It was a day of time drops and improved performances for the Perham/New York Mills boys swimming team at the Section 5A Championships at the University of Minnesota-Morris on Feb. 21 and 22.
The Yellowjackets finished eighth overall in the team standings, finishing with 81 points. Sartell-St. Stephen won the team event with 491 points, while Alexandria was second with 481 points, followed by Melrose-Sauk Centre in third with 305 points and Bemidji in fourth with 231 points. Park Rapids Area rounded out the top five with 179 points. Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Perham/NYM, Thief River Falls and Morris Area rounded out the field.
The Perham/NYM coaching staff was happy with the results and said it was a year of fantastic growth and dedication from the team on the team’s Twitter account.
The 200 medley relay team of Blake Swenson, Luke Becker, Kyle Swanson and Daniel Kingsley finished in eighth place. They finished with a time of one minute and 58.59 seconds. Their qualifying time cut time from their original seed time in that event.
Max George finished in 19th place overall in the 200 freestyle. While he didn’t qualify for the second day, he was able to cut 10.02 seconds from his seed time in that event, finishing with a time of 2:06.40. Luke Becker finished in 23rd place with a time of 2:22.79.
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Swanson finished 10th overall in the 200 individual medley. He closed with a time of 2:20.88. He set a personal record in the preliminary round with a time of 2:18.15, which cut four seconds from his seed time. Blake Swenson finished with a time of 2:41.18 for 20th place in that event as well, cutting more than two seconds from his time.
Kingsley closed the 50 freestyle with a 16th place finish. He ended the race with a time of 24.82. He qualified with a 24.32, which cut time from his seed time.
Swanson earned a 13th place finish overall in the 100 butterfly when he finished with a time of 1:06.43. His preliminary time of 1:02.32 cut more than five seconds from his seed time, setting him up for the B finals on day two.
Kingsley finished in 22nd of the 100 freestyle with a time of 56.89.
George cut time in both the preliminaries and the finals of the 500 freestyle event. He cut from 6:06.06 to 5:54.18 in the preliminaries and finished with a time of 5:51.51 in the finals for 15th place overall.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Kingsley, George. Becker and Swanson reached the podium with a seventh place finish. The team finished with a time of 1:42.37.
Swenson finished in 14th place of the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:08.74, cutting more than a second off of his time. Jonah Bieger finished in 20th place with a time of 1:18.40.
Becker earned 20th place honors in the 100 breaststroke when he finished with a time of 1:21.82.
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The Perham/NYM swimming team closed out the season with a ninth place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of George, Becker, Swenson and Kinglsey cut more than 13 seconds from their preliminary time to their final time when they ended with a time of 4:06.21.
It was a strong end for the Yellowjackets, who return a key core of swimmers for next year.
Section 5A Swimming and Diving
Team Scores
Sartell-St. Stephen 491, Alexandria 484, Melrose-Sauk Centre 305, Bemidji 231, Park Rapids Area 179, Fergus Falls 168, Detroit Lakes 128, Perham/New York Mills 81, Thief River Falls 71, Morris Area 45.
Perham/NYM Individual Results
200 medley relay-8 Blake Swenson, Luke Becker, Kyle Swanson, Daniel Kingsley, 1:58.59; 200 freestyle-19 Max George, 2:06.40; 23 Luke Becker, 2:22.79; 200 individual medley-10 Kyle Swanson, 2:20.88; 20 Blake Swenson, 2:41.18; 50 freestyle-16 Daniel Kinglsey, 24.82; 100 butterfly-13 Kyle Swanson, 1:06.43; 100 freestyle-22 Daniel Kingsley, 56.89; 500 freestyle-15 Max George, 5:51.51; 200 freestyle relay-7 Daniel Kinglsey, Max George, Luke Becker, Kyle Swanson, 1:42.37; 100 backstroke-14 Blake Swenson, 1:08.74; 20 Jonah Bieger, 1:18.40; 100 breaststroke-20 Luke Becker, 1:21.82; 400 freestyle relay-9 Max George, Luke Becker, Blake Swenson, Daniel Kingsley, 4:06.21.
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