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There wasn’t any expectation for the Chisago Lakes divers when they went down to the state tournament last weekend at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Jimmy Nord and Storm Opdahl both qualified for the meet, but as a seventh and an eighth grader, they were two of the youngest competitors at the event. Nord was the only seventh grader and Opdahl was one of two eighth graders in the field of 24.

But, both of them exceeded expectations and made it to the semi-finals, and Opdahl got all the way to the finals and got to dive on the second day.

In the prelims, Opdahl scored a 137.65, which put him in 16th place. Nord had some of his best dives of the year and scored 122.70, putting him in 19th place. With the top 20 advancing, both moved on the semifinals.

Opdahl kept his position, holding off senior Tyler Cook of South St. Paul, who was only seven points back going into the semis. He added 66 points to his score for a total of 223.75.

Nord was able to leapfrog junior Cody Oman of Chisolm, moving from 19th place to 18th with a score of 188.40.

In the finals, Opdahl couldn’t quite catch junior Martin Kocher of St. Paul Johnson, scoring a 315.10 to finish in 16th place. He was the youngest in the finals field by two grades. There were two sophomores and the rest were upperclassmen. In fact, out of the 20 divers who made the semifinals, Nord and Opdahl were the only non-high school competitors.

In the 100 yard backstroke, sophomore Addison Clarin was able to trim time of off his seeding, but in a fast field, he was still left out of the top 16 finalists.

He went from 59.19 seconds in seeding to 58.99, jumping over junior Nick Jordan of Chisolm. He finished in 19th place for Chisago Lakes.

“What a great way to end the season!” Head Coach Rachel Stauber said. “The kids really worked hard!  At this point in the season, we are excited to look back and see the improvement that each swimmer and diver has made, and we are really looking forward to next season!”

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