smooth but powerful SPRINT through the whole race.  He led from the beginning and only had to fight off one real threat at the win.  Derek had a huge time drop of 3 seconds from prelims and it made me proud to see him swim so well.  

100 Free:
Sam Gustafson and Matt Braun were our two swimmers in the top heat of this event.  On the board it said they tied for 6th place.  The board only reads to the hundredth of a second.  However, the computer system can read to the thousandth of a second.  When they went down to it, Matt Braun had the SLIGHT edge but it was still fin to see those guys perform so well.  Matt is a very diversely talented swimmer and we only recently decided to put him in this event.  Sam is a pure power sprinter who has really worked to harness his abilities.  He only started swimming a year ago and it is CRAZY to see him doing so well!  It is truly a credit to his athleticism.  

500 Free:
This heat featured Austin Turman in the lead and Teammate Ethan Harris in the mix as well.  This story was similar to the 200 free.  Austin led the field right out of the gate.  He went after a breakneck pace and I think the other front runners were expecting him to die out.  However, he only sped up.  He was challenged late by  Ben Brunfelt of Mesabi East, but Austin clearly held the lead.  He smashed his own personal best and nearly set the section record.  HE is looking to drop even more time at state.  This is an event that he has only done intermittently for the past few years.  HE swam it when he was younger, but wanted to make it his focus this year.  It was so fun to see him really command the event from start to finish!  Ethan Harris also swam really well and placed 6th.  He has a bright future with our swim team.  

200 Free Relay:
The consistent team for the past month plus again showed up and went a season best.  They couldn't quite fight off the last second charge from Eveleth-Gilbert, but they still earned a berth to the state meet and a chance to drop time later this week.  I look forward to great things from them.  They are in a close spot to make state finals, but I am hoping they can improve their swims from sections and advance.  The team was: Derek Frank, Alex Sagendorf, Austin Turman, and Jacob Carlson.  It is so fun to see the last few races for this all-senior relay.  

100 Backstroke:
This is the only event where we did not have any one in the top heat.  Grand Rapids had a few swimmers in the top heat of this event, so we knew we needed to swim well in the other events.  Our team was led by Phil LaPlante and Ben Steward in 11th and 12th, respectively.

100 Breaststroke:
Matt Braun had been fighting for the top seed at prelims and he finished only .05 seconds away.  He came in determined to fight for that top spot.  The win eventually went to Sam Hunt of Mesabi East, but Matt swam very well and got 2nd with a blazing time.  The big thrill was to see Josh Falkowski jump up several places and cut a bunch of time.  Josh finished 3rd and earned his ticket to state in an individual event.  He also earned us some crucial team points at the end of the meet.  By this point, we were counting every last point and trying to make them add up.  

400 Free Relay:
Going into this event, we knew we needed to finish in the top 3 to win.  Since Grand Rapids had a commanding top seed, and they set the section record in prelims, we knew they would be tough.  I told my guys to have safe relay exchanges to avoid a DQ, but to swim as fast as they could once they were in the water.  They did just that!  I made one small change from prelims.  I removed Ethan Harris and subbed in Matt Braun in his place. 

Though they went a season best time at prelims, they cut 6 seconds in finals.  They picked a great time to do so, since ALL of the teams' relays cut lots of time.  Our prelims time would have knocked us back several places and not sent us to state, or won the meet as a team.  Though nobody mentioned it ahead of time or even looked at the possibility, these guys CRUSHED their prelims time and set our 2nd school record of the day.  Through the first 3 swimmers, they were right with Grand Rapids, threatening a win in the event.  Although the Swimmer of the Year in our section, Matt Allison swam the anchor leg for Grand Rapids and gave them the win, our team swam VERY fast.

---